10 Horror Movies With Spine-Chilling Opening Sequences
7. It: Chapter One
Remakes are a tricky business when making horror. In a genre that lends itself so vitally to the concept of shock, trying to make something which by definition has been seen before is either incredibly brave or woefully misguided. Such was the challenge faced by the makers of It: Chapter One; an adaptation of Stephen King's book, which itself had already been adapted in a 1990 miniseries starring Tim Curry.
On a rainy afternoon in 1988, 12-year-old Bill crafts a paper boat for his six-year-old brother Georgie, who delights in sailing it through the deluged streets before it falls out of reach down a storm drain. Attempting to retrieve it, Georgie instead finds the jolly Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who tempts him closer with promises of balloons and sweets before biting his arm off and dragging him below.
Even though it follows all the same beats as the '90 miniseries, the tension of the scene is handled perfectly, in no small part thanks to the unsettling visage of Pennywise actor Bill Skarsgard. As soon as the teeth come out and the gore flashes, you know this is an adaptation which more than lives up to what had been seen from Tim Curry's Pennywise.