6 movies you should watch if you’re now obsessed with “It”
No matter how many times we see promos for the recently released adaptation of Stephen King’s It, the sight of the infamous demon clown holding a red balloon never stops scaring the entire crap out of us. Honestly, it doesn’t take a full-blown coulrophobe to be absolutely terrified of Pennywise.
But seeing as how the new It recently broke box office records, clearly quite a few people are obsessed with the film, which revisits the plot of King’s 1968 novel about a group of friends going head-to-head with a demon clown.
If you’re a fan of the film, you’re not only capable of staring the face-painted, red-haired character square in the terrifying face (you are much braver than we will ever be), but you’re probably itching for even more horror films that will make you jump out of your skin.
As you get into Halloween prep mode by sitting through as many scary films as your heart can take, here are seven movies you should watch if you’re now obsessed with It.
1Children of the Corn (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs6z1D4gVp4?feature=oembed
Watch one Stephen King film adaptation, and you’ll definitely want to watch another. The 1984 film follows a young couple in a small town who encounter a cult full of evil-ass kids who are dead set on murdering everyone over age 18. Calling all the delightfully twisted folks who gave a Facebook like to this kid’s It-themed child photo shoot: This film is definitely for you.
2Stitches (2012)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_auEe1yU3M?feature=oembed
This 2012 film follows a classic horror movie plot in which the main character comes back from the dead to avenge his own murder. If you enjoyed It, you’ll surely get a thrill out of seeing the clown from Stitches emerge from the grave to relentlessly torture his killers.
3Cloverfield (2008)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayEz6TznFko?feature=oembed
If you’ve seen It, you know the iconic image of Pennywise peeking out of a sewer. *shudders* Since you’re obviously into creepy underground scenes, get your scary subterranean fix from Cloverfield, a J.J. Abrams-produced flick about a monster that attacks New York City and a group of people who, at one point, take to the sewer to escape the creature.
4Red Balloon (2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV2PbCE1c7M?feature=oembed
This award-winning short thriller may only run 13 minutes, but it still packs a pretty terrifying punch. Red Balloon tells the tale of a young babysitter who encounters a home intruder while on the job. The balloon makes several appearances as the film’s effectively eerie co-star.
5It Follows (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkZYbOH0ujw?feature=oembed
Because you’re clearly into shapeshifters, this supernatural thriller belongs on your must-see list. As described by ScreenRant, It Follows is a “bone-chilling” tale about a girl who is haunted by a shapeshifting entity that can only be seen by her and the guy who “passed” it to her during a sexual encounter.
6The original It film (1990).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5JO8wtNnzQ?feature=oembed
Listen, everyone knows you can’t call yourself an expert on all things It if you have yet to see the original film adaptation, yet another awesome thing brought to us by the ’90s. The first visual production of King’s classic horror novel came in the form a two-part miniseries that aired on ABC almost 30 years ago.
Anyway, check out this film sooner rather than later because there are critical comparisons to be made, like deciding who pulled off the best Pennywise portrayal (Tim Curry or Bill Skarsgård) or which version brought you closer to literally peeing your pants in horror. Meanwhile, we’ll be over here avoiding anything related to clowns and red balloons and praying that they don’t show up in our dreams.
