Stephen King on ‘It’ movie adaptation: ‘I was not prepared how good it was’

In this Nov. 13, 2013, file photo, author Stephen King poses for the cameras during a promotional tour for his latest novel, “Doctor Sleep,” a sequel to “The Shining,” in Paris.  AP FILE PHOTO

Pennywise the clown was first introduced in Stephen King’s 1968 horror novel “It,” and was given life by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV mini-series of the same name.

Twenty-seven years later, the malignant entity is back even more menacing than before and will make his big-screen debut in cinemas next week.

After viewing the sought-after film in advance twice, King couldn’t help but admit that the adaption certainly surpassed his expectations.

“I had hopes, but I was not prepared for how good it really was,” he revealed in a video blog for horror-film website Bloody Disgusting.

“It’s something that’s different, and at the same time, it’s something that audiences are gonna relate to. They’re gonna like the characters. To me, it’s all about character. If you like the characters… if you care… the scares generally work.”

King’s seal of approval was evident when he put up an eerie red balloon—similar to the one in film—in the front of the window in his home in Maine.

“I’m sure my fans will enjoy the movie. I think they’re gonna really enjoy the movie,” the legendary novelist assured.

“And I think some of them will go back two or three times and actually savor the thing. I went back and saw it a second time, and I felt I was seeing things the second time through that I missed the first time,” he added.

King, meanwhile, has had a history being underwhelmed by movie adaptations of his novels in the past. Aside from “It,” his literary works  “Carrie,” “The Shining,” “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Dark Tower” were all given the Hollywood treatment.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra

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