2017 and 2019 brought a fresh interpretation of Stephen King’s horror masterpiece ‘It’ (1986) – one of the scariest concepts ever conceived – with Bill Skarsgård starring as the demonic entity It, aka Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The first film follows the Losers Club, seven kids from Derry terrorized by It, an entity dwelling in the sewers that feeds on fear. The second, a three-hour monsterpiece, sees them return as adults to face Pennywise again. The timeline shifts from the book’s 1950s and 1980s to the 1980s and modern day. The script invents many new terrifying encounters with the clown, and the excellent special effects mark a major upgrade from the 1990 TV movie. Add to that Skarsgård’s fantastic performance – he truly makes the role his own – and strong turns from many of the child and adult cast (including James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader), and you have one of the scariest film series of recent times. It’s the ultimate story about fear: how it takes hold, and how breaking free can seem impossible. It also tells a great psychological story of how we get trapped in childhood roles – Eddie married his mother, Richie wants to steal the show, Bev has an abusive boyfriend like her father, and so on. The film pays great homage to the 1990 miniseries, with Richie getting trapped in a room full of clown dolls, including the original Pennywise portrayed by Tim Curry. Stephen King even makes a cameo in Part 2. A must-see for horror fans: your heart will definitely be beating a lot faster during much of its runtime.