When it comes to scaring Stephen King, that might be a hard task when you look at all the people he’s scared over his life. Apparently the recent movie adaptation of his novel, IT, did just that.
According to one of the film’s producers and sister of director Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, the disturbing scene featuring Stanley Uris and a creepy painting was the one that did it:
“It’s something that actually, Stephen King, the first email he sent to Andy when he had seen the movie, the one fear he wrote back, he said, ‘I f–king love the woman in the painting, it scared the shit out of me,’ so.”
That isn’t the only thing Stephen King apparently wasn’t prepared for. He revealed last month that he wasn’t prepared for just how good the movie would be:
“I had hopes, but I was not prepared for how good it really was. It’s something that’s different, and at the same time, it’s something that audiences are gonna relate to. They’re gonna like the characters. To me, it’s all about character. If you like the characters… if you care… the scares generally work. I’m sure my fans will enjoy the movie. I think they’re gonna really enjoy the movie. And I think some of them will go back two or three times and actually savor the thing. I went back and saw it a second time, and I felt I was seeing things the second time through that I missed the first time.”
He added:
“Let’s just say I had strong hopes for the movie, because I knew Andy’s work from Mama, and I thought he was a really, really talented director. And I also loved the idea of concentrating on the kids’ half of the story. Skarsgard was great as Pennywise, and he’s got big shoes to fill. Let’s face it. Because people remember Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown, and they remember the look that Pennywise had.”
IT is currently playing in theaters everywhere.