The IT 1990 Miniseries Gave Her a Tim Curry Phobia: Childhood Trauma with Graeae Horror

The IT 1990 miniseries is the reason Janine of Graeae Horror spent more than a decade unable to look at Tim Curry. She snuck downstairs at six, caught Pennywise taking Georgie through the banister, and the nightmares followed her home from school for years. Childhood Trauma is back, and this might be the most traumatic entry in the series so far (that is saying something). Janine joins Arthur and Meaghan to revisit the 1990 ABC adaptation of Stephen King's IT, directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, and to explain how one TV movie turned into a real phobia, a mid-screening exit from Burke & Hare and, eventually, a Pennywise tattoo. We go through the Losers Club casting, from Jonathan Brandis and Emily Perkins to John Ritter, Seth Green, Annette O'Toole and Tim Reid, and we have strong feelings about Bill Denbrough's ponytail (it is not okay). How the IT 1990 Miniseries Created a Real Tim Curry Phobia Janine was six when she snuck downstairs during the miniseries premiere and caught Pennywise taking Georgie; recurring nightmares of Pennywise waiting outside the local sweet shop lasted for years. The fear spread to everything Tim Curry touched: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Legend, Muppet Treasure Island, and a mid-screening exit from Burke & Hare. A forced VHS rewatch in her late teens, IT (2017) in a theatre with a dozen friends, and a Pennywise tattoo later, she is fine. Mostly. Casting the Losers Club: IT 1990 Kids vs Adults Jonathan Brandis carries young Bill Denbrough's grief; Richard Thomas's ponytail does not survive the rewatch. Emily Perkins (Ginger Snaps) and Annette O'Toole (Smallville) give Beverly Marsh the most emotional weight, and the miniseries gives Bev's marriage far more time than IT Chapter Two does. John Ritter is a better Ben Hanscom than we remembered, Seth Green has had the same face since 1990, and Adam Faraizl plays Eddie Kaspbrak as the kid everyone wants to protect. Mike Hanlon (Tim Reid, Marlon Taylor) and Stan Uris (Richard Masur, Ben Heller) still get overlooked, in every version. IT Miniseries vs IT 2017 and IT Chapter Two The miniseries jumps between timelines like the book; Andy Muschietti's films split kids and adults, which made the story easier for a new generation to get into. Kicking the spider to death vs. bullying Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise into nothing: two endings, both a little funny. Mike Hanlon's lore is the backbone of IT: Welcome to Derry, and the Black Spot fire makes a lot more sense with that in mind. What the Miniseries Cut from Stephen King's IT No Ritual of Chüd, no turtle, and very little cosmic mythology (think Terry Pratchett's Discworld, but horror). The spider loses its eggs, and graphic content gets trimmed for ABC network standards. A 30-year time jump instead of the 27-year cycle, plus a ponytail moment that might be a quiet nod to the book scene nobody wants adapted. Practical Effects and Tim Curry's Pennywise The skeletal hand grabbing Ben in the Barrens, the I Was a Teenage Werewolf transformation, and the exploding library balloons still look great. Tim Curry's accent slipping when the mask drops is one of the scariest choices in the whole adaptation. Henry Bowers and the Cycle of Violence Pennywise shows up every few decades; Henry Bowers is there every day after school. An abusive father, zero outlets, and a monster happy to use him as its Renfield. Check out : Graeae Horror Check out her horror movie festival: Shared Sight Film Festival Follow us & Subscribe: Spotify Apple Podcast TikTok Instagram Threads Grave Tone Horror Podcast Website Background music by: Steve Swisher from the Producer's Chair Podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.