Alamo Drafthouse trolls the trolls with all-clown It screening

Texas-based movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse isn’t done clapping back at the haters who complained when it hosted a women-only Wonder Woman screening this spring. This time it’ll be for Stephen King’s It, and the guest list is strictly clowns.

Clowns get a bad rap. Sure, they’re terrifying in an obvious sort of way. But in the case of the big-shoed attendees of Alamo Drafthouse’s upcoming exclusive It screening, they’re also the perfect people to prove an important point. The chain announced Thursday that they’ll be hosting an all-clown screening of Stephen King’s upcoming horror flick, It, which, as we all remember from our nightmares, centers (in part) on a murderous clown named Pennywise. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, much like King’s bone-chilling novel, there’s more to this delightful story under the surface.

If you’ll recall, Alamo was also the movie house that made headlines back in May for hosting an all-female screening of mega-hit Wonder Woman. That event didn’t go over so well with a bunch of dudes (and probably some ladies, too) in their mom’s basements online who complained that the idea of no boys allowed was sexist and offensive. Though, as Alamo pointed out at the time, the men were not being barred from seeing the movie, just from that particular lady-celebrating screening. That didn’t convince them to stop whining. In fact, one was so incensed he compared the idea of an all-female screening to an all-clown screening of It.

He was, ostensibly, joking, but the straight-up fabulous social media team at Alamo spotted the post and ran with it. As Polygon reports, the irritated Facebook user initially wrote:

"“Alamo Drafthouse, will there be a male only screening for Thor: Ragnarok or a special screening for IT that’s only for those who identify as clowns?”"

To which the Alamo social squad promptly responded:

"We might actually have to steal that clown idea. Thanks Ryan!"

And steal that clown idea they have. Of course, the theater made no mention of the May exchange in its announcement of the Sept. 9 event, which makes the subtle trolling all the more excellent. Instead, they promised the screening would offer “terrifying merriment” of all kinds. But, again, only for clowns:

"For this special Clown screening of IT, all attendees should arrive dressed as a clown in order to attend. Please arrive early and join us in the Barrel O’ Fun beginning at 5:30pm for an IT pre-party where we will have face-painters available for clown “touch-ups”, a photo booth, raffles for prizes, and other terrifying merriment. Please arrive in your own Pennywise best and be ready to float with us."

Next: Book-Thirsty Thursday: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Well played, Alamo Drafthouse. If we could, we’d stuff seven or eight of us into a tiny car and join you for all the fun.