It

I know It (1990) is really loved, especially by people who grew up with it, and I get why. It was a big deal for its time, and a lot of effort clearly went into it. That said, I still think a lot of the praise it gets now is heavily influenced by nostalgia, especially when it comes to Tim Curry’s Pennywise. Tim Curry is an amazing actor, and his performance is iconic for a reason. I understand the argument that his Pennywise is supposed to look like a normal guy in a clown suit so he can seem friendly and lure kids in. That idea makes sense in theory. I just don’t think it works as well in execution, at least not for me. Pennywise isn’t human. He’s a cosmic being that feeds on fear, and I personally think he should feel more unnatural and disturbing than Curry’s version does. His Pennywise comes across as strange and theatrical, but not truly terrifying. A lot of people criticize Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise by saying he relies too much on makeup and CGI, but I don’t agree with that. Even without the visual effects, his performance feels deeply unsettling. This doesn’t mean Tim Curry’s Pennywise is bad. It just means the two versions are doing very different things. I also think people say you “can’t compare them” because they’re from different times, but then still compare them by claiming one is scarier than the other. If we’re already comparing them, then it’s fair to talk about which interpretation works better and why. Overall, I think It (1990) deserves respect for what it accomplished when it came out. But when comparing it to the newer adaptations, I personally find the modern films more unsettling, creative, and effective at portraying Pennywise as something truly inhuman. Liking the original doesn’t make it untouchable, and preferring the newer version doesn’t mean dismissing the work that came before it.