10 Moments In Horror Where Actors Weren't Acting
7. The Child Actors - IT
The projector scene in 2017's IT is one of the memorable moments in this Stephen King adaptation (which is saying a lot since the film has about 20 spine-tingling sequences).
In the scene in question, the Losers' Club are in a garage, piecing together clues about Pennywise (played impeccably by Bill Skarsgard). The kids use a slide projector to look at maps and family photos, hoping to learn more about the extra-dimensional being.
Suddenly, the projector begins flipping through images on its own, even after the children try to stop it. The slides zoom in on a photo of a woman, whose face slowly morphs into the child-eating clown.
Though Pennywise has appeared multiple times at this point, this sequence elicits leaves an impact, since many of The Losers' Club members hadn't seen the malevolent jester until this point.
More importantly, the actors portraying The Losers' Club never met Bill Skarsgard before, so this was the first time they had seen Pennywise. Producer, Barbara Muschietti, explained that keeping Pennywise's design under wraps was pivotal to ensure the children reacted authentically when they saw him for the first time.
Though Pennywise looks creepy as hell here, it's the natural reaction from the kids that sells this sequence.