Anyone afraid of clowns out there in The Boneyard?…

Lets take a trip down memory lane. When I was a kid in the ’90s, nothing made me want to hide under the covers faster than hearing the words “They all float down here!” Oh yes, Tommy Lee Wallace’s 1990 IT miniseries had me looking twice at every storm drain and refusing to trust clowns everywhere. At the time, IT was the ultimate nightmare fuel for every kid who dared to sneak a peek at it. But here I am, all grown up, re-watching IT and wondering—does it still send shivers down my spine, or is it just a floaty walk down memory lane?

First, watching as a grown up you really realise that Tim Curry as Pennywise owned that role. His performance is flawless, and its his talent that created such a truly evil character that has haunted our dreams for decades. Watching it as a child, I was convinced Pennywise could jump through the screen at any moment and drag me into the sewers kicking and screaming. And re-watching in 2024, Curry’s acting is still an absolute masterclass in making childhood fears come back to life. Compared to the later version of the film from 2017 Curry’s performance is more nuanced and doesn’t rely as much on cinematic tricks and pulling scary faces, its all about the underlying malevolence that he projects and the sparkle in his eyes that makes you realise, that Pennywise relishes making these children fear so that his food will taste better.

Even now its still really spooky to watch and for my money is a far superior performance than the later version as its all about the character and Curry never relies on the special effects or jump scares to terrify us. And as for the rest of the series watching in 2024 the special effects are dated but this was the era of practical effects and that just adds to the charm of the movie to me.

There is a scene where Ben Hanscom see’s his dead father slowly turn into Pennywise and that really is the stuff of childhood nightmares and was done with simple editing and performance and still delivers an eerie atmosphere that left me in terror even as an adult. Pennywise’s transformation into a giant spider in the finale may have looked a little like a Halloween decoration gone wrong, but hey, as a kid, that was high-octane horror! Watching it now, though, I have to laugh. I think I was more scared of accidentally stepping on a Lego than that rubbery spider.

The cast of The Losers’ Club are still lovable misfits who made me wish I had a gang of friends like that growing up, minus the killer clown of course. Beverly Marsh had guts, the rest all had courage and who doesn’t love Seth Green’s Richie with all his one-liners? The dynamic between the kids is the heart of the show, and it still holds up today, even if they occasionally seem like they’re stuck in a Hallmark family special.

So, does IT still scare us today? Well, it’s a different kind of scare. As a kid, I was petrified of Pennywise coming to get me. As an adult, my biggest fear is having to pay for home repairs if a clown somehow bursts out of my bathroom pipes. But IT still works for me, maybe not as pure nightmare fuel, but as a creepy, nostalgic journey into what used to freak me out as a kid. IT may not make me sleep with the lights on anymore, but it’s still a fun, spooky trip down memory lane.

And let’s be honest, no matter how many years go by, I’ll still never look at clowns the same way. IT floats. And watching again so will your inner child right into those delightful, terrifying dead lights and sewers of nostalgia.