SPOILERS AHEAD!

What was It?

It was the main antagonist in Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel “It.” It was an ancient evil entity that stalked the children of Derry, Maine every 27 years. It had many powers, but It’s most common was the ability to shapeshift, change reality, and go unnoticed by adults. 

In the film, It appeared in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. When It used the form of Pennywise, it was able to trick Bill Denbrough’s little brother, Georgie, into trusting him, which ultimately caused Georgie’s demise. 

What was the Losers Club?

The Losers Club were protagonists of King’s book and movie “IT.” They were a group of seven children who all lived in the town of Derry, with the group led by Bill Denbrough. Not only were they archenemies of Pennywise, but they were also the rivals of Henry Bowers. 

The members included Bill Denbrough the leader, Eddie Kaspbrak who was a hypochondriac, Ben Hanscom who was the one targeted by their rival the most, Richie Tozier who played a lot of pranks, Stan Uris an anxious Jewish boy, Beverly Marsh the only girl of the group, and Mike Hanlon, one of the only African-American boys in Derry. 

After they defeated Pennywise for the first time, they made a promise to come back if Pennywise ever returned to Derry. They reunited in Derry 27 years later, except for Stan Uris who killed himself due to his fear of Pennywise.

What was “IT”?

At the beginning of the film, Georgie Denbrough chased his paper sailboat in the rain, and after chasing it for some time, it went down a storm drain, where Georgie encountered Pennywise. Pennywise encouraged Georgie to reach in to grab his boat, only to tear his arm off and leave him to bleed out. 

A few months later, Bill and Eddie became friends with new student Ben Hanscom. Later on, Beverly Mars joined them, and she and Ben were introduced to the other members of the group: Richie Tozier and Stan Uris.

All members of the club had disturbing and frightening encounters with Pennywise. In July, the group met Mike Hanlon as he was chased by Henry Bowers and his friends. The club had found pride in being known as the “Losers Club,” as they attacked Henry Bowers and his friends with rocks to defend Mike. After the incident, they looked through Mike’s History of Derry school project scrapbook. The club realized that Pennywise was not a human being, but a creature that wakes up every 27 years to feed on and hunt people.

When the group realized that Pennywise killed Georgie, the club went into the sewers to kill Pennywise. 

Stan became separated from the group and was attacked by Henry and Belch Huggins, one of Henry’s friends. Belch was then killed by Pennywise and Henry became traumatized, causing his hair to turn white.

Stan eventually found the club in a large sewer chamber. Inside the chamber, the seven joined hands and formed a circle; until Stan was grabbed by Pennywise. The Club took advantage of Pennywise being able to see their imaginations and used them against him. Eddie imagined his inhaler was full of battery acid, and burned off half of the clown’s face. Beverly then slingshotted earrings at Pennywise, which cracked Pennywise’s head open. Pennywise left down a drain, where the club assumed it to be dead.  

The club left the sewers, but promised each other to return if Pennywise ever came back.

How successful was “IT”?

When the film came out, it was known as repetitive, campy, and highly predictable – but became an overwhelming critical and commercial success. “IT” gained $698 million at the box office, and became the highest-ranked R-rated horror movie ever to be released, and the second-highest R-rated film overall. Over time, “IT” made its spot in being known as a classic.