Before watching the new movie revival of Stephen King’s famous horror novel “IT,” sleeping soundly was never a concern for me. Having a love for ghost shows, my expectation was to enjoy the movie without being too frightened. During the movie, however, I found myself jumping out of my seat, gasping out loud, and feeling anxious about what was coming next.

The new remake came out on Sept. 8, 27 years after “IT” originally premiered in 1990 as a TV series. While the two versions shared the same storyline and were both visual adaptations of King’s novel, the added special effects, advanced makeup and costumes, and more graphic scenes, made the new movie extra chilling.

“IT” features a haunted spirit that is able to take on multiple forms, his most famous and common one being a clown. The clown often carries around red balloons as he chants, “We all float down here” referring to his home, the sewer. The spirit uses his clown form to lure children to him so that he can feed off of their fear.

As if a creepy clown enticing children with balloons in order to kill them wasn’t enough, the movie’s director Andrés Muschietti also created multiple scenes that were even more disturbing and visually frightening than the original. Chills came over me and I felt as though I was trying to defeat “IT” alongside the actors on the screen.

The movie starts with Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott) attempting to sail a paper boat that his brother made for him. He ventures out into the rain to sail the “S.S. Georgie,” and the boat floats ahead, right into the gutter, where the clown, Pennywise, pops up with a sinister smile.

When Georgie doesn’t return home, the boy’s mother and father look for him for a time but eventually give up and assume he died. His brother Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), however, never gives up hope and continues to look for his younger brother. After Pennywise makes his presence known to Bill, he and his friends, who admit they have also seen the clown, band together and vow to stop the spirit.

Each of the main characters in the movie is affected by “IT” in different ways. The spirit attempts to take the form of whatever the child fears the most, for example, a frightening picture of a deformed woman or a diseased leper.

Every form Pennywise takes is creepier than the last, making for an amazing horror film. The combination of the special effects and the creative directing struck me not only with fear, but also with a loss for words. This movie was by far the scariest film I’ve watched and was a brilliant remake of the already popular novel and film “IT.”

Taylor Bynion is the Copy Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.