It has already been a great year for horror movies, but arguably the biggest scary flick of the bunch is right around the corner. Andy Muschietti's hard-R adaptation of IT will debut in theaters next weekend, and Bill Skarsgard's version of Pennywise the Clown looks like one of the scariest monsters that we have ever seen in any horror property. In fact, 14-year-old actor Finn Wolfhard just made an appearance on Good Morning America and admitted that he thinks Pennywise is even scarier than Stranger Things' fan-favorite Demogorgon monster (which he also recently fought), saying:
The Demogorgon you could kill, for real, but Pennywise can shapeshift into anything and is kind of immortal in a sense. I think that's why he's scary because he's more of a being.
I wonder what The Duffer Brothers will have to say about that. Finn Wolfhard's comments on Good Morning America (via ABC News) make sense when we look at the powers and vulnerabilities of each monster. Yes, the Demogorgon is strong, agile, and incredibly ruthless, but we have seen first-hand that people can kill it. All you need to put one down is a telepathic little girl named Eleven. The monster comes from a world of science (however outlandish that science may be), which means its core limitations are grounded in the realm of plausibility.
By contrast, Pennywise arguably represents a far more eternal and elemental manifestation of evil. As a supernatural and demonic entity, there aren't any clear limitations on what he can and cannot do, which means a direct fight against him is likely a futile endeavor. In a certain sense, it is not about beating Pennywise; it is just about staying alive when he comes for you.
We can also see the difference in the way each of these horror universes frames their monsters. In the world of IT, Pennywise is almost certainly the pinnacle of evil. On the other hand, Stranger Things is already moving beyond the Demogorgon to introduce an even bigger and worse evil creature that will carry over into multiple seasons of the hit Netflix show. Pennywise is the greatest problem for The Losers Club in IT, but in the world of Stranger Things, the Demogorgon is a symptom of a much larger issue. That said, I still wouldn't want to see any of these creatures while walking down a darkened alley.
We will see just how deadly Pennywise the Clown truly is when IT hits theaters on September 8. Beyond that, you can catch Finn Wolfhard on Season 2 of Stranger Things when the hit Netflix series returns on October 27.
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