READERS' CHOICE #34-C: IT CHAPTER TWO (2019)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, just like the first movie, I saw it in the theatre and I haven't seen it again since

BEST SEQUENCE

When Pennywise meets Vicky under the bleachers at a baseball game. It's a very effective echo of his scene with Georgie in the previous movie, and it's one of the best scenes to rely primarily on Bill Skarsgård's performance. And again, I do like Bev's scene with Mrs. Kersh, even when the CGI makes it a little ridiculous

BEST LINE

"Let's kill this fucking clown"

- Richie Tozier

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

62%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"IT: Chapter Two proves bigger doesn't always mean scarier for horror sequels, but a fine cast and faithful approach to the source material keep this follow-up afloat"

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back"

DIRECTOR

Andy Muschietti

MAIN CAST

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

THOUGHTS

• It's actually kind of fascinating that the previous movie was so successful in ways that this one whiffs so completely. They both had the same director, the screenwriter (Gary Dauberman) also co-wrote the original, and the plot is a continuation of the same story with the same main antagonist; it would seem that all the pieces would fall into place to make an equally effective second chapter and it honestly makes you wonder why this failed to happen. Was this movie just hamstrung by the fact that these events happening to kids is more interesting and novel than with adults? Was it an issue with needing to depict the somewhat ineffective climax from the book? Did they purposefully try to approach the filmmaking differently to make the two movies distinct from one another, or did they make the wrong conclusions about what made the original so good? The world may never know
• In my previous review I wondered what distinguishes good jump scares from bad ones, and conveniently enough I think this movie serves as a pretty good demonstration of when they're used poorly. Firstly, there are just too many - it's basically the only trick this movie has to play and we get numb to them pretty quickly. The rhythm and pacing are also off - jump scares are best used to punctuate tension, but they come so fast and furious in this movie that they don't have enough time to breathe and there's barely enough tension to even punctuate
• And speaking of tension, while I liked the comedic moments in the previous movie, in this one they largely fall flat and, more importantly, they pop up at the weirdest times when they actually work against this movie's attempts to scare us. A real clash of tones. Although I did like the jokes about Bill's inability to write a good ending to any of his books
• Which, of course, is a very thinly veiled jab at the climax of the book IT, which I've spoken about before, mostly about how underwhelming it was that the IT entity turned out to be just a big spider monster. So with this in mind, I was actually OK with the final monster keeping the appearance of Pennywise all the way up until its death, although this does kind of distract from the fact that Pennywise isn't actually IT, Pennywise is just an appearance that IT found effective in luring and killing kids. It was nice that we got some more of Skarsgård's performance, though, and I liked that the climactic battle had some more layers to it, including splitting the Losers up for their own individual scenes
• Way too much CGI, and used badly in a way that distracts instead of thrills. There was CGI used in the first movie too, of course, but I feel like in the first movie it was used to enhance what we were seeing; in this one it was basically all that we were getting at times
• If there's one thing this movie got right, though, it's the casting. The cast is almost all great and, very impressively, they pretty much nailed the important aspect of making it seem like these characters really are the grown-up versions of the kids from the previous movie, not just in looks but in behaviours too. Bill Hader as Richie and James Ransone as Eddie are standouts, and it's amazing how much Ransone looks like Jack Dylan Grazer, who played Eddie as a kid. The only dud is Jay Ryan as Ben - maybe he was underserved by the script, but he's a very forgettable part of the movie
• And so, that will wrap up our time in Derry. While IT Chapter One was the most successful adaptation of its sections of the book, and while it's always fun to see these things depicted on screen, the movies definitely did not surpass my appreciation for the book, and really this whole experience made me want to read it again

Up next: But we're not done with Stephen King quite yet! It's Pet Sematary, and more specifically the original movie adaptation from 1989. And even more exciting, it will be our first guest review! So if you're getting sick of hearing me prattle on about Stephen King, you're in luck - my wife, Ashley, will prattle on in my place!