TBT: Stephen King’s It (1990 Miniseries) Rewatch

In 1960, seven preteen outcasts fight an evil demon that poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.

It’d been a while since my original hangout with the Losers’ Club in Derry, Maine, but what better season to revisit one of the horror movies from your childhood than during Spooky Season? I (Sugar) very much enjoyed both the original miniseries when I was growing up, AND Andy Muschietti’s more recent films featuring Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. Rewatching the original just confirms how good of a love letter Muschietti’s versions are, all while bringing their own charm and amped up scares. Is it weird to describe horror movies as having charm? I mean, horror aside, It really has always been a coming-of-age story when you boil it down.

I don’t have a fear of clowns, but Pennywise was that one special case that really creeped me out as a kid. I have fond memories of going to Detroit with my grandma to the Fox Theater when I was young, but also of being absolutely freaked out by the steam creeping out of the sewer grates and manholes on the streets after dark because I was positive it meant that Pennywise was nearby and hungry.

Tim Curry is always such a master at giving a deliciously villainous performance, and his take on Pennywise is no exception. Whether he’s terrorizing the kids, or the adults they grow into, Pennywise is a relentless and deadly menace, and absolutely revels in every minute of it.

I really enjoyed this horrific trip down Memory Lane. Coming back all these years later sort of paralleled the Losers’ Club’s own return to Derry in a way, remembering the fear I felt as a kid and then returning to face that fear again as an adult. Luckily for me, I just got to sit back and enjoy the ride rather than go toe to toe with a child-eating monster determined to feed on my fear.

I’m glad to see that the miniseries holds up so well. The creepy bits are still good, the childhood bond of the Losers’ Club and the true test of that bond as they’re all drawn back to Derry by the return of Pennywise, gives you a solid cast of characters you feel you can genuinely root for and fear for. It’s neat too seeing Emily Perkins and Seth Green play the childhood versions of Beverly and Richie.

For anyone who dreads returning to their childhood hometown, this movie is all-too relatable, just hopefully without trans-dimensional demonic entities posing as homicidal clowns. Have you seen the original It miniseries? What do you think of it? I still have yet to read the novel but, I enjoy both live action versions of the story. Do you like the remake as well? Or the book? Let’s talk Stephen King’s It!