It

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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Coulrophobia is the term for a fear of clowns. Lots of people have it. No wonder Ringling Bros. Circus is closing down.

Horrormeister Stephen King knew this about clowns when he wrote a scary novel titled “It” back in 1986. He told the story of an evil shape-shifting entity responsible for the disappearance of dozens of children in Derry, Maine. The monster often took the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in order to lure its young prey.

The themes are familiar to Stephen King fans: “The power of memory, childhood trauma and its recurrent echoes in adulthood, the ugliness lurking behind a façade of small-town quaintness, and overcoming evil through mutual trust and sacrifice.”

In 1990 “It” was adapted into a two-part TV miniseries, starring Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown.

Now we get the big-screen treatment with Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. Directed by Argentinian filmmaker Andy Muschietti (“Mama”), “It” is planned to be the first installment in a duology.

“It” is now frightening audiences at Tropic Cinema.

In the new film, we follow a gaggle of kids known as the Losers’ Club, social outcasts taunted by the Bowers Gang. But fear of these high-school thugs takes a backseat when Bill Denbrough’s little brother Georgie disappears down a street drain, a victim of the predatory alien shapeshifter.

Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) is the stuttering leader of the Loser’s Club, all but invisible at home as his parents grieve for Georgie. His pals are familiar memes: Bill’s bespectacled best friend, Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier (Finn Wolfhard); overweight Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor); impoverished Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis); germaphobic Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff); prerequisite black friend Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs); and sickly pal Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer).

They vow revenge on the ancient monster that awakens every thirty decades to feed. But the shapeshifter is not easy to kill. It has the ability to transform itself into its prey’s worst fears.

Muschietti explained why he picked Bill Skarsgård to play the killer clown. “You’ve had Heath Ledger doing almost a clown Joker, you’ve seen obviously Tim Curry as a clown. We wanted someone who created a Pennywise character that would stand on its own and Bill came in and created this character that frankly freaked us out.”

The director adds, “Pennywise shows up … and he does his show. He has an act. So it’s weird all the time, and every little thing implies a further threat … There’s something very off about him. Bill Skarsgård has that balance in him. He can be sweet and cute, but he can be pretty disturbing.”

In late 2016 several US cities experienced a rash of “clown sightings,” menacing figures in greasepaint or masks that tried to lure children into the woods or chased women down the street or lurked threateningly near schools. This phenomenon has been called everything from mass hysteria to a publicity stunt. Folklorist Benjamin Radford describes it as “the snowball effect,” where rumor spurs “the human penchant for a good story.” He says that clown sightings are more common during periods of social anxiety. 

Whatever was behind this, don’t be surprised if the movie “It” causes another “Creepy Clown Epidemic.”

Honk! Honk!

Who’s there?

An evil clown coming to get you.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com