It Chapter Two review: Two years ago Andy Muschietti managed something only few before him have – he managed to successfully adapt a Stephen King novel. That film was It and formed the first half of two films which see the serene town of Derry stalked every twenty-seven years by the malevolent Pennywise. Sticking close with the format of the book, the film focused purely on the first encounter of a group of young outcasts known as the Loser’s Club. Now two years later, Muschietti hopes to have lightening strike twice as he returns with an aged up group of losers to tackle the second half of the book.
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After a call from one of their own, The Loser’s Club, now adults, return to Derry once more to face down the evil entity known as Pennywise. But can they defeat the malevolent being once and for all? The first It was pretty perfect, Muschietti shifted the setting from the fifties to the eighties and tapped into that wave of eighties nostalgia made popular by Netflix’s Stranger Things. Many complained it wasn’t scary enough, with too much focus on the group’s relationships and humour, but personally I feel like that’s what made the film work so well. You believed that this was a group of kids whom were actually friends, and they acted as kids do. It then made things all the more terrifying as their lives began to turn upside down. After crafting such a genius first chapter, Muschietti has set himself one hell of a challenge, and unfortunately the sequel doesn’t quite manage to match-up to Chapter One.
That’s not to say that It Chapter Two isn’t good, it is, it’s just not as magic as the 2017 film. Maybe it’s because they story is set in modern times and we lose that nostalgic connection, or maybe it’s because the group are now no longer kids. Whatever the reason, we lose that warm fuzzy feeling between the bloodcurdling scares. The only time we come close to this sensation is during the Chinese restaurant reunion meal where Muschietti captures a sequence of witty exchanges and camaraderie. This scene captures that feeling you only get with the oldest of friends, but sadly the moment doesn’t last long. Readers of the book and viewers of the It miniseries know that events quickly turn sour, and rather grotesque. Those fans will also be pleased to hear that this set-piece has been realised far better than the miniseries.
Those that complained that the first one ‘wasn’t scary enough’ get their wish this time around. Gone are the scenes of the Losers connecting, in favour of more frights. At times, the film almost plays out like a carousel compilation of scare sequences. It’s the same formula that the Tim Curry version utilised, although despite the repetitive nature – character goes off alone, sees something scary, goes back to the group – Muschietti manages to pull it off a little better. Whilst the repeating pattern gets rather tiresome due to the scares being all one-note in the previous miniseries, Muschietti subverts passages from the book in favour of creating new nightmarish sights that keep things fresh. Highlights include an homage to The Thing, Bev’s home visit, and a nifty Funhouse set-piece. The latter would have landed better had Us not already creeped us with a hall of mirrors earlier this year.
All of these pale in comparison however, to the most horrifying moments that occur even before we get to the It Chapter Two title card. Said scene contains a brutal hate crime, one that is all too timely in today’s climate. In the book, the ’27 Years Later’ portion of the story takes place during the eighties, a time not renown for being accepting of alternative lifestyles, but one would hope that people would be now. Sadly this isn’t the case, and what should feel like a silly unlikely prospect, instead feels horribly real and is by far the most terrifying scene in the film. When you open on that, the film struggles to capture that same dread later on, potentially because as bad as Pennywise is, real people are just plain worse.
Our new grown up cast all give solid performances, but given the nature of the narrative, we don’t really get to know the adult Losers in quite the same level we go to connect with the youngsters. Also, as great as Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader are, you can’t help but feel a little distracted by their star power. In fact, potentially because of his lesser known status, it is James Ransone as Eddie who completely steals the film. Disappointingly, the character of Mike is largely sidelined once again. Bill Skarsgård ramps up his Pennywise unnerving kookishness, but is also a little underutilised; Javier Botet easily gets a similar amount of screen time, albeit under various disguises.
Book purists whom were happy that the first film stuck fairly close to the first half of the text may be disheartened this time around. This version deviates a lot from King’s source material. Big subplots and character arcs are missing, clearly cut to streamline the story, though when the film comes in at just under three hours, you can’t help but think that they still could have been included with a little extra tinkering.
Technically It Chapter Two is an incredible success. The sound design from its opening chorus of screaming children gets the nerves on edge and Muschietti seamlessly switches from uncomfortable screams and shouts to eerie instances of silence. Unlike the ‘jump scares’ in other mainstream horror, this film doesn’t rely on a cheap sudden loud noise in the midst of silence to startle the audience. Instead, the frights pop-up out of all soundscapes, leaving the viewer in a constant heightened emotional state; the visuals are also pretty spot on. When screened in IMAX you are completely transported to Derry, making the sights that extra bit more terrifying. In terms of style, Muschietti sticks fairly close to Chapter One, though it feels like a longer portion of horrors unfold in the darkness. This means it looks fantastic in 4K, but might struggle on an ordinary screen set-up, especially if the cinema haven’t changed the projector bulb recently. There’s also some very nice camerawork at play. The first instance involves Bill, Mike and some hallucinogens; the second sees Muschietti distort and warp perspectives of the size of things during the climatic battle. The result of both is a fair amount of disorientation for the viewer, planting you firmly in the shoes of the Losers.
Though not quite as nostalgically magic as the first version, Muschietti has managed to craft a worthy successor. It does’t quite stick the landing as one would hope, but offers plenty for horror and King fans alike a lot to sink their teeth into. With this, Castle Rock, and Pet Sematary, 2019 is shaping up to be a very good year to be a Stephen King fan.
It Chapter Two is released in cinemas on Friday 6th September 2019.
