© 2017 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND RATPAC-DUNE ENTERTAINMENT LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED/Brooke Palmer(NEW YORK) — It, the new film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel about a clown — or something that appears as a clown — who terrorizes seven children in a small Maine town by exploiting their deepest fears, opens Friday.
The movie is an R-rated horror flick, which means that most of the members of the movie’s young cast couldn’t even see it in theaters without adult, including Finn Wolfhard. Best known for his role as Mike Wheeler in Netflix’s Stranger Things, the 14-year-old Wolfhard tells ABC News that while the scares are obviously important to It, there’s more to the movie if kids under 17 are looking for a way to convince their parents to take them to see it.
“This movie is a lot more than just a horror movie,” he says. “I think that’s why a lot of kids are going to see this movie is because, you know, it’s about growing up as well and a coming-of-age movie.”
That said, the movie apparently is pretty scary, and has been called a faithful adaptation of King’s original novel, which is exactly what director Andy Muschietti intended.
“For me it was very important staying true to the essence of the book, and the book is pretty gruesome,” the director tells ABC News. “And very intense.”
It stars young Bill Skarsgard — son of veteran actor Stellan Skarsgard from the Avengers films, and brother to Alexander, star of True Blood — as the evil central figure.
Wolfhard plays Richie Tozier, one of the members of the so-called Losers Club of kids forced to face their fears in the movie.
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