It: Image of Pennywise from Stephen King adaptation is nightmare fuel

Featuring the clown's face poking out from a gutter

According to reports, the first trailer for Andrés Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s It left audiences at SXSW Film Festival screaming.

While no footage from the film has yet been released, Empire has offered another sneak peak of Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise, recreating an infamous scene from the book when Georgie first meets the terrifying clown.

A description of the trailer detailed the scene: “Footage of Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) making a paper boat for his little brother Georgie. We then move outside, where Georgie is chasing his boat in a rainstorm as it floats next to the curb.

“Suddenly, Georgie runs right into a street barrier, which knocks him down on the ground. He then watches as his boat sails into a gutter. He runs to the gutter and tries to see if he can see his boat. As he looks deep into the sewers, Pennywise abruptly appears before the screen cuts to black.”

Picture of Pennywise in the new adaptation of Stephen King's It (Empire)

Speaking to Empire about the film, Muschietti said: “There’s supposed to be a less-is-more thing in horror. It’s like you’re not really meant to show the monster. But Pennywise is different. With Pennywise, it’s like, ‘This is the monster, I’m showing it to you... and you’re going to shit a brick.’”

Meanwhile, King recently praised an early cut of the film, calling It a 'wonderful production’ and writing on twitter how it “succeeds beyond my expectations”.

Along with Skarsgård and Lieberher (best known for Midnight Special), the film stars Jack Dylan Grazer and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things).

The remake was originally under the guidance of Cary Fukunaga - the director behind the first season of Nic Pizzolatto's crime anthology True Detective - with The Revenant actor Will Poulter on board to play Pennywise.

Tim Curry previously played the clown in the televised miniseries released in 1990. The remake will be released September 2017.