- We're rounding up six Easter eggs
you may have missed in It.
Or as we are calling them, It-ster eggs.
(groaning)
(alarm sounding)
(laughs) Spooky movie season got off to a killer start
this weekend with the highly anticipated
big screen adaptation of It,
devouring all kinds of box office records.
With a staggering 123 million haul
It now stands as the most successful
horror opening of all-time,
the most successful September opening of all-time,
and the second most successful Stephen King film ever.
And, hey, watch your back, The Green Mile
because we're pretty sure Pennywise
is gonna be coming for your number one spot
before the week is over.
(swooshing)
Now one of the reasons It struck such a chord
is because, amongst other things, it was a giant love letter
to horror fans, especially if you were
the kind of horror fan who used your parent's credit card
to sign up for the Stephen King Book Club
back in the early 90s.
- [Narrator] It's back. It's more frightening than before.
(lightning striking)
- I didn't even know that existed.
It is chock-full of some awesomely scary Easter eggs
and if you're like us, you may have missed a few
while covering your face with your fingers
upon first viewing, or maybe even second or third,
but don't worry, we've got you covered harder
than a New Kids on the Block poster on your bedroom door.
We're gonna break down all the best It-ster eggs
starting with number one,
- [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle] Turtle power!
- As you may have noticed,
turtles showed up a few times in the film.
Once when one brushes by Ben's foot in the swimming scene
and again when Bill picks up
his missing brother's Lego set.
But even though It took place in the late 80s,
this wasn't a reference to Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey.
It's actually a shout-out to another
hero in a half-shell, Maturin.
If you you've read It then you know
that one of its weirdest elements
is the presence of benevolent cosmic
space turtle named Maturin.
The ancient reptile actually has a much bigger place
in the Stephen King multiverse,
including acting as one of the guardians
of The Dark Tower.
In the novel It, we mainly see Maturin viewing
the adventures of The Losers Club from afar
but he does eventually involve himself in the proceedings
reaching out to Bill and guiding him
through the Ritual of Chud.
And you know what, if this all sounds insane,
well remember that It was written
at the height of Stephen King's 80s experience.
(sniffing)
For the most part it's probably a good thing
that Maturin was removed from the movie
but it's nice that he at least got some recognition
through these little shout-outs,
maybe even suggesting that he's out there,
somewhere affecting the kids
on a subconscious psychic level.
Weird for sure but pretty much par
for the course with 80s Stephen King.
In at number two, while we're talking about the weirder
elements of It, let's talk about those three strange lights
that we saw at the back of Pennywise's mouth
when he started doing his
Geena Davis from Beetlejuice impression.
Now those are called the Dead Lights
and it's actually the closest we ever get
to seeing Its true form.
In the book, we learn that just like Maturin,
It is an ancient being who predates our universe
and that while the creature may sometimes
take physical forms like Pennywise,
its true form exists beyond the physical
in a realm called the Dead Lights.
And those three glowing lights
are the closest the human mind
can come to comprehending them.
Once again, these also have a tie
to the bigger King multiverse
as we see them turn up in The Dark Tower a few times,
but as with Maturin, it seems like the filmmakers
decided to lightly hint at them
instead of making them a giant part of the plot.
But it will be interesting to see if,
with Chapter One's success,
Chapter Two will be a little more willing
to explore some of the more
esoteric bit of the book's mythology.
Moving on to number three, there are quite a few references
to other elements of the Stephen King horrorverse
and it doesn't end with the super turtle
or the magical lights that like to snack on kids' fear.
We also get a shout-out to the original Pennywise,
as played by Tim Curry, when Richie is trapped in that room
full of clowns in the Neibolt house.
It's cool to see a quick cameo
from the founding member of the insane clown horror posse
but does that mean that Tim Curry's Pennywise
has just been chillin' in the house
since his reign of terror in the 50s
and parting wisdom to the new Pennywise?
Number four, out of all the 80s graphic tees
we caught in the film, Eddie's evil car shirt
was a stand-out.
Now that's because all the other tees
either referenced real or in-world historical points,
like the Freece's tee referencing a story that existed
in Stephen King's hometown or the Tracker Brothers tee
being a foreshadow of the factory
where adult Eddie re-meets Pennywise in the second chapter,
or they were outright references to things
that were popular in the 80s,
like the Anthrax tee.
But Eddie's toothy car t-shirt makes reference
to another of Stephen King's popular novel-turned-movies,
Christine, which is about, wait for it,
an evil car.
And even though Christine didn't have razor sharp teeth
to exact her rev-ve-ve-venge
- [Man] Wrap it up.
- (sighs) In the world of the new It,
it's possible that Christine,
or a similar evil car character, would have been popular
since both the novel and original Christine movie
came out in 1983.
For number five, that giant Paul Bunyan statue
in the Derry town square does more than just stand there
and look beardy in the novel, it actually comes to life
and chases Richie down the street.
And what's even more terrifying is that the lumberjack
monument is based on an actual statue
in the town of Bangor, Maine.
Now the real life homage to Paul Bunyan is there in Bangor
because the town claims to be his birth place.
And finally, speaking of historical references,
we got yet another in-world reference that harkens back
to a doubly disturbing death in the novel.
Just before deeply troubled bully
Patrick Hockstetter finally gets it,
he sees a red balloon which reads I heart dairy.
Now that balloon and its small town pride slogan
are actually featured heavily in the opening of the book
when, in present day, a gay man is attacked
by a group of thugs at the Derry town festival.
The attack, of course, is revealed to be
one of the first actions of a new awakening
which eventually gets the Losers Club to reassemble
and make good on their promise to return to Derry
to finish the job that they started 27 years ago.
So maybe expect to see that balloon again
when It, Chapter Two, comes to theaters
sometime in the next few years.
What do you folks think? What It-ster eggs did you find?
Are you excited for It, Chapter Two?
And would you really have a conversation
with a clown living in a storm drain?
Let's discuss.
(upbeat electronic music)
(pencil writing)
(rolodex flipping)