It seems that Stephen King is just the kind of person who is impossible to scare, after all, his whole life is connected with horrors. Nevertheless, it turned out that the Master could be scared by his own own work Or rather, a film based on his book.
What scared the King of Horrors?
Stephen King viewed New film"It", and he was frightened by a scene that was not in the original novel.
Barbara Muschietti, the film's producer, told Business Insider that King met with her in person to tell her that the scene with the character named Stanley Uris was especially successful. According to Barbara, the author of the original novel was frightened by the woman in the portrait, which reminded him of a painting hanging in his parents' house when he himself was a child. It depicted a woman without eyes. Agree, it's creepy.
Plot differences to watch out for
The plot of the film basically repeats the story described in the book. However, there are also significant differences. As you might have guessed, we are talking about the previously mentioned Stanley, played by actor Wyatt Oleff. He is a Jewish boy who walks into the office of his father, a rabbi, and sees a painting hanging on the wall. It depicts a woman with a flute in her hands, and her features are horribly distorted. Stanley does not want to look at the picture, and, of course, the boy can be understood ...
However, the terrible woman is looking at him, and the boy cannot take his eyes off her either. He looked at this picture for a long time when he was a child, and since then a chilling fear has settled in his soul.
conclusions
Considering that the portrait scene is absent from both the novel and the 1990 film adaptation, one can perhaps conclude that it is indeed one of the scariest in the film. Still, since she scared Stephen King himself!
If you haven't seen the new IT adaptation yet, you might want to. The film will give a lot of impressions to every fan of the horror genre.
(and initially in novel of the same name Stephen King), is famous for its ability to take any desired form in order to "pump out" more of the primal horror from the victim. Basically, It kept the appearance of a dancing clown. Pennywise, but we also saw his other guises - in the original book, the creature reincarnated as a werewolf, mummy, leper and huge bird, and the new film adaptation has added one more to this list interesting image, conditionally called "lady with a flute".
In this form, It is one of the members of the Losers Club, Stanley Urisu- Recall that in the novel, Stan wandered into a water tower, where he encountered drowned children. The monster from the movie is tall woman with a strongly distorted face and eyes without pupils. And at the same time, it suspiciously resembles an ominous ghost from Muschietti's previous film,. Such a coincidence is not accidental - both "ladies" are inspired by drawings Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani . Why did Andres like these works so much?
This is a literal transfer to the screen of my personal childhood fear. I had one of Modigliani's paintings hanging in my house, which seemed very creepy to me. And the thought of meeting such a woman in reality drove me crazy.
He (Modigliani) mostly paints "elongated" versions of people. In his vision, a person may have a disproportionately long neck, a twisted face, and empty eyes. Due to such deformation, the child may not see the style of the artist, but see the real monster.
A fairly correct and responsible approach is to include your own childhood nightmare in the script of a film about a creature that feeds on fears. And the "lady with the flute" really turned out to be a memorable incarnation, no less repulsive than the Leper! And which of the childhood fears would you suggest as an embodiment for It?
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22.09.17 10:59
Thirty years ahead
We already talked about the history of writing King's novel, its plot and the reaction of the reading public (and reviewers) in a recent article / review "It's awake and ready to eat". So there is no point in repeating.
Moreover, to compare the original source and the film by Andy Muschietti somehow doesn’t even pull: the tape is so close in spirit to the original that it’s even hard to believe. An important note: the action of "It" was transferred from the late 1950s to 1989, so it turned out to be very light retro.
The Flute Monster and Richie's Coulrophobia
Nevertheless, we note a few finds that were not in the book (but it seems that they were). Stan Uris, one of the seven members of the Losers' Club, enjoyed birdwatching in the novel. One day, someone called him to an abandoned house, and there Stanley was locked up with a battered, but very frisky mummy. In the film, Stan is the son of a Jewish clergyman, a rebbe preparing for a bar mitzvah. He diligently reads the Torah, and when he enters his father's gloomy study, he looks at the picture with apprehension all the time. The canvas depicts a lady with a flute - her face is distorted, no wonder the boy is afraid of her! As you know, It loves to appear before the victims in the guise of a dancing clown, but in the case of Uris (Wyatt Oleff), Pennywise chose the image of this creepy flute player. It turns out that a similar reproduction (from a painting by Modigliani) hung at the director's house, and little Andres was very afraid of it. Stephen King brought out some of his fears in the novel, and Muschietti invested his own "five kopecks", and a very valuable five kopecks!
Richie Tozier in the horror (not in the book) is afraid of clowns, and Ono gladly provides the boy with an entire room full of painted doodles - mannequins and toys. The apotheosis of the composition is a coffin in which lies a dummy ... of Richie's corpse, on which maggots are working. Here, even an adult with iron nerves will be frightened, not like the wit Richie!
That brave Bev!
A very powerful moment is when Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) mercilessly shreds her luxurious red hair. She does this with vicious, blunt scissors, shutting herself in a small bathroom (which will soon fill with blood). And all because the lustfully grinning father in Once again asks: “Are you still my baby, Bev?” and not in a parental way touches her daughter's braid. This scene just makes you shudder - you begin to physically feel the vulnerability and defenselessness, in general, of a very brave girl!
After all, it is she who will be the first to rush into the incredibly turquoise water of the quarry, when the cowardly boys, all six of them, will timidly huddle at the cliff, competing in who will spit further. The role of Beverly was flawlessly played by Sophia Lillis. As you know, girls mature earlier than boys, so Bev seems more "mature" compared to her friends. Lillis herself is a year older than her fellow actors. In the film, the members of the Losers Club are 13 years old (in the novel they are 12).
Looking in the wrong place for “BU!”
Oh, those who moan that there are not enough "BOO-scenes" in Muschietti's work are wrong! Anyone who writes like this does not understand the main message of the novel. This is not mystical Evil, but the fear of growing up, the feeling of loneliness that every "loser" experiences in own house and at school. Beverly must be on the lookout for a sexually horny father. Eddie Kaspbrak is kept "on a short leash" by a tyrannical mother who passes off every sneeze of her son as a serious illness (and orders mountains of placebos in a pharmacy, passing them off as medicines).
New Ben suffers overweight and therefore becomes a victim of hooligans led by Henry Bowers. Before meeting Billy and company, Ben spends his hours in the library - he will do important discovery in the history and the very essence of the strange town of Derry, where children go missing much more often than in other similar provincial "holes" of America. And the fear for each hero is worse than any “BOO!” Although, if Muschietti wants to scare, he scares, there are several effective moments from which you involuntarily shudder (even knowing what's what, and being mentally prepared for such things).
They made us empathize!
In an interview, Andres Muschietti said that he wanted to say more about the characters themselves: if the director is indifferent to them, then the viewer will not be imbued with the stories of the characters. And if so, why empathize with them? And this part of the work: to make you empathize - the Spaniard performed masterfully.
That is why the scenes of the “peaceful” life of the guys are so good: when they are already all together, they got close to Bev, saved from Henry and Ben, and the dark-skinned boy Mike, who works at the slaughterhouse with his grandfather and also suffers from juvenile monsters. It’s like you yourself are inside this light-filled sunny day, carelessly splashing in warm water career, and splashes fly on your face, sparkling like a scattering of precious stones. All this is stunningly filmed by cinematographer Jeon Jong-hoon.
Another huge portion of compliments should go to British composer Benjamin Wallfish - on his "conscience" an amazing soundtrack. The events take place in the summer of 1989 (with the exception of the prologue with the death of Georgie), and we do not doubt for a minute that the screen is the late 1980s, mainly due to the unobtrusive musical accompaniment(38 wonderful compositions, lasting from 36 seconds to 4+ minutes). Soon we will have to evaluate another work by Wallfish (in October 2017, the futuristic fiction with Gosling "Blade Runner 2049" will be released).
Richie's humor is something...
In one of the audience reviews, the humor of the film is called “primitive”, but, comrades, we are dealing with a company of 13-year-old boys when hormones begin to rage with might and main. And if natural-born comedian Richie Tozier jokes endlessly about "Mother Eddie" or says, "If we were measuring dicks, and not pulling matches, I would definitely stay on the street," then that's fine. In general, for the first time we saw such a frank, not “smoothed”, chatter of teenagers - after all, they, of course, talk about it too!
Richie is the best bright character, on it almost the entire positive of the film. But even he breaks down when he sees a fake leaflet with his image (in that terrible dilapidated house from where the well leads - it leads to a stinking stinking sewer, native home monsters). The role of Tozier, who, as we know, will not bury his talent in the ground, and in the second part will be a comedian, was played by one of the most experienced young artists of the project - Finn Wolfhard. We fell in love with him - well, just like a native! - for his role in the TV series Stranger Things, which is suspiciously reminiscent of It in tone. However, there is nothing strange about this. The show also takes place in small town, all sorts of horror is happening with a group of boys (plus one girl) in the 1980s, and the authors of the series, the Duffer twin brothers, are ardent King fans. They even offered their services for the film adaptation of It, but the studios did not consider newcomers. Judging by Stranger Things, the Duffers most likely would have succeeded!
"The scariest thing was Bill's presence"
If we managed to recognize Finn, then Chosen Jacobs (Mike), Jack Grazer (Eddie) and Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben) are yesterday's debutants. It is all the more pleasant that the guys showed themselves to be professionals. They spoke frankly about their fears on the court. Jeremy recalled the scene in the basement of the library, when Muschietti personally scared the actor. Jack said that the leper (Javier Botet), who oozes pus from every pore (Eddie's main fear is getting sick with something terrible), was really very nasty. Sophia Lillis admitted that she was annoyed and embarrassed by the saliva dripping from the mouth of the nasty Pennywise. And Chosen completely cut the truth: “The most terrible thing was the presence of Bill Skarsgård. Even when he didn’t scare us on purpose, he was very, very scary!”
Curry vs Skarsgård
And here we come to the most important "adult" hero (anti-hero) of the picture - a certain creature who knows how old (he is present on an old lithograph dedicated to the founding of Derry). Every 27 years, the infernal creature wakes up, leaves the cozy slimy sewer and begins its meal. In the few months that It does evil, urban emergencies occur in Derry (for example, a fire in a club or at a sawmill), unmotivated anger wakes up in the inhabitants, and children - children simply disappear without a trace. As the "losers" find out, their peers "fly and swim" in the bowels of the same sewer for the fun of Pennywise, who feeds on fears. The performer of this role, Bill Skarsgård, is inevitably compared to Tim Curry, who played the clown in the 1990 miniseries.
The Swedish actor is less experienced than the Brit, but no one will say that he has become a bad Pennywise! Remember the words young actor– Skarsgard got into the role so much that he frightened the guys even just with his presence. Muschietti also noted that when developing the image, they were guided by images of clowns of the 19th century. Since Pennywise is an ancient evil, why does he have to look modern? The director felt that the current clowns look too kitsch. Hence - an unusual outfit (but still the same stupid, albeit less "fiery" hairstyle) of the villain. And where without a bunch of red balloons!
Bill's pangs of conscience
And what about the leader of the guys, from whom the whole mess began? Billy Denbrough is struggling to recover from the disappearance of little brother Georgie. The boy's body was not found, so Billy has a slightly crazy hope that he is just languishing somewhere in the basements, carried away by a stormy stream. It will pick at Billy's wound with dirty, clawed fingers, and now and then appear in the form of Georgie, a baby in a yellow raincoat, who came out at the wrong time to a deserted street because of the downpour and put his boat on the first and last flight. Actor Jayden Lieberer did not falsify a bit when playing Billy: everything from stuttering to pangs of conscience (why did he let his brother go for a walk?) is authentic and touching.
Adult Indifference = Curse of Derry
By the way, Georgie could be saved by a neighbor who went out onto the porch of the house when Billy's brother was talking to a clown. If an elderly woman asked why the little boy leaned over the drain and with whom he communicates, he would still be alive. But it turned out that even her cat was much more interested in the fatal conversation - the poor thing already shuddered when Pennywise grabbed Georgie's hand with his huge jaw. It crawled, trailing a trail of blood, and then disappeared, dragged along by the supernaturally long limb of the monster. Grandmother, indifferently, glanced over the pool of blood and went into the house. No wonder Mike's grandfather said that Derry is cursed. No wonder adults do not notice anything special in rampant violence ...
Non supernatural villains
The epicenter of the violence of the late 1980s is a company of school bullies led by Henry. They are ready to beat, mock, invent offensive nicknames, cut, drive and even, as it turned out, kill. The source of Henry's uncontrolled aggression must also be sought in the family - being under the heavy heel of his father-cop, the leader instantly turns sour in his presence. On whom to take out the accumulated anger? Of course, on the weaker ones. The role of Henry - the real, not supernatural antagonist - was played by Nicholas Hamilton.
Another villain, the pharmacist's daughter Greta, leads a "girl gang" that is jealous of Bev's attractiveness and therefore spreads dirty rumors about her. One day, these gossip will get a "material embodiment": when a bag of sewage is knocked over on Beverly, finding him in the school women's toilet. In the role of Greta, the grown-up baby from “Mom” (Muschietti's debut) Megan Charpentier is absolutely unrecognizable. A kind of "Easter egg" - the director's talisman.
Difficult fate did not prevent success
The movie "It" had hardest fate! The film adaptation of the novel was going to be taken seven years ago. When things started moving, Cary Fukunaga (Jane Eyre and the first season of True Detective) was chosen to direct. He enthusiastically took up the script, but wanted to shoot both parts of the novel "in one gulp" (both about the childhood of the heroes and about the second fight with Pennywise). The producers did not appreciate such zeal: what if the first film fails, then who will need the second one? Fukunaga left the director's post, the reason for the dismissal sounded corny: "creative differences." The project hung in the air again, like a Pennywise balloon. Following the director, she dropped out and main star pictures: Englishman Bill Poulter was supposed to play the clown. What would have happened with Fukunaga and Poulter is unknown. We were very worried about their departure, but when we learned that Muschietti would be the director, we cheered up. And he didn't let King's fans down! For a miserable $35 million, we were provided with a “complete package” of special effects and a decent performance by the actors (despite the fact that there is not a single star in the film, even few familiar faces).
Muschietti's brainchild sets record after record!
"It" sets record after record, successfully jumping over the planned bar of the domestic box office, leading in Russian box office and collected (at the beginning of this week) 371310619 dollars. Experts say that Muschietti's work can also break the record of The Exorcist, the highest-grossing horror movie in history with an R rating. And, therefore, the fate of the second part has already been decided, despite the massive protests of the clowns (they believe that the adaptation will discredit the profession).
We have to suffer until 2019 and wonder who will replace the little artists (having played heroes in adulthood, after the fateful 27 years). The first assumption is already in the air: red-haired Bev / Lillis can be replaced by Jessica Chastain. Interesting? Still would! So - we continue to act on King's advice: relax and wait to enjoy.
When I recognize your soul, I will draw your eyes. © Amadeo Modigliani
She looked at Stan. She had an unnaturally long face and scary eyes without pupils. They seemed to be covered with a white veil. In her hands this strange woman held a flute. An annoying and rather off-key tune had been playing in Stanley's head for a long time. At the sight of this picture, his soul went to his heels, and his heart was ready to break out of chest. Stan tried to move around her, hiding his face behind his hands. Uris had long suffered from a fear of this painting. But after the incident with Pennywise, everything seemed to have to change. However, after surviving that crucial encounter with his fear, Stan became increasingly wary of the painting. Now he was waiting for danger, he knew that IT could appear at any moment.
What do you want, Richie? Uris twitched nervously, a slight chill ran through his entire body and made him cringe involuntarily. Tozier gave his friend a surprised look and continued:
I wanted to invite you, - he faltered, pulling two tickets out of his pocket, - HERE.
In the face of a still perplexed, but slightly indignant Stanley, tickets to the Modigliani exhibition began to sway from side to side. And on each of them was depicted that ill-fated woman. Stanley wrinkled his nose in annoyance until the tickets suddenly disappeared.
Horror attraction right in art gallery Richie waved his hands in different sides, - these creepy ladies are everywhere, and in leading role- he cunningly narrowed his huge eyes and leaned towards Stan, who was sitting in front of the desk, - YOUR FAVORITE GIRL!
This is not funny, Richie! - offended, but still noticed Uris.
And I think it's cool. You will be able to conquer fear, and also have fun, summer is coming soon. You have been tense and gloomy all year. It's time to relax, - Tozier winked at his friend and patted him on the shoulder, - in general, I'm waiting for you tomorrow. Refusals are not accepted, it was not in vain that I begged for money from my parents!
Stanley could only sigh in displeasure and roll his eyes. Richie's stubbornness couldn't be taken away.
Stanley didn't feel much excitement. He stayed close to Richie, who looked at each painting with rapture. And none of them was deprived of attention and commentary from the young joker. Silly but sometimes pretty funny jokes, which Tozier let in at the pictures, discharged the whole situation. Stanley walked confidently forward. He was pleased that in the midst of the abundance of these elongated faces with white, as if devoid of sight, eyes, rather cute pictures sometimes slipped through. The anxiety gradually subsided, and Uris had a desire to look at each picture and try to find something beautiful in them that could drive out the last pieces of memory of that ill-fated day from his head.
But something seemed to follow him. When Richie once again was distracted from the paintings and ran away to some regular sculpture, Stan turned around and saw in the distance, in a dark corner, the same painting. She was the one who followed him. All this time. Stanley's hands went cold, covered with sweat. The boy stared at the unfortunate lady with the flute and felt someone's cold hand on his shoulders...
Hey Stan! - Richard was distracted from looking at the sculptures and noticed his friend's gaze frozen in horror. But Stanley was not here, he seemed to be in another dimension - his legs seemed to grow together with the floor, and no matter how hard Richie tried to push his friend, he stood still.
Stop staring at her. You said she wasn't attractive at all! - Tozier gradually began to lose his temper. He began to walk around a friend, at times waving his hands in front of his face. But Stan stood motionless, except that his face was twisted into a grimace of displeasure. A nasty flute had been playing in his head for three whole minutes, and the lady herself was looking at him with her blind gaze.
Okay, Stanny, you asked for it. I have no choice, - Richie rubbed his sweaty hands from excitement. He muttered something else to himself, and grabbing the rigid Stanley's shoulders tightly, reached for his face. Another couple of centimeters, and their lips have already touched. But something went wrong...
What are you doing?! Stanley exclaimed in surprise. Richie jumped back in surprise and adjusted his glasses. Uris stared at his friend in surprise: either it seemed to him, or Tozier really blushed. Was it out of anger, fear, or... embarrassment?
Well, Beverly had a ride ... - the boy mumbled under his breath and sighed resentfully. There was an awkward silence in the middle of the museum.
Usually painters create paintings that you want to look at again and again, admiring the beauty conveyed on canvas. But not all paintings outstanding artists evoke only positive emotions. IN museum collections there are also such pictures, after viewing which the blood simply freezes in the veins and an unpleasant feeling of anxiety remains. This review contains masterpieces of world art, which are impossible to look at without a shudder.
Artemisia Gentileschi Judith Beheading Holofernes
The painting Judith beheading Holofernes biblical story, in which the widow, who seduced the Assyrian invader commander, kills him after bed comforts. For the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi, this canvas was the result of personal experiences. At the age of 18, she was dishonored by the artist Agostino Tassi, who worked in her father's workshop. The girl had to endure a humiliating 7-month trial, after which she was forced to move from Rome to Florence, where she soon painted her famous painting.
Heinrich Fussli "Nightmare"
Almost all canvases by the Swiss artist Heinrich Fussli contain an erotic component. In the picture " Nightmare The artist depicted an incubus demon who appeared to a woman to seduce her. According to medieval beliefs, repressed sexual desires manifested in people in the form of nightmares.
Gustav Moreau "Diomedes Devoured by His Horses"
french artist Gustave Moreau in his work often referred to mythological theme. His painting Diomedes Devoured by His Horses is a reference to the 12 labors of Hercules. The hero had to go to King Diomedes in Thrace in order to get ferocious horses, which the owner fed human flesh. Hercules brutally dealt with the king and threw him to be torn to pieces by animals.
Hieronymus Bosch "The Garden of Earthly Delights"
Triptych "Garden earthly pleasures» is considered the most famous painting Hieronymus Bosch. Its central part is dedicated to the sin of voluptuousness. Plenty of pretty strange images overwhelms the picture, as if warning the viewer about what can happen if you succumb to temptation.
Peter Paul Rubens "Saturn Devouring His Son"
An eerie painting by Peter Paul Rubens conveys mythological plot about the god Saturn Greek mythology- Kronos), who was prophesied that one of his children would destroy his father. That is why Saturn devoured each of his offspring.
Hans Memling "Vanity of the Earth"
Not the most pleasant experience causes left panel Triptych "Earthly Vanity" On it, the author depicted his vision of hell. Looking at a terrible canvas, a person who lived several centuries ago should have thought about a more righteous life so as not to fall into a hellish cauldron after death.
William Bouguereau "Dante and Virgil in Hell"
Starting to create his work "Dante and Virgil in Hell", french painter William Bouguereau was inspired by the poem " The Divine Comedy". The action in the picture takes place in the 8th circle of hell, where counterfeiters and counterfeiters are serving their sentences. Cursed souls, even after death, cannot calm down, biting each other. The hypertrophied poses of sinners, muscle tension - all this is designed to convey to the viewer the fear and horror of what is happening.
Francisco Goya "The Disasters of War"
Between the years 1810-1820, Francisco Goya created 82 engravings, later called "The Disasters of War". In his works, the artist focused not on the heroism of the generals, but on the suffering ordinary people. Goya intentionally completed the work in black and white, so as not to "distract" the viewer from the main idea that there is no justification for war.
