It Chapter Two (2019) review

27. It Chapter Two (2019)

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Produced by: Barbara Muschietti, Dan Lin, Roy Lee

Screenplay by: Gary Dauberman

Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgård

When the 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s “It” came out, it became one of the most commercially successful horror films of the 21st century, terrifying a new generation of viewers similarly to how the 1990 TV miniseries had many years before. In my opinion, each version has its pros and cons, and while the remake is tremendously creative and has great performances, it’s a little overwrought, tonally inconsistent, and too reliant on jump-scares. Nevertheless, it’s a fun movie that delivers some freaky frights; but that was only Part 1 of the story, with the sequel, “It Chapter Two,” completing it two years later. Much like Part 2 of the miniseries, it takes place in the present, with the grown-up members of the Losers Club fulfilling a promise to return to Derry, Maine to destroy It once and for all. This one also has an impressive cast and solid production design, but takes an already muddled tone and careens it straight into over-the-top horror comedy territory, whether intentional or not.

After a needlessly cruel and cliché opening sequence with a gay couple being attacked by bullies near a carnival, we see that Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) has returned to resume his attack on the outcasts of Derry. So Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the only member of the Losers Club who still lives in town, calls up Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain), Ben (Jay Ryan), Richie (Bill Hader), Eddie (James Ransone) and Stanley (Andy Bean), who have all moved away and apparently forgotten the traumatic events of their childhood. When they all reunite, the memories come rushing back to them, and they’re naturally reluctant to face It again. Mike explains that he’s learned of a Native American ritual that can stop It, which requires each of them to sacrifice a personal item from their past. So they all split up around town to collect the artifacts, haunted by their horrific recollections in the process; meanwhile, It summons their old tormentor Henry Bowers (Teach Grant), who’s been in a mental hospital after possessing him to kill his father, and entices him to kill the Losers.

One of the weaker elements of the miniseries was that while the child actors were compelling and you believed their camaraderie, the adult cast was sorely lacking. I remember the scene at the restaurant having no weight, because it just felt like strangers meeting for the first time; this movie handles the bond much better, as the chemistry really pushes that these are friends who have shared life-changing experiences. James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain are as good as you’d expect, while the one that surprised me most was Bill Hader as Richie. This guy seldom branches out from comedic roles, but he really sells the paranoia of the situation, yet fits his crude comedic chops in quite seamlessly; he’s funny the same way that Finn Wolfhard is in the first film. I think Jay Ryan is a little bland as Ben, and Isaiah Mustafa’s energy is a bit misplaced and frantic, but nothing really spoils it; the movie’s at its strongest when the whole group is in the scene.

Since this is a Stephen King story, we get those trademark flashbacks, as there were evidently more moments from their youth that we didn’t see in the first film. The de-aging effects on the young actors are a little distracting, but that’s beside the point. While I definitely like the concept of literally confronting past demons that you’ve had to suppress in order to grow, and the transitions are cleverly blurred, these scenes—in fact, many of the attempted fear scenes—are simultaneously dramatic, bonkers, cryptic, and off-the-wall insanity; here are some examples. Bev goes to visit her old home and we see moments of her (Sophia Lillis) and her abusive father, before the elderly Mrs. Kersh (Joan Gregson), who lives there now, turns into a scaly, long-limbed CGI monster. Richie (Wolfhard) recounts being bullied for his suppressed homosexuality, and then being attacked by a Paul Bunyan statue. Bowers brutally kills a guard while breaking out of the hospital, and then hitches a ride from the corpse of one of his old cronies driving a car. Bill goes to buy his old bike from a Stephen King cameo at a pawn shop, and takes an extremely cheesy ride white shouting, “Hi Ho Silver!” I know nostalgia is one of the motifs of the story, but I can’t get a feel for how scary this is supposed to be when all these different attitudes are being thrown at us.

This results in the visuals, while looking cinematically creative when Bill is in the funhouse of mirrors and containing a lot of bloody effects, also coming out so excessive instead of establishing a creepy mood. The restaurant scene shifts violently between a night out with your buddies and a moment in a cheap carnival exhibit with killer fortune cookies, while the climax goes full force with crazy special effects and hyperactive editing, and I swear this is meant to be like “Evil Dead 2,” that’s how ridiculous it gets. There’s a moment where a leper vomits blood all over Eddie set to the song “Angel of the Morning.” You can’t tell me the filmmakers didn’t realize how funny this is. Unfortunately, this movie is almost three hours long, and there’s way too much time spent on these weird mythologies and not enough on character motivations. We see how Pennywise uses their insecurities, but we don’t really know how they all feel about addressing them, and how specifically they’ve grown up with them. Some of Its kills happen to characters who have nothing to do with the plot, so there isn’t much suspense either.

“It Chapter Two” is a movie that has a lot going for it; Bill Skarsgård again makes for a memorable and chilling Pennywise, there are story concepts that work well, and the characters have good interactions. Personally, I wish there was more tension and subtlety as a way of giving us something that both kids and adults would be scared by; don’t get me wrong, people may still find some of these monsters and aesthetics frightening, but this is more “audacious funhouse” for me. On that level, I’d definitely recommend this film, as it’s just so insane and off-the-wall, you might get plenty of laughs out of it. As a serious horror movie, it’s way too bloated and meandering—Bowers is pointless all things considered and the way they ultimately defeat It comes out of nowhere—although it does occasionally make time for emotion and pathos, which the cast delivers in spades. It’s a complicated movie with a lot of problems, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t entertaining as hell.

My rating: 6/10