8 Horror Movie Remakes That Are Better Than The Originals
3. It (2017)
2017’s version of It, while not a direct remake of the 1990 TV movie, bears enough similarities to be considered as such - after all, they’re both about the same thing.
Both films follow the members of the self-titled Losers’ Club and their run-ins with a mysterious creature they dub “It”, who can transform into whatever they fear the most, and usually, that’s Pennywise the clown.
Being a TV miniseries and all, the original didn’t exactly have a huge budget, but instead of trying to use that limited cash smartly, the production went big, and suffered for it. At one point, It transforms into a giant spider, and it looks absolutely ridiculous - they clearly didn't have the money to convincingly pull this off - especially with the Losers’ Club stood around it battering it to death.
Elsewhere, Tim Curry’s Pennywise feels like a clown - a deranged one - you’d hire to attend a kids birthday party, and when you watch his performance today, it’s memorable... but not very scary. Skarsgard’s, on the other hand, feels much more otherworldly and sinister, like a vicious demon who’s trying to act like a human but can’t quite hide those giveaway tics - and that’s good, because that’s exactly what “It” is.
Consequently, the new clown feels much more menacing, and this - when finely balanced with superb child performances (who put the cast of the miniseries to shame) and precise humour - creates one of the strongest studio horror flicks in recent memory.