IS ‘IT CHAPTER TWO’ REALLY ‘IT CHAPTER BOOOO’?

Everyone’s favorite clown is back in action this September, eating children and terrorizing the quaint little town of Derry, Maine.  

Directed by Andrés Muschietti, “IT Chapter Two” takes place 27 years after the infamous Loser’s Club banished Pennywise to back from whence he came, sparing the town of his murderous predilections for that cycle. 

But now that cycle is over, and IT is once again on the prowl, looking for delicious, fear-ridden children to satisfy his appetite. 

Thankfully for the citizens of Derry, however, Mike Hanlon, played by everyone’s favorite Old Spice guy, Isaiah Mustafa, has been living in town and studying this Lovecraftian horror for those past 27 years, and is getting the gang back together to kill IT for good. 

Not everyone stayed in Derry, though. And after so much time away from their hometown, the rest of the group – Bill, Beverly, Richie, Ben, and Eddie, played by James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Jay Ryan, and James Ransone, respectively – have all mysteriously forgotten their traumatic childhoods and aren’t so willing to go back and face Pennywise after Mike informs them of what’s going on. 

Will the Losers Club be able to find the courage to face the ultimate evil and end Pennywise’s reign of terror?  

You’ll have to see to find out. 

But is this sequel worth seeing? 

As many fans of IT knowledge, the second half of the original TV miniseries and even the book is notoriously viewed as being less entertaining than the first half of the story, and Stephen King is equally notorious for not having the strongest endings to his books in general.

Well, I’m happy to report that IT Chapter Two is undoubtedly the best on-screen interpretation of the concluding half of the IT saga.

However, that is not to say this movie doesn’t have problems, because it definitely does. 

While IT Chapter One found a fun balance between horror and “Goonies”-style, coming-of-age humor, IT Chapter Two relies heavily on comedy to juxtapose its frightening moments. 

While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, its humor really puts a damper on the horror elements, especially when you have legendary comedic actors such as Hader bouncing one-liners and witty remarks off Ransone for 90 percent of the run time.

Which, by the way, for IT Chapter Two is almost three hours long and is in desperate need of some trimming down. 

This movie really is more of a horror-comedy than anything else, though, and if you go in expecting that, IT Chapter Two is actually pretty fun.

The casting, especially, takes this movie to a different level. For the most part, every actor portrays an entertaining and believable adult interpretation of the child characters from the first film. Their group chemistry is solid, especially between Richie and Eddie, who provide most of the best jokes. 

Speaking of the kids from the first movie, a decent portion of this film relies on flashbacks for most of the scares, unfortunately, giving Muschietti a reason to shoot new material with the now-beloved original cast. 

This isn’t all bad, as the kids are still just as entertaining to watch as they were in IT Chapter One, but their function in this film is as a series of haunted house attractions rather than anything truly meaningful for the plot. 

To point out one other shortcoming, the plot, which is already fairly fractured and obtuse due to the structure of this movie, really isn’t anything too deep or revelatory. The ending is exciting, as it should be, but there isn’t much sense of danger for any of the characters throughout the length of this movie. And it all ends on a somewhat generic note, capping off the three hours with the audience having not learned much of anything about these characters or even having witnessed many satisfying character interactions at all. 

There remains plenty to love about IT Chapter Two, meantime. 

As mentioned, the humor works for the most part and definitely adds something to the film, as long as you’re expecting it. 

Bill Skarsgard is also a highlight and is probably the one thing keeping this film together.

Skarsgard’s performance as Pennywise is still one of the most brilliantly frightening movie monsters you’ll ever see and his portrayal in this film is expectedly magnetic. 

As well, IT Chapter Two maintains a decent flow and keeps the action coming, upping the ante on every scare with superbly intriguing set design and atmosphere. 

On the whole, IT Chapter Two is a rather entertaining, roller coaster thrill ride of a haunted house movie, with some genuinely funny moments, but if you were expecting the sequel to maintain the more truly terrifying, ethereal nature of the first film, then you’ll probably be disappointed. 

Still, it’s worth a watch, and it’s more than worthy of being played in the background while you carve pumpkins this Halloween. 3.5/