IT: Chapter Two is a Supernatural Horror/Thriller with Few Thrills

Many times, I have claimed to not be a fan of horror flicks.  Not because I don’t like them, but because I am the biggest scaredy cat living.  I’m that chick that will keep the lights on and the last time I watched a Stephen King flick, it was Misery.  Yup, that’s right.  So, it suffices to say that this time I took my Mom (who is a diehard horror fan) as backup.  While I watched with my eyes closed whenever I sensed something was about to go awry, my Mom was all over it.

On September 15, 1986, IT was the 22nd book published by Stephen King and the 18th one written under his name.  By the time it was released as a film in 1990, critics were lukewarm on the story centered around seven pre-teens outcasts calling themselves The Losers Club, who fight an evil demon (Bill Skarsgard) that poses as a child-killing clown.  However, when  a revival of sorts hit in 2017, fans were way too excited when the sequel IT: Chapter 2 was announced.  Was it worth the wait?

27 years later, the crew returns to Derry to discover Mike (Isaiah Mustafa) has possibly figured out how to banish IT for eternity.  Reuniting one more time under false pretenses, Mike exposes his plan while paying homage to one of their own.

Here’s what I liked.  Each person has been mentally paralyzed them from living in the present and explains what it is that bonded this group and made them drift apart in the first place. Jessica Chastain (Beverly), James McAvoy (Bill) and Bill Hader (Ritchie) probably have the most heartbreaking breakthroughs of them all dealing with abuse and coming out issues respectively.

With moments like a naked elderly murdering woman running around trying to kill and many quippy lines throughout, the film drags quite a bit.  At some point, if often feels like it went to The Raiders of the Lost Ark, took a detour through Stand By Me and couldn’t find its way back.  Bill Skarsgard (Pennywise) is the creepiest clown ever and made sure I will never enjoy seeing one ever again for the rest of my life.  For once it was nice not to see the one black character meet his demise within the first 20 minutes of the film, but even that revelation can not save this film from itself.  Stephen King fans will live their best life, especially when its creator (no pun intended) gives himself not only a cameo, but a whole scene that is pure comedy at best.

The Losers as kids, mostly seen in flashback, steal the film.  Hats off to Finn Wolfhard (Young Ritchie), Sophia Lillis (Young Beverly), Jack Dylan Grazer (Young Eddie), Nicholas Hamilton (Young Henry), Jeremy Ray Taylor (Young Ben), Chosen Jacobs (Young Mike) and Wyatt Oleff (Young Stanley).

Produced by Warner Brothers, IT CHAPTER TWO is a supernatural thriller full of jump out of your seat moments. Horror fans will be satisfied with Pennywise’s return and newcomers to the franchise will fall in love with the Loser kids mostly seen in flashback.   On September 6th and you can judge for yourself.