“This is Derry. I’m starting to get used to it…” says James McAvoy’s character Bill, as he and co-star Jessica Chastain’s character Beverly prepare to run from a possibly supernatural threat in Andrés Muschietti’s new horror movie, It Chapter Two.
The film is a sequel to Muschietti’s 2017 film adaptation of Steven King’s 1986 novel It, as well as the cult-classic 1990 T.V miniseries. It received positive reviews and earned the highest September weekend box office opening, at $123 million in U.S sales. The movie was somewhat of a sensation, grossing over $700 million worldwide and becoming the highest earning horror movie ever made, as well as the 4th highest grossing R rated movie of all time. In other words, the sequel was highly anticipated.
Unfortunately, the sequel fails to “float” as well as its predecessor due to its excessively long run time, surplus of pointless plot points, and overly formulaic story beats.
Chapter Two takes place 27 years after the events of the first film, depicting the return of both the demonic clown Pennywise, portrayed again by Bill Skarsgård and the now grown up “Losers Club,” who all come back to their hometown of Derry, Maine to stop Pennywise once and for all.
First, let’s start with the good. The performances of most of the cast work exceedingly well. Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, and NO, your eyes do not deceive you, that is, in fact, the ‘Old Spice’ guy, Isaiah Mustafa, all deserve to have their names mentioned for their portrayals of the grown-up Losers Club. However, the real stand outs are perhaps predictably, Skarsgård’s Pennywise and Bill Hader as the now grown version of Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard’s character, Richie.
Despite the lack of scene presence and having less scares than he had in the first film, Skarsgård is still deliciously sinister, and as creepy as ever when playing the mysterious antagonist Pennywise. In addition to the varying practical and digital effects that are added to his character throughout the film, Skarsgård’s voicework and incredible facial control shine through to portray a disturbing villain, despite limited screen time.
Bill Hader, on the other hand, is able to juggle both the job of providing the bulk of the film’s comic relief, as well as the most pertinent dramatic arc. Outshining stars like Chastain and McAvoy is no easy task, but as can be seen in his HBO show Barry, Hader is more than capable of pivoting from goofily funny, to fearful or serious, while still providing both a realistic and likeable character.
The comradery among the cast feels both sincere and natural, as they all seem like true adult versions of the children we met in It (2017). Ironically, this is where the film’s flaws begin to show themselves. The movie is at its best when all of, or at least most of the main cast, are playing off of each other. Unfortunately, after a fairly solid first act bringing the gang back together, a stale second act rips them apart.
As quoted earlier, McAvoy mentions that even in the face of danger, he is “starting to get used to it.” This mentality is regrettably applicable to the hefty middle portion of the movie as the audience begins to feel “used to it,” as well. No specific spoilers here, but the second act of this movie is pretty rinse and repeat. One by one, the characters split up, and without exception, they all do the same thing. They each return to a place from their childhoods; they encounter something more than a bit off that would trigger any normal human being to run away immediately; they are attacked by some large, disgusting CGI monstrosity, and they escape without harm. No exaggeration, this happens to every single one of the main cast, and each situation is shown in its entirety.
Most of Chapter Two’s other flaws lay in this second act, as well. As mentioned, there is a fair amount of CGI in this movie and unfortunately, it does not contribute to the scares. Most of the creatures and other supernatural threats either look far less scary than they could have if the filmmakers used practical effects, or just seem plain goofy. Additionally, the fear-factor is not helped by the movie’s reliance on jump scares.
The film also makes a subpar effort at expanding the world’s inner mythology. Never is it really explained what Pennywise actually is, what he can really do, what it is that he really wants or why. When it’s time to explain how he can be stopped, the movie expects the audience to accept a vaguely explained, and absolutely absurd plan that has no basis in either the element of the supernatural that we’ve seen, or any real world common sense either.
In conclusion, this film is a mixed bag, but not unlikable. It has good acting, and a fun story that you probably won’t regret giving a singular viewing. Just be wary of the near 3 hour runtime. The plot is certainly dragged down by a slew of minor flaws, but the film at least acts as an effective ending to a complete story, with some fun bits sprinkled throughout. Chances are that if you really wanted to see this one, you already have, however if you’re ambivalent about the movie, but still seek a Stephen King-esque adventure, my recommendation is to trade a night in Derry Maine for one in Hawkins Indiana, watching Stranger Things at home. •
