This October, HBO and director Andy Muschietti are taking fans back to Derry, Maine, the fictional town from the mind of horror master Stephen King that’s home to unspeakable evil. Known by many names (Pennywise the Dancing Clown, It, the evil clown in the sewer), the central dark presence in Derry is an evil alien hungry for the souls of the town’s children.
The new show is a prequel, taking audiences into the history and lore of the town's unspoken darkness. Before fans head back to fight the dead lights in the new series, here are all the best relevant movies (and a miniseries) in King’s It universe to rewatch to get ready.
It miniseries (1990)
King’s 1,138 page novel follows seven kids (known as the Losers Club) in the small town of 1950s Derry who encounter an evil presence in their town. After protagonist Bill’s brother Georgie falls victim to the monster, the kids decide to investigate the dark history to fight back and reclaim their neighborhood. Full of amazing characters, vivid imagery, and horrifying descriptions you can’t get out of your head, It is an epic story of friendship conquering all.
For many fans of the 1986 novel, the first adaptation of the story is the most iconic. Growing up, we watched Tim Curry as Pennywise and were haunted by the incredible performance. Curry is scary, funny, and unsettling all at once, the perfect choice for Pennywise's monstrous clown.
While it’s longer than the single films and told over two episodes (coming in at 192 minutes total) the miniseries sticks reliably to its source material and offers a straight interpretation of the novel. It’s corny at times, but the low budget made-for-TV element makes it all the more endearing and effective.
The newer films offer advanced CGI to build their scares, but the original adaptation uses practical effects to get the job done. Horror or not, the heart of the novel is the friendship between the losers club and their loyalty to each other, and the original version does both the scares and the characters justice.
It films (2017, 2019)
The Andy Muschietti-helmed flicks are the most recent of the It films, and they introduced the novel and its horror to an entirely new generation of fans. The setting is updated from the novel, featuring flashbacks to the 1980s instead of the 1950s. While the general structure of the story remains the same, the films also update the scares from the original story and create newer, different fears.
The second film also creates a queer identity for Richie (Bill Hader) which was never explicitly stated in the novel, but heightens the overall story. King commented his approval of the change and worked closely with the production. Chapter Two even features a cameo from King himself, as the shop owner who sells adult Bill Denbrough his old bike, “Silver,” back.
Both the child and adult casts of the films are fitting in their roles, from the dazzling banter of Finn Wolfhard and Jack Dylan Grazer's young Richie and Eddie to Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy's initial tension as the adult Beverly and Bill. The groups feel like authentic friends and the stellar performances help hammer home the major theme of the story, that friendship conquers all, even evil.
Welcome to Derry is led by the same creative team as Muschietti's films, so fans can expect a similar level of creepy craft from the show they saw here.
Pet Sematary films (1989, 2019)
Pet Sematary is one of the darkest novels King has ever written, holding the fitting tagline: sometimes dead is better. The story was inspired by his daughter’s own pet cat that was hit by a car and killed on a busy Maine road. What followed is some of the darkest chapters in mainstream horror literature.
King himself has said that the novel went too far and that it's the single piece of his own work that scared him the most. Disturbing or not, the novel and its themes of grief, family, and fate struck a chord with readers and has been adapted twice since its release in 1983. It also features mentions of Derry.
The first adaptation, directed by Mary Lambert and filmed on location in Maine, was released in 1989. It sticks closely to the novel’s plot and features harrowing visuals (Andrew Hubatsek as Zelda anyone?), a moody atmosphere, and an iconic performance from Fred Gwynne (“that ROAD”). It also gave us the killer Ramones song inspired by the story.
The novel was adapted again in 2019, this time directed by Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kölsch. The directors took another approach, this time swapping familiar details of the plot for different surprise scares. While the movie keeps some elements of the source material, it flips the script on which child becomes the victim of the accident, this time opting for the older child Ellie instead of toddler Gage. The twist was unexpected, but some fans were put off by the major plot change.
Whichever you prefer, the Pet Sematary films are a worthy rewatch ahead of the new series.