'IT' Actor Jackson Robert Scott Becomes Horror’s Next Creepy Kid In 'The Prodigy’ Trailer!

In 2017, the remake of IT took audiences by storm and was a huge success. People everywhere were raving about the performance of Pennywise and the members of The Losers Club. But let us not forget that the summer blockbuster started with one young man, and his name was Georgie. His iconic run in the rain rocking his yellow raincoat only to get his arm bitten off by a demonic clown beast set the tone for the Stephen King remake and helped resurrect an iconic tale of terror. The performance of Jackson Robert Scott, however brief, was simply the stuff of horror legends.

After getting his float on in the depths of the town of Derry, Mr. Scott we’ll be making the jump from casualty to full-fledged creepy child status in The Prodigy. The new supernatural thriller from director Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact, At the Devil’s Door) and writer Jeff Buhler (Pet Sematary) sees Scott’s character attempt to unravel his past like a string which leads the therapist to a very uneasy twist about whom he is really addressing. The trailer paces with the metronome through a dark hypnotherapy session, revealing only hints of the evil the characters are about to face and so generously offers a very memorable jump scare.

The film follows Miles’s mother Sarah, played by “Orange is the New Black” star Taylor Schilling. After his disturbing behavior signals that an evil force has overtaken him, she must protect Miles from what is causing this dark turn of events. The key to what dreadful force lurks inside Miles may lie in the past, but distinguishing between fantasy and reality becomes increasingly difficult for Sarah as the story unfolds. The eerie promo doesn’t give much away in terms of plot, but by the time the tick-tock countdown finishes, we’ve definitely picked up on some serious scary kid vibes.

One of the most horrifying things in scary movies is when it is an innocent looking child that is causing all the mayhem. This terrifying trope has a continued history of traumatizing audiences and has had parents paranoid that their child’s odd behavior could mean they're possessed by an evil spirit. Demonic infants have been the solid ingredient in memorable tortured-parent horror movies such as The Omen, The Ring, and The Shining, all the way to this year’s horror indie hit Hereditary. Horror’s successful history with menacing minors bodes well for The Prodigy, and Scott may have more in common with the title given his breakout success. I, for one, am more than excited to see if little Georgie can continue his domination of the industry and deliver a truly terrifying performance that results in everyone sleeping with the lights on for a very, very long time.

Find out what’s wrong with Miles whenThe Prodigy arrives in theaters on February 2, 2019.

(Image via Orion Pictures)

- D.J. Rivera, YH Contributing Writer