10 Most Twisted Characters In Modern Horror Movies

3. Pennywise - It

Pennywise facegrab It 2017
Warner Bros. Pictures

Tim Curry made for a great Pennywise back in the 1990 It miniseries, but Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise the Dancing Clown took terror to an entirely new level when compared to his predecessor.

The headline act of Andy Muschietti's pair of It movies, Skarsgård freaked people out in a way rarely seen in modern horror. His body movements were twisted, the real-life 'party trick' he could do with his eyeball brought an eerie authenticity, and the frantic, frenetic mood changes of this Pennywise was a total different proposition to the more cute 'n' cuddly Pennywise seen in '90.

That's not to say Tim Curry's Pennywise wasn't great, for it worked fine for that time. It's more the Curry version of the character looked more like your traditional friendly carnival clown. That in itself can bring a sense of sinister to the table, yet the Pennywise of Muschietti's 2017 and 2019 films felt like an entirely different beast.

Where the It miniseries was made for TV, the restrictions that brings were not in place for Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise. For horror fans, that meant for Muschietti's pictures were able to be more faithful to Stephen King's source material - which led to a Pennywise who haunted the nightmares of all who saw him torment the Losers Club on the big screen.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.