Movies
Double Murder Ep 66: ‘IT’ (Original vs. the Remake)
Have you had your fill of yellow raincoats, red balloons, and scary clowns this Halloween? Too bad! Danny! and Tim are back with a new episode of Double Murder: IT, original vs. remake!
In the original IT (1990), Pennywise the Dancing Clown terrorizes a group of friends as children, only to return 27 years later to finish what it started. Tim Curry’s performance cements the character of Pennywise in horror history in this TV miniseries. Joining him is an ensemble cast including John Ritter, Seth Green, Harry Anderson, and Jonathan Brandis. Fair warning, this episode of Double Murder only covers the first half of the miniseries, to respect the timeline of the remake (Spoiler alert? Nah…).
This year’s remake of IT (2017) follows the same plot lines of the original, skipping any flash-forward/backs to the present day. Bill Skarsgård dons the clown makeup as IT/Pennywise, and again stalks the children of Derry, Maine. The remake is bolstered by direction from Andy Muschietti (Mama) and performances from Jaeden Lieberher (The Book of Henry, St. Vincent) and Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things”). The timeline has been adjusted to the 1990s, riding the wave of 80s/90s nostalgia.
Is the remake a worthy successor to the original? Have your fond memories of floating down here stood the test of time? Which Pennywise will win? Tune in to Double Murder to find out!
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A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallis.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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