When a horror film features a children’s prop on its poster, know that you’re in for a ride. There is something about taking a children’s toy and turning it into something sinister. At the very first glance, such visual motifs are great symbols for the loss of innocence, but more often than not, they also elevate the horror by adding layers to it. For instance, in Andrés Muschietti’s blockbuster horror film It (2017), a red balloon became the bearer of bad news. In this article, we’re looking at how It turned a simple children’s toy into an icon of terror and peril. The Story It follows a group of seven kids, “The Losers Club,” made up of Bill and his friends, in their fight against the shape-shifting demonic entity, Pennywise the Clown, after he abducts Bill’s younger brother, Georgie. At the end of the film’s first installment (Chapter One), although the kids emerge victorious, fighting a sinister entity that preys on their fears, they aren’t able to kill Pennywise. As he vanishes into thin air, we’re left wondering if this is just the beginning of the end. While the sequel is weaker than the original film, the It universe continues to be one of the most iconic horror franchises that explores our relationship with our fears. Pennywise’s Red Balloon It (2017)Source: Warner Bros.The red balloon, as a visual motif, has been used in many films— M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, Albert Lamorisse’s The Red Balloon, Jeff Tomsic’s Tag, and,...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today