The Classic Film That Made One It: Welcome To Derry Star Dislike Horror Movies

It's time to revisit the small town of Derry, Maine, but this time we're headed back to the year 1962. Judging by the "It: Welcome to Derry" trailer, this latest excursion into the Stephen King-verse will be no less creepy than the two films for which it acts as a prequel: 2017's "It" and 2019's "It Chapter Two." Thankfully, for star Taylour Paige, the HBO series isn't going to be so outright terrifying that it scars viewers for life. The actor, who plays Charlotte Hanlon in the show, revealed she's a fan of the kind of psychological horror exemplified by the series but not so much of the slasher variety exemplified by "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

Paige spoke to SFX Magazine and was asked about not having appeared in any intense horror projects before. "I'm naturally very much a scaredy cat," she said. "So I maybe, accidentally manifested horror because somewhere I said to someone that I'd be great at horror because I'm so scared." As much as she felt destined (or doomed) to appear in a horror project, however, it doesn't seem like Paige will be showing up in anything too gory in the future.

After explaining that she has a fondness for "The Shining" and can tolerate the odd psychological thriller, Paige shared that she felt "scarred" by Tobe Hooper's 1974 slasher. "What made me really not like horror, was 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,'" she said. "That was just too much. That just had me go, 'Oh, no, that's it. No, I'm good.' That movie really did it for me. Like, really did it for me. It's awful." Even with her aversion to that particular film, however, Paige did admit that she was "fascinated" by and envies those who really enjoy the horror genre.

"It: Welcome to Derry," sees Taylour Paige's Charlotte Hanlon and her husband, Leroy (Jovan Adepo) move to town with their son, Will (Blake Cameron James). But they picked the wrong time, as their arrival coincides with the latest appearance of Pennywise (played by a returning Bill Skarsgård). That should ensure plenty of nightmarish scenarios for the residents of 1962 Derry. But will any of it be as unabashedly grotesque as "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?" Probably not, and for Paige, that's a good thing.

Tobe Hooper's low-budget slasher was an hour and 23 minutes of pure insanity that scarred the psyches of an entire generation — a profane and deeply subversive horror movie that managed to get itself banned more times than James Bond in China (that's quite a lot, for those unaware). Its unhinged villain became a slasher icon and the film paved the way for many classic horrors that came in its wake. It also holds the distinction of utterly terrifying Taylour Paige, who made clear she's more drawn to the horror of "Welcome to Derry."

"[With 'Welcome to Derry'] you've got all the elements for a really great production," she told SFX Magazine. "You have [executive producers] Andy and Barbara [Muschietti], you have an incredible cast, and it's Stephen King — one of the greatest minds of all time. I felt pretty held and supported in all of the things that give the potential to something really good." Andy Muschietti, who directed both "It" movies, is directing four episodes of the new series and executive produces alongside his sister, Barbara. With "Welcome to Derry," the pair have produced crucial viewing for fans of Stephen King's novels and also, something a little less brutally bonkers than "Massacre."