'IT's' scary clown is still terrifying in anime

A promotional poster for the horror movie "IT" featuring Pennywise the Clown behind a red balloon.Facebook/ITmovie

The movie "IT" certainly provided the terror it promised. But reimagined in a different form, the terrifying clown can still bring the fear out of anyone. In a fan art, Pennywise has been transformed into an anime character.

Artist Mike Anderson added the terror clown from the movie "IT" to his opus, reimagining the creature in the style of anime. Anderson illustrated two of the film's most unforgettable scenes, used it as an inspiration and showed how "IT" would look if it was adapted into an anime.

Anderson has been known to take a number of pop culture characters and give them anime-styled illustrations. Some of his works include Captain Planet, Freakazoid and Eleven from the hit show "Stranger Things."

"IT" was written by author Stephen King in 1986. The story follows the lives of seven children as they are frightened by a being dressed up as a clown that exploits their fears and phobias.

Pennywise the Clown has been regarded by die-hard horror fans as one of King's most iconic characters. The novel has won several awards including the British Fantasy Award in 1987. It also received nominations for the Locus and World Fantasy Awards in the same year. The book has been listed in Publishers Weekly as the best-selling book in the United States in 1986.

The movie adaptation became one of the highest-grossing R-rated horror films in the United States and is raking up ticket sales internationally. It also received positive reviews from critics, praising the cast's acting and how the movie executes King's horror story without losing its emotion.

With the film's success at the box office, the production team has been given the green light to start on the "IT" sequel planned to be released in 2019. The sequel is said to be set in the present day and all the child actors will be aged.