What to watch if you’re obsessed with Stephen King’s ‘It’
Now that It Chapter Two has come and gone with a whimper, we’re jonesing for some better horror this Gothtober. These are shows and movies featuring similar themes and the evoking primal terror we missed in the sequel.
Mama (2013)
Muschietti’s striking horror stars Chastain in a powerful role and demonstrates the wonderful, eerie, and startling results possible when the two collaborate together. It also features a similar lurking horror as It, in which a supernatural entity has latched itself onto a family.
Zodiac (2007)
Jack Dylan Grazer, who played Eddie Kaspbrak in Chapter One of the movie, once mentioned he wanted Jake Gyllenhaal to play the older version of the character in Chapter Two. The nervous, insecure energy required of the character is evident in one of the actor’s finest performances to date as the obsessive Robert Graysmith in Zodiac. Fincher’s atmospheric serial killer masterpiece also features the same sleepless fixation on evil The Losers’ Club will encounter in Chapter Two.
Castle Rock (2018)
Hulu’s new Stephen King series is something of a no-brainer for It fans to sink their teeth into when it finally premieres at some point this summer. But just in case you do need further goading, the appearance of Bill Skarsgård sans Pennywise makeup in the series should be enough to have you screaming down the doors of Hulu for its imminent release.
Mysterious Skin (2004)
Gregg Araki’s startling teen drama revolves around the sort of harrowing, everyday horrors lying beneath the surface of It. Like King’s classic novel, Mysterious Skin utilizes supernatural metaphor to highlight the damage of suppressed trauma. As an added bonus, the movie also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whom Wyatt Oleff, the young actor who portrayed Stan Uris in Chapter One, said he’d most like to see continue the role in Chapter Two.
Insidious (2010)
The majority of It: Chapter Two dream casting lists since day one have featured Patrick Wilson as a choice pick for one character or another. Personally, we think he’d be perfect as Bill Denbrough, and his role as a family patriarch fighting against an evil threatening to consume his son in Insidious is all the proof you need as to why.
Super 8 (2011)
Following a group of friends as they witness a train crash and investigate the subsequent strange events, this J.J. Abrams coming-of-age supernatural blockbuster has It written all over it – particularly as the movie also features its very own Bev Marsh-type dealing with a drunken dad and staying strong despite her struggles.
Annabelle (2014)
Written by Gary Dauberman, the scribe behind Chapter One and Two of It, Annabelle is a fun little horror movie showing off the writer’s skill for building tense, atmospheric sequences alongside unexpected frivolity.
Are You Afraid of the Dark (1990)
The classic Nickelodeon show might not be the first thing you think of when looking for something It-related to watch, but trust us on this. The show perfectly encapsulates the power of childhood fear, featuring tales with more than a passing resemblance to some of King’s own short stories. Coincidentally, Dauberman is also writing the script for an upcoming movie reboot of the show – worth screaming about in and of itself.
The Skeleton Twins (2014)
On the surface, it might not seem like this indie dramedy has much in common with It. But scratch a little deeper and the movie’s strained bonds, familial disquiet, and breakdown of trauma lend themselves well to King’s story. In this movie, Bill Hader also demonstrates how wonderful he is in a dramatic, heavy role – which could make him perfect portraying the older version of Finn Wolfhard’s Richie Tozier in Chapter Two, as fans have long been rallying for.
Black Mirror: “USS Callister” (2017)
Another name frequently mentioned by fans as perfect for Chapter Two is that of Jesse Plemons to play bully Henry Bowers. In the second half of the story, Bowers is shown to be trapped in his own insanity and manipulated into fulfilling violent acts by It. As Robert Daly in the Black Mirror episode “USS Callister”, Plemons highlighted his capacity for playing characters driven by cruelty, as well as carrying out heinous acts while seemingly catatonic.
Stranger Things (2016)
We don’t need to explain to you why Netflix’s supernatural 80s-throwback series is the perfect It buffer between Chapter One and Chapter Two, do we? Loaded with King references & tributes, the show riffs hard on everything keeping It such a crucial part of pop culture.
