Stephen King didn’t fail to amuse us with It Chapter Two as a fun and horrifying reunion of the Losers Club.
Evil resurfaces as director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club to return to where it all began in IT Chapter Two, the conclusion to the highest-grossing horror film of all time. Twenty-seven years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise, he has returned to terrorize the town of Derry once more. Kids are disappearing again, so Mike, the only one of the group to remain in their hometown, calls the others home. Damaged by the experiences of their past, they must each conquer their deepest fears to destroy Pennywise once and for all, putting them directly in odds with a clown that has become deadlier than ever.
IT Chapter Two is brilliantly created and inspired from the books itself. It’s not as scary as the first one, but this surely offers a lot more on the story making it a horrifying tale overall. It’s funny and pure when the film presents distinct personalities in precise sequences. The film showed The Losers as a grown up adults where some have already had a life. When Mike (Isaiah Mustafa) who was obsessed with what happens to Derry, telephones them all with grim news it results in puking, car-crashing and all-round panic seeing that the characters had a traumatic experience from the past. From Richie (Bill Hader), now a professional on comedy stages, to Beverly (Jessica Chastain), who still sadly suffering abuse, to Bill (James McAvoy) being a sensitive screenwriter who writes bad endings per se — we can all feel these characters instantly lived-in, vibrant, authentic human beings who we can relate to.
This film is beyond what we imagine. Like Pennywise, It Chapter Two wants to keep you in a constant state of distress because it heightens the overall intensity of the story. While it has a lot of twists and scary popups that would put you at the edge of your seat, it also pokes fun to some scary things. You’ll never know if you are going to be scared or not at all. What’s interesting is at some point, Pennywise stops being ‘scary’ and starts being annoying. Wellm that depends if you are not really afraid of clowns. But in this film being almost three hours long you’ll be scared more of what will happen to the characters (plus those intense scary popups that literally put a shock). It really takes you to uneasy comfort, you’ll be scared or maybe you will even laugh at it. Overall it is well-balanced on being scary and funny because at some point, it stops to poke fun at the ridiculousness of its story. A special mention to Bill Hader’s Richie, who points out how dumb Pennywise’s little jig is. He’s seen what the clown can do to people and the many monstrous forms it can take, but he also knows that if he’s going to die, he might as well crack a couple jokes while he’s got the time which makes this film horrifyingly fun at all.
It is engaging and beautifully inspired by the books, without having to resort to having too much horror, romance, and comedy. It’s well balanced and more disturbing than anything in chapter one. Director Muschietti is not playing it safe with this one. It is amazingly an adult territory, enormously troubling to witness, let alone a more gruesome grown up film. The film literally throws all the monsters most people were afraid of as this was the final face-off of The Losers Club with Pennywise. There are exquisitely executed scares with various nightmares, from unsettling spine-chillers to a full-force fright. It is both classy and disgusting; the monsters were design wonderfully and all out in the service of scaring its audiences. From the opening to the climax, Muschietti successfully keeps the horror going on throughout its whole runtime.
It Chapter Two takes almost three hours long for a horror film. That’s not to say that it isn’t a solid horror film—it is, but it’s trying to do something more than just frighten you for a few hours with a story about a bunch of kids who are now grown-up adults fighting a crazy clown. It really, really wants to make you laugh. But it is the best long hour for a horror film by far. While you don’t absolutely need to have seen the first film to be familiar with the premise, it would be a lie to say that It Chapter Two isn’t made better by having the first half still somewhat fresh in your mind. It shows how the now-adult Losers have gone about their lives as the film opens, and we’re reintroduced to each character in small slice of life moments that give you just enough information to understand what kind of people they’ve all become. It’s one of the best scenes of the film showing these adults Losers reeling on some struggles from the past that they had to overcome. Despite delivering many subplots, the film leaves you with a feeling of wanting more.
The cast members are absolutely the best thing that this film had. The film gives its leads the idea of being the grown-up versions of the younger counterparts from the first film (who greatly reprise their roles adding some cuteness and innocent feels for the viewers). Their inclusion in the film makes interesting scenes where the adult Losers relive their memories in a dynamic way. James Ransone’s Eddie is one you’ll definitely see as the perfect adult version of Jack Dylan Grazer. He’s matches every emotion, jokes, and scared face of the young Eddie. His fun partner Richie played by Bill Hader is one of the more surprising gems tucked into this film. Seeing them exchange scenes together turns the film in both fun and emotional ways. Other characters like Jessica Chastain and Jay Ryan, who become that hot adult version of Ben, come across as rather extra special characters that are just going through the motions in a good way. James McAvoy on the other hand, clearly did the best of himself playing the adult version of Bill.
Overall, Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise is the real deal in this film. His comeback is an absolute horrible as a clown. His first appearance is surprisingly nasty, and then so are all the others. He is indeed a brilliant actor, he inhabits Pennywise to diabolical degrees, with or without CGI he is next-level creepy as hell.
Beware if you are afraid of clowns because It Chapter Two will make you shout, groan, and look away, but it’ll also make you laugh and appreciate children who have the common sense to stay the hell away from them, You’ll have a fun, horrific ride as you enjoy the characters more than you expected.
3.5 out of 5 stars
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