Movies
Did You Spot the Leper in the ‘IT’ Trailer?!
It took me at least 20 views to notice this.
The internet horror community is still buzzing about the trailer for this year’s IT, which was unleashed just about one week ago. Nearly every movie website on the net dug deep into the trailer last week, with many sites even going through it shot-by-shot and analyzing the footage. But oddly enough, I didn’t see anyone pointing out something I just noticed on my 21st rewatch.
At the 1:52 mark, there’s a quick shot of Eddie Kapsbrak running away from something at the infamous house on Neibolt Street; it’s hard to spot unless you’re going through the trailer frame-by-frame, but that something is creature performer Javier Botet as the novel’s Leper! The Leper, not seen in the 1990 adaptation, is one of several forms that Pennywise takes in the book.
Back in August of last year we saw a set photo of Botet as the Leper, but the quick shot in the trailer is the first official look at the character. How the hell did I not notice this sooner?!
In theaters September 8, 2017, the film is set “in a small town in Maine, where seven children known as The Losers’ Club come face to face with life problems, bullies, and a monster that takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise.“
Bill Skarsgard stars as Pennywise, the sewer-dwelling monster. The cast also includes Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Hamilton, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, and Jeremy Ray Taylor. Creature performer Javier Botet will play The Leper, and Owen Teague plays Patrick Hocksetter, a bully who torment the Losers’ Club.
Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg, and Barbara Muschietti produce.
In the wake of Backrooms and Obsession, everyone is prowling YouTube for horror shorts to adapt and horror filmmakers to scoop up, so don’t be surprised to see a whole bunch of upcoming articles about YouTube success stories crossing over into theaters. One horror short that’s already been picked up for expansion is Dolly director Rod Blackhurst’s Alone Time.
The 12-minute short was uploaded in 2014 and has amassed nearly 2 million views at the time of this article being written, and Deadline reports that it’s getting a feature adaptation.
Witchcraft Motion Picture Company & Fever Dream will turn the viral short into a feature film.
Alone Time follows Ann Saunders, a young NY professional whose carefully constructed life begins to unravel following a devastating personal loss. “Seeking refuge from a collapsing relationship, a deteriorating family situation, and mounting emotional trauma, Ann reluctantly joins her closest friend on a remote camping trip deep in the Adirondack wilderness.”
The synopsis continues, “When her friend mysteriously disappears, Ann becomes convinced that an unseen figure is stalking her through the forest. What begins as a survival nightmare slowly transforms into something far more disturbing as fractured memories, conflicting realities, and hidden truths force Ann to confront the possibility that the greatest threat may not be lurking in the woods at all, but buried deep within her own psych.”
“Alone Time has quietly followed me for over a decade,” director Rod Blackhurst said in a statement. “What began as a short film about isolation and the weight of life now feels more relevant than ever. The original short found its audience organically online long before that was considered a legitimate path for filmmakers. Bringing it to life as a feature allows us to explore those themes on a much larger and more psychologically unsettling canvas.”
Blackhurst is directing the feature length expansion.
You can watch the original Alone Time short film below.
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