The 1990 TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's IT amassed a cult following but, unfortunately, the four-hour feature's laughable special effects and disorienting cutaway-style editing haven't aged well. Tim Curry's original performance as the town-terrorizing clown Pennywise still set a high bar for anyone to follow in the role, though—his signature cackle remains a chilling childhood memory for many—so when director Andrés Muschietti revealed his new version of the character (now played by Bill Skarsgård) in a costume that could've easily been borrowed from a schoolgirl's dress-up chest, it's only natural that he faced a little blowback.

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There's still reason to believe this thing will be a hit with the King faithful, though. There's a bevy of talent on board, including Skarsgård and Finn Wolfhard (of the breakthrough young cast from Stranger Things), and there were plenty of scenes from the book that were glossed over in the first adaptation. IT is just one of two chapters in the story of an ageless monster who picks the wrong group of kids to mess with; part two is expected to pick up their story as adults, when they reunite to grapple with it again.

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