There is obviously a practical, real-world answer to this question: one that doesn’t involve King lore or what It really is. Stephen King has always been an insatiably popular author, and It remains one of his most iconic, best-loved novels within his expansive repertoire. The movie has actually been in the works for a while, the specifics of which only came together in time to be released in this particular year.
There was that bizarrely unsettling business with killer clowns amidst last year’s election cycle, something which went on to inspire the story for the latest season of American Horror Story. And, most obviously, last year’s Stranger Things — which borrowed heavily from King’s novel — proved to be extremely popular, proving that there was a paying market specifically looking for what this movie could provide them with.
There is a different reason that could be attributed to this sudden resurgence of Pennywise in the popular landscape: one that is far darker and far weirder than mere coincidence can account for. It actually ties directly into Pennywise’s — into It’s — gruesome backstory, which itself is a major plot point of both the movie and the book it’s based on.
As a monster, It is a generational threat. Like locusts, he benignly rests beneath Derry, Maine for the vast majority of time, emerging only occasionally to feast on the flesh (and fears) of the town’s children: once every twenty-seen years, to be exact.
You see, the novel isn’t just about these kids banding together to kill some Lovecraftian jester in 1957. That’s only half the story. The other half of the thousand page novel is when that evil returns twenty-seven years later, in 1984. Those same kids who killed in are now adults, stalked by the same evil that haunted them in their youth, and are forced to do battle with it once again.
The last time that we saw It adapted for the screen was the 1990 mini-series starring Tim Curry. And although it is a genuinely terrible production — with Curry’s iconic performance being its only saving grace — it did leave an impact on a generation of young horror fans who caught it on TV after their parents went to bed for the night.
Do the math. The last time that Pennywise came out in the “real world” was — you guessed it — twenty-seven years ago. While I doubt that it was done on purpose, it’s one hell of a coincidence.
I’d actually be happy if more studios took this approach when remaking films for a quick cash-grab. If the next time some cash-strapped studio decides to take a stab at this movie is in 2044, I’d be a happy man. Besides, this version has nightmares enough to last me until then.
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