‘Stephen King’s Ripoff’: Quentin Tarantino Has a Big Issue With 1 of Horror’s Scariest Stories Ever Made

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Quentin Tarantino, known for winning two Academy Awards, isn’t typically the first director people associate with horror. While he’s only directed one horror film, *Death Proof*, he’s been involved in many others as a producer, writer, or actor – including *From Dusk Till Dawn*, *Hostel*, and *Planet Terror*. Tarantino is a lifelong horror fan and often speaks about his favorite films, such as Takashi Miike’s 1999 movie *Audition*.

Quentin Tarantino and Stephen King have a mutual respect for each other’s work, though it hasn’t always been perfect. Tarantino has praised films like Brian De Palma’s *Carrie* and Frank Darabont’s *The Green Mile* as favorites, and King recently enjoyed Tarantino’s *Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood* and his debut film, *Reservoir Dogs*. However, King wasn’t a fan of Tarantino’s *Kill Bill*, finding it boring and self-indulgent. Tarantino has also been critical of some of King’s work in the past.

Quentin Tarantino Referred to Stephen King’s IT as a Ripoff of A Nightmare on Elm Street

In 2019, Quentin Tarantino appeared on the podcast Eli Roth’s History of Horror: Uncut, hosted by director Eli Roth (known for Hostel and Thanksgiving). During a conversation about Stephen King and horror filmmaker Wes Craven, Tarantino argued that Stephen King’s most famous work, IT, borrowed heavily from another story.

Quentin Tarantino described Stephen King’s *It* as essentially a copy of *A Nightmare on Elm Street*, suggesting King simply swapped Freddy Krueger for Pennywise. He explained that King seemed to think *Nightmare on Elm Street* was a clever concept and decided to create his own, much longer, version. While acknowledging King’s skill as a writer—praising his detailed prose and ability to fill a novel with rich descriptions—Tarantino maintained that beneath all the stylistic flourishes, *It* is fundamentally based on the premise of Craven’s film.

While *IT* and *A Nightmare on Elm Street* have very different origins and characters, the villains share a core similarity: both use fear to attract and trap their victims. The main distinction is that Pennywise preys on people’s basic needs, like food, whereas Freddy Krueger kills for pleasure and revenge. Although there might be some influence, labeling *IT* a simple copy isn’t quite fair.

IT Has Become Stephen King’s Most Profitable Story

Stephen King’s *IT* is one of his best-selling books, and the 2017 movie adaptation became the highest-grossing horror film ever made, earning over $700 million worldwide. The sequel, *IT: Chapter 2* (2019), ranks sixth on the list of top-grossing horror films. The original 1990 miniseries, featuring Tim Curry as Pennywise, was also hugely popular, attracting 30 million viewers in just two days on ABC. Both Curry and Bill Skarsgård’s portrayals of Pennywise have become iconic, and are now considered by many to be the defining face of horror – perhaps even more so than Freddy Krueger, especially among newer fans.

Bill Skarsgård is returning as Pennywise in a new HBO miniseries called IT: Welcome to Derry, premiering October 25th. This show is a prequel, set decades before the 2017 film, which took place in the 1980s. Andy Muschietti, who directed the previous two IT movies, will direct the first four episodes. The story expands on parts of Stephen King’s novel that weren’t included in those films, and will unfold chronologically, starting in 1962 and going back to 1935 and then 1908.

It’s hard to call *IT* a copy of anything, because the characters and story are so complex. While the villains might share some traits, that’s common in horror. Some people have suggested it borrowed from *Dreamscape*, which came out shortly before, or *The Slayer*, a 1982 film about a monstrous killer who hunts through dreams. Stephen King always said *IT* was inspired by the *Three Billy Goats Gruff* fairytale and his Maine hometown, but he never mentioned being influenced by Craven’s work. Even if *IT* did borrow ideas, it’s certainly become one of the most successful stories ever.

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2025-10-07 22:12