Los Angeles (AFP)

Slu-Inf, the murderous clown who is hiding in the sewers and stalking the children, may be an invention of the "King of Horror" Stephen King, he has much in common with Donald Trump, assures the director of " This: Chapter 2 ", following the adventures of this evil entity.

The current US president "does exactly as the clown, you know?" Says without laughing to AFP Andy Muschietti.

"The clown is always trying to divide the + losers +, to pit them against each other and weaken them," the Argentinean director analyzes, referring to the band of pre-teen heroes of "That", where they form the "Losers Club", "losers" in the original version of Stephen King's 1986 novel.

"That's how he tries to conquer them and destroy them," he says.

This audacious comparison will leave many perplexed, but for Andy Muschietti, the novel "That" is indeed a denunciation of the small American cities that explores their dark reality, such as domestic violence and incest.

For "This: Chapter 2", which takes place about thirty years after the first part, with protagonists become adults, the director wanted a film "in tune with our time". He therefore insisted on including the violent homophobic assault of a young man by a local gang, a real news item that had marked Stephen King.

"We live in a culture of fear, with leaders trying to divide people, control us, conquer us, and pit us against each other," he insists.

Themes that make sense if we believe the success of the first "That", which has raised 700 million dollars worldwide, becoming the most lucrative horror film in history.

"Yeah, that was ridiculous," exclaims Muschietti. "The first weekend was just crazy ..."

- "An animal apart" -

Stephen King, very critical of the Republican president on social networks, could not of course imitate Grippe-Sou on Donald Trump when he wrote his book.

But in 1979 he had imagined a populist character coming out of nowhere and making his way to the White House using unorthodox methods, in "Dead Zone".

According to Andy Muschietti, the master of horror "liked so much" the cinematic adaptation of "That" that he agreed to make a wink appearance in "Chapter 2".

The director wanted him to read the script before shooting. "I really wanted to include him, at least to get his opinion (...) He did not change much".

When Stanley Kubrick adapted "Shining" to the screen in 1980, taking some liberties with the novel, Stephen King hated and made a scandal.

"It was a long time ago," argues Muschietti. Stephen King "felt insulted but he has changed a lot since then, and I think he has incorporated the fact that an adaptation is an animal apart," he says.

The Argentine director says he himself has evolved a lot professionally since his first success in 2013, "Mama", which at the time was produced by his sister Barbara and starred actress Jessica Chastain.

"I learned to relax a bit more and enjoy the process, which was not the case for my first film," he notes.

Some experts predict that "This: Chapter 2", which comes out September 6 in the United States (September 11 in France) will be a hit at the box office and could curl the billion dollars in revenue.

What put pressure on Muschietti: "I do not want to think too much, I prefer not to have too high expectations to begin", while acknowledging to have wanted to make a film more ambitious, "longer, with a story more rich, a little more intense in all areas ".

© 2019 AFP