Stephen King's It Trailer Brings One Of The Book's Scariest Scenes To Life

Pennywise the clown in IT

Fans of Stephen King's It are excited by the prospect of a cinematic adaptation, but only if it's able to deliver on the terror that the original work was able to create in its readers. Based on what's recently been shown of the new movie, it appears that may be exactly what we're going to get. Scenes from the upcoming film were recently shown at SXSW which confirm that the new movie will open as the book did, with a terrifying scene including a young boy named Georgie and a terrifying clown hiding under a sewer grate.

If you've read the book It or seen the original TV miniseries then you'll know the scene in question. In it, two brothers, Bill and Georgie, build a paper boat that Georgie can float down the gutters filled with water due to a storm. In the book, Georgie's boat is washed into the sewer and upon trying to retrieve it, the young boy is confronted by Pennywise the clown for the first time, peering up at him from below the sewer grate. Georgie is convinced by the clown to reach down into the sewer to get his boat back, at which point the clown strikes, ripping off the boy's arm.

Based on the description of this scene from Dread Central, it appears the movie's opening will be very familiar to those who know It. The scene cut out in the SXSW preview as soon as Pennywise appeared, so quickly that it was difficult to even get a good look at him, so there are no major details about exactly how Georgie meets his fate, but it seems clear that he will.

The scene was also recreated for the popular television miniseries, though due to the fact that it was television, the scene was not as violent as it might have been. The fact that we know this film, going by the full title It Part 1: The Losers Club, will be rated-R would seem to imply that this film will show us much more.

Based on Dread Central's comments the assembled audience loved what they saw of It Part 1: The Losers Club. This is likely a good sign for any passionate fans of It who might be afraid that they won't be getting an appropriate adaptation. For many, It is absolutely the pinnacle of Stephen King's horror. That opening sequence sets the tone for the entire film and based on what we know now, the tone is going to be scary as hell.

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Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.