The It remake in 2017 has to be the crown jewel of the latest Stephen King renaissance that's been bombarding theaters, proving immensely pleasing for critics and movie-goers alike. Perhaps even more importantly, It handles the source material with all of the entirely due reverence, keeping the greater Stephen King fandom well appeased and happy with the result.
Bill Skarsgård had a daunting set of clown shoes to fill as Pennywise, especially considering that his predecessor was none other than the legendary Tim Curry. However, he soundly laid any reservations concerning his casting to rest with an absolutely top-notch performance, going above and beyond to bring the creep factor into the role of the dancing clown. If that's not convincing enough for you, check out this list of Pennywise's 10 creepiest moments in the 2017 version of Stephen King's It.
The Clown In The Storm Drain
This classic and unforgettable opening scene establishes Pennywise's character and effectively sets the tone for the rest of the film. After Georgie has his older brother Bill fashion a paper boat for him, he steps out into the rain to take it for a spin.
However, the boat finds its way into a storm drain, much to Georgie's dismay. As he reaches into the storm drain in a futile effort to recover it, he encounters none other than the dancing clown himself. The scene's tense, with Pennywise's hungry, predatory nature brought across marvelously.
Headless In The Library
Poor Ben just doesn't seem able to catch a break, but he seems to be having a grand old time reading about the Derry Ironworks catastrophe, which killed a number of children having an Easter egg hunt in the area. Probably not the most solid indicator of a well adjusted young man, but hiding out in the library beats being stalked by Derry's resident bully, Henry.
Ben notices a red balloon floating through the library, and pursues it amid much audience protest. After following a trail of smoldering Easter eggs, he encounters Pennywise manifesting as a victim of the incident he'd been studying. Lacking a head, the corpse's erratic movement sends shivers down the spine of even the most devout horror aficionado.
The Leper
Sometimes, the creep factor walks hand-in-hand with an accompanying gross-out, and Eddie's Leper serves as a prime example. Disgusting, disfigured, and sickly, he's a perfect representation of Eddie's greatest fears, having been victimized by his mother's Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Eddie first encounters Pennywise's manifestation as the Leper on his way home from Ben's place. Eddie drops some of his "medications" while distracted, and a nearby stranger kindly helps him to gather them up. An incredibly hungry stranger that seems to have half of his face rotted off, and is covered with all manner of sores weeping disgustingly viscous fluids, anyway.
Twisted Lady
The avenue that Pennywise takes to trigger Stanley's deepest fear is through a painting that's always rubbed him the wrong way. Honestly, the painting itself is enough to get under anyone's skin, depicting a twisted and malformed woman with empty, ghoulish eyes.
However, it can and does get much worse when Pennywise taps into it and brings the twisted woman within the painting to life. His first encounter with her is plenty spooky, but the scene in which she starts chowing down on Stanley's face with a disgusting set of razor-sharp teeth is pure nightmare fuel.
You'll Float Too
This scene is probably the most iconic spook of the entire film, featured heavily in trailers, memes, and other media developed around it. Bill hops out of bed, awakened by a leaky roof, and thinks that he sees his missing younger brother, Georgie, scamper off into the basement.
As Bill descends the stairs, he does indeed encounter Georgie, but something about him is incredibly leery and disturbingly off. It turns out that Pennywise is virtually using him as a puppet, and as Georgie's appearance and speech grow disturbingly distorted, the clown drops his toy and hungrily rushes towards Bill.
Having A Snack
This moment passes by so quickly that viewers might miss it with an ill-timed sneeze, but it's absolutely jarring for those that were already on the edges of their seats. As local bully Henry and his cohorts are tormenting Mike, he happens to look off into the nearby hedges to witness a gruesome scene that surpasses the immediate threat posed by Henry and the gang.
Pennywise is quietly witnessing the scuffle, apparently having a snack of some sort. The nature of this "snack" becomes all too apparent when he uses a dismembered arm to mockingly wave hello at Mike.
Possessed Projector
The Losers Club is beginning to piece together a plan of attack to track down Pennywise, and by extension, the rest of the missing kids. In this scene, they've stopped by Bill's garage to utilize a projector screen showing a map of the city so they can connect the dots.
The projector begins to take on a life of its own, however, skipping through several family photos in which Pennywise takes the place of Bill's mother. If that wasn't enough, a gigantic version of the demented clown actually crawls out of the projector screen to attack them.
Richie's Worst Nightmare
Given that Richie's greatest fears actually revolve around clowns, you'd think that Pennywise himself is enough to keep him in check. But naturally, the ancient eldritch horror finds a way to dial into this phobia and turn it up to eleven for the kid with the motor mouth.
After the gang finds their way into the infamous house on Neibolt Street, they find themselves split up. Richie, in particular, finds himself shut into a room full of creepy clown dolls and mannequins. The mannequins themselves are horrifying, but it all culminates in a jump scare after Pennywise leaps from behind a coffin in which Richie finds a doll in his likeness, stuffed with maggots.
Dancing Mad
Taken out of context, this scene can be a bit silly. If you're a fan of understatements, anyway. It's definitely made its rounds as a popular meme. But putting yourself into Beverly's shoes, it's really difficult to say that you wouldn't be absolutely horrified by this display.
After Beverly awakens within the sewers beneath Derry, she's confronted by Pennywise performing a dance routine. His unsettling, unwavering glare combined with the distorted circus music is perfectly terrifying as he unnaturally flails his legs from side to side.
Bursting Out Of Georgie's Body
A little body horror, anyone? After the gang locates Beverly in Derry's sewers, Bill is confronted by what appears to be Georgie. It's all a ruse, however, as Bill quickly realizes that it's Pennywise utilizing Georgie as a disguise, and he proceeds to kill him with Mike's captive bolt pistol. Or so he thinks...
In a sequence best described as purely grotesque, Pennywise begins to erupt from Georgie's lifeless husk, one spindly limb at a time. If the sight of his transformation doesn't manage to get viewers squirming in their seats, the purely inhuman noises he emits throughout the process will certainly do the trick.