It has been 27 years since a deranged killer clown terrorised a town on the small screen in 'It' and ushered in a generation's fear of clowns. Now, Stephen King's Pennywise the child-eating clown is back, with bloodier teeth and a fresh set of victims.
'It,' opening in theatres on Thursday, is the long-awaited movie version of King's 1986 horror novel, rated '18+' for gritty thrills, gory deaths and a Loser's Club - the group of hero teenagers - not shy about cursing and making crude comments.
New Line Cinema’s horror thriller 'IT,' is directed by Andy Muschietti ('Mama').
The film tells the story of seven young outcasts growing up in the township of Derry, Maine, who call themselves 'the Losers’ Club.' Each of them has been ostracised for one reason or another; each has a target on their back from the local pack of bullies…and all have seen their inner fears come to life in the form of an ancient shapeshifting predator they can only call It.
For as long as their town has existed, Derry has been the entity’s hunting ground, emerging from the sewers every 27 years to feed on the terrors of its chosen prey: Derry’s children. Banding together over one horrifying and exhilarating summer, the Losers form a close bond to help them overcome their own fears and stop a new killing cycle that began on a rainy day, with a small boy chasing a paper boat as it swept down a storm drain…and into the hands of Pennywise the Clown.
'IT' stars Bill Skarsgård ('Allegiant,' TV’s 'Hemlock Grove') as the story’s central villain, Pennywise. An ensemble of young actors also star in the film, including Jaeden Lieberher ('Midnight Special'), Jeremy Ray Taylor ('Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip'), Sophia Lillis ('37'), Finn Wolfhard (TV’s 'Stranger Things'), Wyatt Oleff ('Guardians of the Galaxy'), Chosen Jacobs (upcoming 'Cops and Robbers'), Jack Dylan Grazer ('Tales of Halloween'), Nicholas Hamilton ('Captain Fantastic') and Jackson Robert Scott, making his film debut.
Muschietti directed 'IT' from a screenplay by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman, based on the novel by King. Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti produced the film, with Dave Neustadter, Walter Hamada, Richard Brener, Toby Emmerich, Marty P. Ewing, Doug Davison, Jon Silk and Niija Kuykendall serving as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Chung-Hoon Chung ('Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,' 'Oldboy'), production designer Claude Paré ('Rise of the Planet of the Apes'), editor Jason Ballantine ('Mad Max: Fury Road'), and costume designer Janie Bryant (TV’s 'Mad Men'). The music was composed by Benjamin Wallfisch ('Annabelle: Creation').