Double Bill #19: It Chapter One and It Chapter Two

Posted on 28 augustus 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

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.

Dungeon Classics #47: IT

Posted on 22 augustus 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

IT (1990, USA)

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Cast: Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O’Toole, Tim Curry
Running Time: 192 mins.

Before the cinematic It movies from 2017 and 2019, there was this beloved TV mini-series adapted from Stephen King’s horror masterpiece ‘It’. IT revolves around an evil entity living in the sewers of Derry, Maine, which feeds on the fears of people – children especially – and usually appears as the terrifying clown Pennywise. The structure of this TV production is very well done. The story is told as the adult members of the Losers Club are called back to Derry by their old friend Mike Hanlon when Pennywise returns after 30 years (“It’s back!”) and begins killing children again. They have all forgotten their horrific childhood encounters with Pennywise and must relive them before returning to Derry to finish him off for good. It’s a very intelligent metaphor for traumatic childhood experiences and how the past – and its many fears – remains very much alive in adults. The youth cast is very impressive, drawing you in and making their experiences believable. Tim Curry is absolutely great as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Bill Skarsgård definitely had huge clown shoes to fill when he took on the role in the reboot. The effects are dated nowadays, but IT still retains that eerie atmosphere that makes it so effective as a horror experience. The only flaw is that ending with the fake spider doesn’t cut it anymore (it never really did). Still, there are some genuine scares, and it still has some of that Losers Club magic going for it.

Jeppy’s Top 100 Favorite Films of All Time (Update 2026)

Posted on 14 augustus 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

100. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998, Guy Ritchie)
99. The Social Network (2010, David Fincher)
98. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998, Terry Gilliam)
97. Starship Troopers (1997, Paul Verhoeven)
96. Heavenly Creatures (1994, Peter Jackson)
95. Hannah and her Sisters (1986, Woody Allen)
94. Harakiri (1962, Masaki Kobayashi)
93. Boogie Nights (1997, Paul Thomas Anderson)
92. Oppenheimer (2023, Christopher Nolan)
91. The Celebration (1998, Thomas Vinterberg)
90. Happiness (1998, Todd Solondz)
89. For a Few Dollars More (1965, Sergio Leone)
88. The Wild Bunch (1969, Sam Peckinpah)
87. Predator (1987, John McTiernan)
86. Scream (1996, Wes Craven)
85. Carlito’s Way (1993, Brian De Palma)
84. City of God (2002, Fernando Meirelles)
83. White Heat (1949, Raoul Walsh)
82. The Wolf of Wall Street (2014, Martin Scorsese)
81. Excalibur (1981, John Boorman)
80. Margin Call (2011, J.C. Chandor)
79. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003, Ki-duk Kim)
78. Interstellar (2014, Christopher Nolan)
77. Bicycle Thieves (1948, Vittorio De Sica)
76. Requiem for a Dream (2000, Darren Aronofsky)
75. The Green Mile (1999, Frank Darabont)
74. No Country for Old Men (2007, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen)
73. Rififi (1955, Jules Dassin)
72. Once Upon a Time in America (1984, Sergio Leone)
71. Sideways (2004, Alexander Payne)
70. Titanic (1997, James Cameron)
69. Life is Beautiful (1997, Roberto Benigni)
68. Black Swan (2010, Darren Aronofsky)
67. Full Metal Jacket (1987, Stanley Kubrick)
66. Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Roman Polanski)
65. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, Milos Forman)
64. The Untouchables (1987, Brian De Palma)
63. Melancholia (2011, Lars von Trier)
62. Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013, Abdellatif Kechiche)
61. Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)
60. Ed Wood (1994, Tim Burton)
59. Apocalypto (2006, Mel Gibson)
58. Dazed and Confused (1993, Richard Linklater)
57. The Truman Show (1998, Peter Weir)
56. A Fistful of Dollars (1964, Sergio Leone)
55. The Elephant Man (1980, David Lynch)
54. L.A. Confidential (1997, Curtis Hanson)
53. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, James Cameron)
52. Gladiator (2000, Ridley Scott)
51. Scarface (1983, Brian de Palma)
50. Before Sunrise (1995, Richard Linklater)
49. Total Recall (1990, Paul Verhoeven)
48. Sunset Blvd. (1950, Billy Wilder)
47. Forrest Gump (1994, Robert Zemeckis)
46. Fight Club (1999, David Fincher)
45. Saving Private Ryan (1998, Steven Spielberg)
44. Stand by Me (1986, Rob Reiner)
43. 12 Angry Men (1957, Sidney Lumet)
42. Heat (1995, Michael Mann)
41. Miller’s Crossing (1990, Joel Coen)
40. Taxi Driver (1976, Martin Scorsese)
39. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004, Quentin Tarantino)
38. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003, Quentin Tarantino)
37. Mulholland Dr. (2001, David Lynch)
36. Evil Dead II (1987, Sam Raimi)
35. The Big Lebowski (1998, Joel Coen)
34. Groundhog Day (1993, Harold Ramis)
33. Braveheart (1995, Mel Gibson)
32. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966, Sergio Leone)
31. Raging Bull (1980, Martin Scorsese)
30. Die Hard (1988, John McTiernan)
29. Robocop (1987, Paul Verhoeven)
28. Dead Ringers (1988, David Cronenberg)
27. Casino (1995, Martin Scorsese)
26. Trainspotting (1996, Danny Boyle)
25. Psycho (1960, Alfred Hitchcock)
24. Rear Window (1954, Alfred Hitchcock)
23. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, Steven Spielberg)
22. Back to the Future (1985, Robert Zemeckis)
21. Dawn of the Dead (1978, George A. Romero)
20. The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Frank Darabont)
19. The Matrix (1999, Andy & Larry Wachowski)
18. Fargo (1996, Joel Coen)
17. The Seven Samurai (1954, Akira Kurosawa)
16. Schindler’s List (1993, Steven Spielberg)
15. Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino)
14. Apocalypse Now (1979, Francis Ford Coppola)
13. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983, Richard Marquand)
12. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Irvin Kershner)
11. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977, George Lucas)
10. The Godfather: Part II (1974, Francis Ford Coppola)
09. The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Jonathan Demme)
08. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick)
07. A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick)
06. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003, Peter Jackson)
05. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002, Peter Jackson)
04. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001, Peter Jackson)
03. The Godfather (1972, Francis Ford Coppola)
02. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, Sergio Leone)
01. GoodFellas (1990, Martin Scorsese)

Dungeon Classics #46: Bound

Posted on 30 juni 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Bound (1996, USA)

Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Cast: Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano
Running Time: 109 mins.

Extremely tense and entertaining crime movie by the brothers (now sisters) who brought us The Matrix three years later. The movie kind of plays like a male fantasy. Two pretty girls called Violet and Corky meet on the elevator of an apartment building and make eye contact. Violet lives there with her Mafia boyfriend Caesar and Corky has just been released from jail and works in the building as a handygirl. Soon after, Violet starts seducing Corky. After some hot and steamy sex, they cook up the plan to steal two million dollars from Caesar. This is the start of a tense and bloody rollercoaster ride. Bound is kind of like the Wachowski’s Reservoir Dogs. It is their debut and mostly plays at one location – an apartment building – and is all the more exciting for it. After the set-up in the first half, the second half is a true edge-of-your-seat thriller. With lots of great twists and turns. It is not hard to spot the camerawork and visual touches that the Wachowski’s would later employ for the Matrix-films. The cast, consisting mostly of the central three leads, all portray believable and interesting characters. Pantoliano is hilarious in his mobster role (almost exactly his role in The Sopranos from years later) and Tilly and Gershon have some real chemistry going. If only the Wachowski’s could make a film like this every year.