The 'It' trailer is somehow even scarier when Pennywise is replaced with The Cat in the Hat

As horror premises go, killer clown terrorises innocent children is difficult to argue with. 

No surprise, then, that Tim Curry’s interpretation of Pennywise the Clown has endured as one of the most spine-chilling baddies in the history of pop culture. 

Bill Skarsgård steps into those oversized shoes for the upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen King’s iconic novel It, and if last week’s teaser trailer is anything to by he looks like a worthy successor. 

Skarsgård’s Pennywise, though, is small-time scary at best when you put him next to The Cat in the Hat. 

YouTuber But Without arguably won April Fools’ Day by releasing a parody trailer that replaces the nightmarish clown with Dr Seuss’ top-hat wearing anthropomorphic feline, played by Mike Myers in the 2003 live-action remake. It’s not the first time the character has been plonked into a horror setting, and nobody could say he doesn’t look right at home peeking through the drain. 

But Without’s skilful editing is what make this. Rather than simply headswapping the cat into shot, he’s weaved in actual clips from The Cat in the Hat and its dreamlike suburb, so it really looks like a reimagining of the Seuss story. Don’t show this to anyone younger than ten unless you want to be responsible for a scarred childhood. They’ll never be able to look the rhyming freak in the eye again.

Here’s the original, in case you missed it.