By Owen Quinn author, photos copyright Lorimar
While I absolutely love the Bill Skarsgard version of Pennywise, none of it could have happened without being set a very high bar by the great, late Tim Curry.
While the modern Pennywise benefits from CGI effects, when Tim Curry never had those available to him. His effects were all practical and not a computer in sight. While Skarsgard’s version is very much performance driven, it is something that Tim had to face when he debuted the killer clown in the 80s.
Clowns have never bothered me one way or the other but Pennywise has risen to become the most terrifying monster in cinema and television with the run of the recent |Welcome to Derry.
Curry is like a tight rope walker. he balances perfectly between the loveable clown and the monster. He uses deceit and hallucination to scare people, to throw them off balance so he can strike. A great example of this is when Pennywise appears in the shower room while young Eddie.
The horror of grown man entering a shower while a child is naked has paedophilic overtones but it is the way Curry plays it that makes it even more chilling. he calls to |Eddie from the drain, one white gloved hand pushing up and then another to open the drain. It is clearly stop motion but it allows Pennywise to pop up. He casually attacks Eddie by calling him girlie boy and wheezy. He taunts him, promising he will like it down where Pennywise wants to take him. He warns him running will do no good and to come back anytime and bring his friends. If you look, t=you will see Pennywise’s eyes are not normal. They have a jaundice tinge to them that give him a sickly look. In a human, eye discolouration usually indicates a medical condition or something is wrong.
Curry maintains a chirpy, happy clown funny man stance until he tells Eddie to bring his friends. With a deft bow of his head, Curry brings the head back up to reveal a mouth full of savage teeth, roaring then descending into laughter.
This is a perfect example of how Curry used simple tricks to make him scary alongside practical special effects. When he takes control of the shower heads that snake out to attack Eddie, they are jerky but serpentine in intent.
Similarly, in the scene of grown up Ben Hanscom where he comforts what he thinks is his long time crush, Beverly Marshall. They embrace but as Ben looks in the mirror, he sees Pennywise’s long yellow clown trousers. jerking back, Pennywise is there and laughs, “Kiss me, fat boy!”
As a master of shape changing and deceit, Pennywise gets into people’s heads in order to kill them. A little torture is good for the soul they say and when he eats them, it’s always nice to taste some adrenalin or cortisol.
Curry latches on to all of these character traits and throws them at us full blast.
The first scene we see him is the one with Georgie. As this is the first glance at the main villain, it was important that Curry made the audience sit up and scream. If the initial scene with the onscreen murder of a child shocks, then it lets the audience know that nothing is safe in this story. Indeed, Welcome to Derry ran with this to great effect.
Georgi’s paper boat has been swept into the sewers. Georgi can’t get it but meets helpful clown, Pennywise.
Pennywise’s face, unlike the remake, is in full light so Georgie can see the clown. Curry did a lot of eye movement to highlight Pennywise’s reflections.
“Come on, Bucko., Don’t you want a balloon?” taunts Pennywise, keeping the boy’s attention with threats. When Georgie says he shouldn’t take stuff from strangers to strangers because his dad said so, Pennywise seems offended, introducing himself as Pennywise the dancing clown and he is Georgie, so they know each other. his facial expressions and eye movements are critical here like he’s shy and stunned Georgie has to go. he then lures the boy with his lost paper boat, promising more balloons of all colours and sizes, cotton candy and all sort s of other prizes down where Pennywise is.
You can see the subtle change as the predator is on the edge of losing his prey. You can see his expression become hard as he tells Georgie about the balloons. When Georgie asks do they float, the face hardens like a snake about to strike, saying, “Oh yes, when you’re down here with me, you’ll float too!”
The mask falls with the words “You’ll float too!” he shouts it as he rips the boy’s arm off.
You’re not sure if the rage of pennywise is at himself for almost letting Georgie slip away or because his own primal urges have gotten him riled so close to food but whatever it is, the change from likeable, friendly clown to minster is subtle, making the final attack that much more powerful.
It is beautifully lit as you only really get Pennywise’s face in bright view because it is his expression and tone of voice that draws children in. It is their love of clowns, balloons, cotton candy and surprises that are easy weapons against children.
But even when the Loser’s Club grown up versions return to the town 27 years later, Pennywise still knows their inner weaknesses to taunt them. He drives Ritchie mad with exploding balloons of blood and beep, beep has never seemed so scary.
It is no wonder that Curry made an instant classic with Pennywise when it first aired. And there was a lot of trepidation when it was announced there was to be a remake with a brand new Pennywise. What both Curry and Skarsgard have shown us is that a character such as Pennywise is only successful thanks to the man behind it. The performance is all and Curry, whether it be as Legend, Pennywise, Congo or Scary Movie 2 is the best one to look to amplifying the fear factor of the material through voice, gesture and inflections.
When you think of Pennywise, you will always see Tim Curry.
Hope this helps.