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5 Terrifying, Non-Clown Scenes From Stephen King’s IT

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I love Stephen King’s IT. I love the book, and I love the two-part TV movie. While I’ve only read the book in its entirety once (it’s just so ridiculously long), I’ve watched the movie countless times, beginning with the nights it first aired. I was hooked on it from the very beginning. Luckily I had recorded the initial airing on an old blank VHS, which would get worn out over the years until I finally got the DVD as I upgraded my collection to the newer format.

I love Tim Curry’s Pennywise, and as much as I’m looking forward to Cary Fukunaga’s theatrical adaptation, it’s very hard for me to envision anyone else in the role. The Curry Pennywise remains arguably the most nightmarish fictional clown ever to grace the screen (sorry, Twisty, but give me a break). It’s truly hard to imagine the movie without him, but in reality, there are a lot of creepy moments in IT that don’t involve a clown being on screen (there are even more such moments in the book, but that’s another story).

With that, let’s take some time to celebrate some of these moments, as it feels like Pennywise gets all the credit for making this movie what it is.

1. Georgie’s Photo

I think this is the scene that actually freaked me out the most when I watched the movie as a kid. Bill’s little brother Georgie has already been killed by IT, and Bill is in Georgie’s room looking at a photo album, feeling awful about what happened. He stops to look at a black and white photo of Georgie, which then winks at him to chilling effect. After that, Bill throws the album across the room, where its pages start rapidly turning by themselves, before landing back on the page with the Georgie photo, which starts bleeding all over the floor. This is all accompanied by a fantastic, dread-inducing score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiAaT7zManM

2. Dead Kids in the Sink

Ah, the old “dead kids in the sink” gag. In another particularly creepy, clownless scene, Beverly hears the voice of Derry’s dead children coming from her bathroom sink talking about how they float, before a red balloon bubbles up from the drain, and bursts in a splatter of blood all over the bathroom and Beverly’s face. Her father comes in, and can’t see it.

3. Mrs. Kersh

Beverly Marsh visits her father’s home when she returns to Derry, only to find that it’s occupied by an old woman named Mrs. Kersh. Kersh tells Beverly she knew her father, and we see that Beverly misread the name on the doorbell (it said Kersh instead of Marsh, which she thought it said at first).

Mrs. Kersh invites Beverly in for some tea, and we soon realize that yes, it really did say Marsh on the doorbell, as Mrs. Kersh guzzles down her blood tea and turns into a frightening, decaying monster version of Beverly’s father. Obviously, it’s IT.

We do see IT in the Pennywise form, standing by the door as Beverly runs away, and turns around to look.

4. Skeleton in the Barrens

Ben is upset after being punished for fighting with his asshole cousin with whom he and his mother live. He gets on his bike, and rides down to the Barrens, where the kids play all the time. It’s a much scarier place when they’re alone. First, Ben sees his father standing out on the water in the creepy swamp. His father starts talking to him, and naturally starts talking about and holding balloons before completely turning into Pennywise. So yes, the clown is certainly a part of the scene, but it’s a swampy, slime-covered skeleton that reaches out of the water and grabs at Ben, talking about everybody floating down there.

5.  The Mummy

In this scene, Stan is out birdwatching, and hears a voice calling to him from an old creepy house. For some reason, he decides to go in, and is confronted by a pretty scary mummy walking down the stairs toward him. Technically it’s clown mummy, but it’s not the version of Pennywise we’re accustomed to by that point. Anyway, Stan gets the fuck out of dodge, conveniently meeting up with Bill, who rides him away like a bat out of hell on his bike Silver.

The part where the mummy is walking slowly down the stairs is pretty effective. I’m having a hard time finding an embeddable video of this one, but here’s a picture.

IT mummy

There are a lot of great scenes in IT. Many of them show Pennywise. Many of them don’t. Some of the IT-related scenes aren’t as scary as they are fun. Who doesn’t love Richie encountering a werewolf in the basement or watching balloons splatter blood all over people’s faces while Pennywise carries on like a madman? And let’s not forget about the old pharmacist Mr. Keene, who was always partial to licorice. There are many reasons IT remains a beloved classic, especially for a TV movie. I think it’s nice to remember that Tim Curry’s Pennywise, as wonderful as he was, is far from the only one.

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The Original ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Had an Interesting Location

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beetlejuice in Hawaii Movie

Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s sequels to hit movies weren’t as linear as they are today. It was more like “let’s re-do the situation but in a different location.” Remember Speed 2, or National Lampoon’s European Vacation? Even Aliens, as good as it is, follows a lot of the plot points of the original; people stuck on a ship, an android, a little girl in peril instead of a cat. So it makes sense that one of the most popular supernatural comedies of all time, Beetlejuice would follow the same pattern.

In 1991 Tim Burton was interested in doing a sequel to his 1988 original, it was called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian:

“The Deetz family moves to Hawaii to develop a resort. Construction begins, and it’s quickly discovered that the hotel will be sitting on top of an ancient burial ground. Beetlejuice comes in to save the day.”

Burton liked the script but wanted some re-writes so he asked then-hot screenwriter Daniel Waters who had just got done contributing to Heathers. He passed on the opportunity so producer David Geffen offered it to Troop Beverly Hills scribe Pamela Norris to no avail.

Eventually, Warner Bros. asked Kevin Smith to punch up Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, he scoffed at the idea, saying, “Didn’t we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?”

Nine years later the sequel was killed. The studio said Winona Ryder was now too old for the part and an entire re-cast needed to happen. But Burton never gave up, there were a lot of directions he wanted to take his characters, including a Disney crossover.

“We talked about lots of different things,” the director said in Entertainment Weekly. “That was early on when we were going, Beetlejuice and the Haunted MansionBeetlejuice Goes West, whatever. Lots of things came up.”

Fast-forward to 2011 when another script was pitched for a sequel. This time the writer of Burton’s Dark Shadows,  Seth Grahame-Smith was hired and he wanted to make sure the story wasn’t a cash-grabbing remake or reboot. Four years later, in 2015, a script was approved with both Ryder and Keaton saying they would return to their respective roles. In 2017 that script was revamped and then eventually shelved in 2019.

During the time the sequel script was being tossed around in Hollywood, in 2016 an artist named Alex Murillo posted what looked like one-sheets for a Beetlejuice sequel. Although they were fabricated and had no affiliation with Warner Bros. people thought they were real.

Perhaps the virality of the artwork sparked interest in a Beetlejuice sequel once again, and finally, it was confirmed in 2022 Beetlejuice 2 had a green light from a script written by Wednesday writers  Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The star of that series Jenna Ortega signed on to the new movie with filming starting in 2023. It was also confirmed that Danny Elfman would return to do the score.

Burton and Keaton agreed that the new film titled Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice wouldn’t rely on CGI or other other forms of technology. They wanted the film to feel “handmade.” The film wrapped in November 2023.

It’s been over three decades to come up with a sequel to Beetlejuice. Hopefully, since they said aloha to Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian there has been enough time and creativity to ensure Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will not only honor the characters, but fans of the original.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will open theatrically on September 6.

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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