Following the success of the smash hit It (2017), It Chapter 2 ups the ante to conclude the story. Taking place 27 years after the events of the first movie, the kids of the Losers’ Club are all grown up. After receiving a call from Mike Hanlon, the only member of the club who stayed in Derry, the rest of the Losers return to their old home to kill Pennywise once and for all.
From a narrative viewpoint, It Chapter 2 does a great job telling its story. Even though it takes place 27 years later, The connection to the characters is still there. Throughout the movie, it shows how the characters have changed, but are still the same kids that they were years before. The film gives screen time to each member of the Losers’ Club as they reminisce about their childhood, allowing the characters to grow.
The cast does a great job portraying their characters, and they look strikingly similar to their child counterparts from the first movie. Bill Hader, who plays comedian Richie Tozier, really shined in this movie and provided comic relief to this dark tale. Hader’s chemistry with co-star James Ransone (who plays Eddie Kaspbrak) resulted in some of the best scenes in the movie.
However, as a horror movie, It Chapter 2 is lacking. It relies too heavily on jump scares that can be seen coming from a mile away. The movie is not so much “scary” but visually disturbing. Pennywise feeds on the Losers worst fears, revealing some unsettling creatures such as a child’s head with spider legs and a giant naked old woman who wreak havoc on-screen.
Having read the book It by Stephen King, I think It Chapter 2 does a great job following the source material. For the first two acts of the movie, it actually sticks pretty close to the book. I could follow it scene for scene, which I really enjoyed. The ending in the movie was changed however, and for good reason. The ending of Stephen King’s It was considered not great by most critics at the time, so it would make sense for the movie to change the ending. However, I’m not sure that the movie’s ending was an improvement over the book’s. It seemed rushed and not well thought out.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed It Chapter 2. The story is great, the cast is perfect, and the visual effects are impressive. I just wish they had put a little more substance in the ending and added in some actual scares. Don’t go in expecting a horror movie, it’s a thriller.
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