The new horror series It: Welcome to Derry has arrived—and it opened with a bang. The creators boldly state that the entire season pivots o...
The new horror series It: Welcome to Derry has arrived—and it opened with a bang. The creators boldly state that the entire season pivots on the bloody first episode cliffhanger, where friends become victims in a terrifying twist. It’s like when Game of Thrones stunned fans with its “Red Wedding” moment—only now in a horror town called Derry.
The stage is set in the haunted town of Derry, Maine, and It: Welcome to Derry wastes no time reminding us that no one is safe. The premiere is brutal, bold and built to unsettle—letting you know from the get-go that the rules don’t apply.
Co-creator Jason Fuchs reveals that what happens at the end of Episode 1 isn’t just a plot point—it’s the engine for the full season. His words? “I don’t think anyone’s expecting so few characters to survive the pilot.” The result: A massacre. The very beginning opens with a young boy named Matty attempting to hitchhike out of Derry, only for a demonic twist to catch him. Then, four years later, a group of children—who were marketed to us as the next “Losers Club”-esque heroes—return to investigate. Except, things go terribly wrong.
Stars Clara Stack (playing Lilly) and Amanda Christine (playing Ronnie) survived one of the most shocking scenes imaginable: A movie theatre setting, a mutant baby sprung from a film screening, blood everywhere—left them as the last standing whereas their friends vanish. The directors themselves called it “our Red Wedding” moment—yes, they meant the infamous scene from Game of Thrones. That reference? Intentional.
Director Andy Muschietti explains the strategic cruelty: “This is a devastating event to set the audience into that sense of ‘nothing is safe in this world.’” For horror fans, think of the suddenness of the opening of Get Out meeting the childhood terror of the original It novel by Stephen King—but even more ruthless.
The iteration of the monster? A “mutant baby malformed by radiation,” set in 1962 amid Cold War fears, nuclear dread and societal change. That era setting gives it extra teeth: It’s not just scary for fright-sake, it taps into collective anxieties of the era and then uses them to brutal effect. The theatre scene, the screaming kids, the bloodstream—they all conspire to knock you off balance.
Christine says of filming: “We were like, ‘Whoa! This is how we’re ending things? Okay, let’s get into it!’” Stack adds she loved the chaos—ducking under chairs, running through blood-soaked aisles, realizing the loss of friends in front of her character’s eyes. It’s a horror playground for actors and viewers alike, but make no mistake: It’s made you feel something brutal.
Now the question looms: How will this opening massacre ripple through the rest of the season? Fuchs teases that Episode 2 will show the aftermath—both emotionally for the characters, and narratively for the show. If you thought you knew how this story would unfold because you recognised the characters or the setting from the previous films, think again. They’ve shaken the foundation.
For Nigerian print and streaming enthusiasts, the lesson is clear: If you thought you’d seen the worst of horror thrills in the recent Nollywood-inspired titles or global series, this one pulls no punches. Just like how the South African-set horror film The Last Days of American Crime pushed genre limits globally, It: Welcome to Derry takes you further into “anything can happen” territory.
Conclusion
With that jaw-dropping opener, It: Welcome to Derry has made it abundantly clear: brace yourself. Whether you’re tuning in for nostalgia, for a fresh horror spin or just the fear factor—you’re in for a wild ride. Just like when audiences around the world first saw the “Red Wedding” unfold and knew nothing would ever be safe again, Derry has now declared – you’re never safe. Stay tuned, because the tremors from this first episode are only going to grow.