Many people were scared of clowns long before the anticipation for Andy Muschietti's IT started to ramp up, but the film has also taken our fear of helium-filled rubber to an entirely new level. The sight of a single, floating, red balloon has become one of the most haunting horror movie images of 2017, and it's almost guaranteed to scare the daylights out of us when the film hits theaters this weekend. Recently, red balloons have also started popping up in a Lititz, Pennsylvania, and the local police force decided to have some fun with it. Check out the department's post below.
It looks like the horror from IT isn't limited to Derry, Maine, as some pranksters in Lititz, Pennsylvania decided to go around tying red balloons to sewer grates -- which, you have to admit, is pretty impressive and creative. The whole thing seems lighthearted enough, and nobody has gotten hurt, so the local cops just decided to go with it and play along with the idea that Pennywise has strolled into town. Now let's just hope that those creepy clown sightings don't increase like they did last year.
As you may have already noticed, the initial social media post from the Lititz Borough Police Department caught national attention, and the local cops decided to continue their Super Troopers-level shenanigans by keeping the joke going with another IT-inspired post. Got a clown-themed case you can't solve? Bring in the clown-themed CID! Check it out below.
This is far from the first time that a local police force has used a major pop culture moment to have some fun. Civil servants all over the country have developed a fantastic habit of adding to film and television memes in their downtime, which has resulted in parodies of everything from Star Wars to DC heroes like Batman. IT is only the latest movies to get a cop parody, and it's definitely one of the creepiest.
The reaction to this joke generally seems positive, and there's clearly widespread excitement (and a little bit of terror) for IT to finally debut in theaters. The Stephen King adaptation has thus far utilized a pretty unique marketing campaign (complete with great trailers and even an 8-bit online video game), and early critical reactions to IT have been welcoming thus far. In fact, CinemaBlend's own Eric Eisenberg recently got a chance to check the movie out for himself, so make sure to take a look at his review and get his take on what works in Andy Muschietti's latest horror outing!
IT debuts in theaters this weekend on September 8. Make sure to check it out, and remember, we all float down here.
