The 2017 big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's novel It is a major success with critics
and audiences — due in no small part to the way the movie incorporates the book's
most essential elements while sidestepping some of its more controversial or uncomfortable
moments.
These are the most disturbing scenes from It that were left behind during the long journey
to theaters.
Patrick Hockstetter's cruelest act
In the movie, Patrick Hockstetter is hardly a central figure to the story.
He's clearly a jerk, but he's not nearly as terrible as he was in the novel.
Patrick is an exceptionally disturbed young man in the book, and few scenes show that
more than when he suffocates his baby brother in his crib.
Why was this cut for the movie?
Maybe to save time and narrow the narrative focus, or...maybe the filmmakers just had
no interest in getting quite that dark.
Patrick's death scene
In the 2017 movie, Patrick's death scene is entirely different than the way it goes down
in the novel.
He dies in the Barrens' sewer drain while stalking the Losers.
On paper, however, Patrick's death is a little more disturbing.
After he and Henry find themselves alone in the woods, Patrick makes a sexual advance
on Henry, who ends up leaving...eventually.
Left alone, Patrick is attacked by It in the form of swarming bugs, a death that matches
his worst nightmare.
Henry Bowers' home life
In the movie, Henry Bowers' father is portrayed as an alcoholic police officer who has no
qualms about accosting his son in front of his friends.
But aside from the gun scene, his cruelty is mostly hinted at.
In the book, however, Henry's home life is a lot more messed up.
Butch Bowers is a Marine veteran who's developed psychosis and is verbally and physically abusive
to his family, including Henry.
The only thing Henry seems to be able to do right by his father is act upon their shared
racism against the Hanlon family.
The town blaze
The 2017 It movie handles Mike's history in very obscure terms.
We're told his parents died in a gruesome house fire and that he'd seen them burn, which
is why he's so haunted by the image of burnt hands reaching out from the meat store's alley
entrance.
He's shown as the bearer of some bad news about the town's history, courtesy of his
grandfather, but for the most part, the role of the resident historian of the group is
given to Ben Hanscom instead.
The book goes into a lot more detail about Mike's pain.
The notorious town fire referenced in the movie took place at a club called the Black
Spot, and his dad was was there the night it was burned down.
It's also Mike's dad who encourages him to study the town's sinister history, which is
how he becomes the librarian — and the only one to stay in Derry after the rest of the
Losers' Club leaves.
The death of Eddie Corcoran
Not only is Eddie Corcoran's story one of the more tragic subplots in the book, but
he didn't even make it into the movie.
A student at the same school as the Losers, Eddie's stepfather kills his little brother
with a hammer, which leaves Eddie on the run for his life.
He ends up in the Barrens where he encounters It, which takes the form of his recently deceased
little brother... before turning into a gill man and decapitating Eddie.
Eddie's first encounter
Eddie Kaspbrak's first encounter with It in the movie is relatively similar to the novel:
he passes by the creepy house on Neibolt Street and runs into a leper, which is the culmination
of his worst fear of severe and contagious illnesses.
In the book, however, the scene's a little more adult.
Many readers thought Eddie's mother also stunted his emotional and sexual maturity by demanding
that all his affection be reserved for her.
The leper doesn't make fun of his medication; instead, he offers to perform sexual favors
in exchange for cash, suggesting that Eddie's been taught to fear his sexuality, most likely
because of communicable diseases.
That's…a little too heavy to explore in a single scene, so it's easy to understand
why it was ditched.
The goon squad
Henry Bowers is shown tumbling down the well to his possible death in the 2017 movie — and
aside from Patrick, the rest of his bully crew seems to get out of the movie without
getting hurt.
In the book, however, they're all caught by It in the sewers after chasing the Losers.
Vic gets his head torn off by the creature, who appears as Frankenstein's monster, and
Belch has his face ripped in half after trying to defend Henry.
So yeah, it's all a lot more graphic in the book.
The Ritual of Chud
The ending of It certainly simplified things when it came to the Losers' first banishment
of the beast.
Once they rescue Beverly from her floating, comatose state, they're fearless against the
creature.
After they manage to injure It by striking its head, the monster slinks into the well
and the killings stop… for now.
In the book, however, there's a lot more to it.
A whole lot.
Bill Denbrough uses an ancient technique called the Ritual of Chud, which...takes him into
the macroverse where he encounters the universe's creator, a giant turtle.
Named Maturin.
The turtle informs him that he can only defeat It in a battle of wills, and Bill weakens
It enough that the Losers can make a physical attack.
It's a much more supernatural and celestial process than what we see onscreen, and if
It is any indication, the forthcoming sequel may also bypass this bonkers aspect of the
story altogether.
The smoke hole
The movie also completely omitted a book scene that would probably be regarded as insensitive
on film.
In the scene, Bill uses a Native American smoke hole ritual in an effort to find out
more about the demon terrorizing Derry.
Bill and Richie end up staying in the hotbox long enough to realize that It is an evil
force that's sucking the lifeblood out of the town.
It's a realization that works just as well with a rudimentary history lesson, but it's
a clear example of the movie avoiding unnecessary controversy — which is pretty interesting,
since it's still a movie about kids battling a child-eating monster.
Of course, as controversial as that would've been, it's nothing compared to...
The sewer escape
This is probably the most infamous scene that never made it from the book to the screen
in any version.
In the movie, the Losers have no trouble exiting the sewer system after their battle with It.
In the book, however, they find that they can't remember the way out.
The solution?
At Bev's own suggestion, all six of the boys have sex with Beverly Marsh in quick succession
so they can be united again and find their way back to the Barrens.
There's been a lot of debate about this scene from the book — whether this is belittling,
abusive, or even empowering for Beverly.
But even Stephen King himself has since walked back on its value to the story.
"I wasn't really thinking of the sexual aspect of it.
The book dealt with childhood and adulthood.
Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again.
The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood.
It's another version of the glass tunnel that connects the children's library and the adult
library.
Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those
issues."
Like the 1990 TV miniseries, 2017's It basically ignores that part of the plot, which saved
the filmmakers a lot of trouble bringinging that problematic scene to life — not to
mention saving a lot of moviegoers from a pretty awkward conversation once they got
home.
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