I may have never found the film version of Stephen Kings IT to be frightening in the least, but that didnt stop others kids from thinking so. The terror, of course, comes from the films villain, an amorphous shapeshifting entity that often takes the form of a clown named Pennywise in order to lure and feed on innocent children. Conceptually it makes sense that so many kids would fear It. It feeds on children, can take the form of that which you fear the most, and is incomprehensible. More than anything though, its his clown form Pennywise that scares children. Many people fear clowns in some form, and It preys on that fear. It may have scared children, but watching IT as an adult reveals just how hilariously bad the film version actually is. Being a television miniseries, the film has a noticeably small budget, leading to some pretty terrible looking special effects. The acting is so overly melodramatic you just cant take the story seriously. Tim Curry as Pennywise is the only enjoyable performance, and that is because his is the only charismatic character. The one thing he is not, however, is scary. You can tell the film is trying to be both scary and dramatic, but fails spectacularly on both accounts. The only way to enjoy it is to get plastered and laugh at it. Naturally, children dont notice these glaring flaws, concentrating wholly on the creepy clown with sharp teeth. If we can learn anything from IT, its that children can find anything scary. What scared you as a child? Feel free to leave a comment below!