10 Great Horror Movies Over 2 Hours Long
7. IT
Stephen King's novel IT centres around an extra-dimensional entity who preys on children while taking the form of a whimsical clown called Pennywise. The book was an enormous hit and was soon adapted into a two-part mini-series. It's cheesy as hell and has "TV movie" written all over it, but there's no question that this adaptation has a warm place in people's hearts - mainly because of Tim Curry's performance as the demonic jester.
However, Andy Muschietti's adaptation is superior in every way. Bill Skarsgard goes beyond the call of duty to physically and psychologically push his performance as Pennywise as far as possible. Even though the film has fantastic imagery, remarkable CGI and deserving jump scares, it's the performance of the child actors that make it work. If they didn't sell the terror of Pennywise, the whole thing could've fallen apart.
It's definitely not the best Stephen King adaptation, but IT might be the best at encapsulating the otherworldly terror the author's work has become renowned for. The sequel may have failed to maintain the standard but at least its predecessor has earned the right to be regarded as a modern classic.