Hate To Break ‘It’ To You, But Tim Curry Was Not Actually A Good Pennywise
There’s this thing that’s been driving me crazy the past few months. Ever since the costume and plans for the new “It” movie came out, I’ve been hearing almost non-stop whining from my friends in the horror communities.
Despite how cool, how stunningly, how *terrifyingly epic* the new “It” movie looks, somehow people keep making comments like these:
“Not impressed with the new pennywise i love the original pennywise Tim Curry played the first time”
“Another remake, bah! Tim Curry is Pennywise and that’s it. Period.”
“One: NOBODY and beat Tim Curry. Two: this new pennywise looks too fake. I am a big fan of King and Tim Curry.”
“Does not seem as scary as Tim Curry — now that was scary.”
These are all totally real comments I’ve seen! And they go on, and on, and on, and on. You get the idea.
And I don’t get it. Because, here’s the real deal: Tim Curry’s Pennywise wasn’t that good. There. I said it.
There were definitely some good moments for Curry, and he wasn’t terrible. But he doesn’t deserve nearly the praise that he gets for the role. Tons of people are already putting down Bill Skarsgard, who I think will do 10x the job that Curry did.
Curry’s adaption of Pennywise didn’t match the book at all. I understand that that isn’t only the actor’s fault — Curry could have been taking orders from directors and producers — but it still diminishes the character a TON. The gossip-mill seems to imply that the new production of “It” will be much more true to the book, meaning that Skarsgard’s rendition is better than Curry’s right out of the gate.
Curry also wasn’t nearly scary enough. I mean, like sorry, but this is a TOTAL no-brainer. Just compare the costumes:
https://twitter.com/sceglilfilm/status/848180881302966273
Curry wasn’t terrifying at all — I remember audibly snorting when I saw his costume on the mini-series for the first time. When I saw Skarsgard, I visibly shuddered. Shrouded in darkness, he could jolt nearly anyone.
Like:
Seriously.
Also the special effects around Curry is amateur-level, even for the time. Curry’s dialogue is broken and more hysterical than scary. This scene — which is somehow called his “best” — is a great example of that.
The scene takes place in plain light, making real scares hard. And what, there’s a clown hanging out on the balcony? Bad script-writing, but even worse execution by Curry. He has too many random jokes that make me think I’m at some bar’s comedy night after people have had a few too many drinks.
I think part of the problem is that, as a horror movie expert, I rely more on facts than other people. I feel that many older people saw Curry’s work as Pennywise when they were still young and less experienced with good film — there’s probably a lot of nostalgia there. Their love for Pennywise is more emotional and feelings-based while my critique is more about facts and logic.
Anyway, can’t wait for the remake! 