10 Genius Suspense Tricks That Made Horror Movies Great
5. Keeping The Young Cast Away From Pennywise Actor Bill Skarsgård - It
Andy Muschietti's two-part It adaptation was a mostly pleasant surprise - the first part more so than the second, admittedly - and that's in large part due to Bill Skarsgård's tenaciously terrifying performance as murderous clown Pennywise.
But in order to add a further layer of dread to Pennywise's interactions with his young victims, the members of the Losers Club, Muschietti insisted that Skarsgård be kept at arm's length from his teenage co-stars any time they weren't shooting.
The young actors portraying the Losers didn't meet Skarsgård at all before shooting started, weren't shown what his Pennywise would look like until filming began, and were kept entirely separate from him between takes.
Furthermore, Skarsgård remained largely in-character whenever he was around the actors to further keep them on edge.
Considering how persuasively terrified the Losers are throughout the movie, it was clearly worth placing that barrier between him and everybody else.
We can feel the Losers' fear on-screen, and so it transpires through to us.