Creepy Clowns To Flood Phoenix-Area Theaters For New ’It' Film

TEMPE, AZ — Pennywise, the most feared clown in America, returns to Phoenix-area theaters next month and he’ll be joined by a deluge of theatergoers dressed in makeup, red shoes and creepy face paint. Suffice to say those with coulrophobia — a persistent and irrational fear of clowns — ought to stay clear of the Alamo Drafthouse theaters in Tempe and Chandler.

The theater chain wrote on its website it’s celebrating the second chapter of Stephen King’s “It” nightmare with clown-only screenings. During those special screenings, theatergoers should dress appropriately.

“Please come dressed as a clown — the wig, the makeup, the oversized pants and suspenders, the blood-curdling makeup — and sit through this coulrophobia-inducing fright fest with a theater full of fellow ... clowns,” the theater chain wrote on its website. “Good luck. [Insert maniacal clown laugh here.] You’re gonna need it, floaters.”

In Tempe, the clown-only screening will be held at the Alamo Drafthouse Tempe on East Baseline Road on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m.

In Chandler, the clown-only screening will happen at the Alamo Drafthouse Chandler on South Arizona Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7:40 p.m.

The Alamo Drafthouse is an independent theater chain based in Austin, Texas. The screenings are planned in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas/Fort Worth in Texas, as well as in Los Angeles, Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri and Minnesota.

In the film, Pennywise, the evil clown played by Bill Skarsgard, returns to Derry, New Hampshire, 27 years to haunt the now adult members of the so-called “Loser’s Club,” who have since drifted apart. Watch a trailer — if you dare.

The film is set to hit theaters Sept. 6.