It Chapter 2: A Reminder that Clowns Suck

It Chapter 2 (2019)

It Chapter 2 is not as creepy, nor as good, as It: Chapter 1. Although it lags behind its predecessor, it still brought about a satisfying conclusion to the story. I enjoyed It: Chapter 2, but everything I enjoyed, I usually dislike in other movies. Firstly, It Chapter 2 is a long movie. I felt all three of the hours, but at no point did I feel the urge to leave or check my watch. It was an oddly paced film. I felt that some scenes could have been embellished and others lingered, but as I look back, every decision made sense to the total narrative of the two movies. The movie used de-aging technology on the kids because of puberty, but it was smooth and did not distract from what was happening on screen (*cough*cough* Superman’s mustache *cough*cough*). It also relied heavily on flashbacks. There were at least a dozen flashbacks, but each was grounded to the present, so they always added to the current story, instead of the last movie. I usually loathe those elements of a movie, but director Andy Muschietti combined them to make a very watchable movie. One of my favorite parts of It Chapter 2 is that it is one of those rare horror sequels that requires you to have seen the first movie. If you haven’t seen the first movie, this will not make any sense. You need both movies to fully grasp the character arcs and to notice the underlying meaning to dozens of moments. It is not like a Saw, or Final Destination, or Nightmare on Elm Street movie where you need a very vague understanding of the mythos to have fun at any stage. It Chapter 2 was also much less scary than its predecessor. There were creepy scenes and some jump scares, but overall there was only a hanging sense of foreboding throughout the movie. In the first movie, Pennywise was more terrifying and more clever in his attacks on the children, but now that they are adults, he is more blatant. My theory is that childhood fears are more tangible, like monsters and scary clowns, which translate well to screen, but adult fears are more mental, like dying alone and other people’s opinions, which cannot be captured by CGI. Even though it was inferior to the first movie in every way except casting, which was perfect, I still really like It Chapter 2. I give It Chapter 2 21 out of the 27 years between Pennywise’s appearances.