"There's Nothing Funny About a Clown in the Moonlight..." A Look a Pennywise

Let’s talk about it.  I mean…”It”.  “It” was a best-selling novel by horror guru Stephen King which hit the shelves in 1986 and was spun into a very well-known miniseries in 1990 on ABC, and this is where the concept of “It” became ingrained in the consciousness of American horror fans.  I remember watching "It" air back in 1990 and it quickly became a Halloween staple for the station for years to come.  The miniseries explored the interpersonal relationships amongst preteens as they dealt with a supernatural nightmare that was threatening their hometown.  The story is actually split into two parts, with one half told as flashback to the time when the main characters were children fighting off the monster, and into their adult lives as the monster comes back once again to threaten them.

Already I can tell my grammar checking software is going to hate this piece.

I’m explaining all this to you because in 2017 we are due to get a remake of “It”.  This of course will include a brand new version of the central character of the film, Pennywise the Dancing Clown.  Even the most casual horror fans will recognize this infamous nightmare, originally brought to life by Tim Curry for the miniseries, and the knee jerk reaction will be that there is no way anyone could compare to Curry’s performance. 

 

 

This isn’t without precedence because Curry has always been an A list performer, a living legend in cult classics, and he’s going to naturally be very difficult to top.  What compounds the problem is that most people saw “It” originally when they were very young.  The show came out 26 years ago and the people who grew up watching Curry’s Pennywise will have that performance firmly implanted in their brain boarded up with only the most impenetrable of nostalgic feelings.

Now, as of this writing I have not found an actual trailer for the upcoming 2017 version.  I’ve only seen the promotional material circulated by Entertainment Weekly of Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise.

Judge for yourself

 

Both the original television series and the book state that It has been terrorizing the citizens of Derry, Maine for generations, arriving on earth in that spot prior to colonists coming over from Europe.  Somewhere along the way, It decided that its prey of choice would be children and somewhere along its time on earth adopted the form of Pennywise the Clown, among numerous other disguises.  Now I did some digging to see if there was some historical significance to the form of the clown, even reaching out to my best friend and Stephen King expert, William Dilbeck.  Is there some in-story historical significance to the clown?

“No, not really, but the clown is memorable.  Mike Hanlon never left Derry, and he collects stories from the old people in town.  In one of these stories, this old man talks about how this gang gets shot to death in the middle of town, and he remembers seeing this clown floating just outside a window, taking pot shots at the gang with a rifle.”

He went on to point out “The clown might represent It’s sinister intent, and well, it never hurts to have an iconic look.  It mostly hunts children, though, and I believe that it uses this as his camouflage.”

Thanks Will.

So it seems Stephen King may have had the famous quote from Lon Chaney in mind when writing Pennywise "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."

That kind of brings us back around to the design of Pennywise for both the television series and the film.  I’ll do a side by side.

 

Designers discussed that the look of the costume is very much inspired by the renaissance period, indicating that It’s knowledge of human events extends far outside Derry, Maine even if It can’t influence those events.  One would think that if It could extend its influential reach beyond the confines of Derry, It would be far more powerful.

The overall weathered, otherworldly appearance of the 2017 Pennywise costume also makes it stand out apart from characters like Jared Leto’s and Heath Ledger’s respective Jokers, as well as the multitude of clowns featured in Rob Zombie’s horror films.  No, this Pennywise definitely stands out, even against his 1990’s counterpart.

Curry’s rendition of the character was far more in keeping with modern interpretations of clowns, with a baggy, brightly colored full body suit, white fluffy ruffles, and outwardly pleasant demeanor, which would later give way to It’s predatory nature.  The 2017 version on the other hand immediately comes across as threatening and unsettling and I can’t imagine this being an effective lure for anyone.  Even people without a crippling fear of clowns would be sent screaming into the hills if they saw that coming at them.

But on the flip side, Tim Curry’s Pennywise can be equally unsettling not strictly by how he looks but more about where you see him.  You see him in the drainage gutters, in the woods, in boiler rooms, outside windows, in places that you aren't supposed to see clowns.  If you saw a clown at a circus or a birthday party, that’s one thing.  You’re technically supposed to see clowns there.  If you see a clown standing across the street, no matter how nice he looks, he’s not supposed to be there and that makes him automatically threatening,  more so if he starts beckoning you over.

So does the 2017 version work?  Well that greatly depends on what they do with him.  Are there going to be scenes where he looks more cleaned up, less threatening, or is he always going to look like he hitchhiked across state lines?  The reason I ask is because if there is a dichotomy in his look, clean giving way to sinister, then that allows a lot more freedom in how effective he can be as a horror icon.  If he’s always going to look like that, then he’s going to lose his effectiveness very quickly.

Either way “It” is going to hit theatres in September of 2017 so let’s hope it lives up to the legacy set down by the original.

Thank you for reading and thank you Will for your input in today’s post.  Please check out his book series, and have a great day.

https://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Dead-Lakehaven-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00JLPG8HE#nav-subnav