“It: Chapter Two” is the second half of the cinematic adaptation of one of Stephen King’s most iconic novels. Gary Dauberman wrote the screenplay with Andy Muschietti directing. So the first film depicted the battle between a group of teen-age misfits and the demonic, murderous clown known as Pennywise. This film has the kids all grown up and called back to Derry, Maine when familiar murders start to break out again. James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Skarsgard are part of the cast, with Skarsgard donning the face paint and wicked looking teeth once again as the malevolent clown.
The film has some new footage of the younger counterparts of the main cast as well as flashbacks flesh out the events that occurred twenty-seven years ago in the first film.
The visual effects were quite good, although some of the manifestations of Pennywise were a little too absurd even for a horror movie. The performances were strong enough for the most part. Hader, who is best known as a comedic sketch artist from Saturday Night Live, demonstrated an unexpected range of acting. He is apparently gotten significant acclaim in television series entitled “Barry”, and the praise seems like it is deserved.
There are times when the story doesn’t flow very well onscreen, however I am willing to show some grace here since the original novel is quite massive. It’s a pretty solid cast overall. Not all of the frights worked as well as others.
Bill Skarsgard does have some moments where he is quite chilling as Pennywise. He was a great choice to take on that role.
The movie works pretty well for the most part. The fans will see this regardless of the reviews, but I doubt many will be that deeply disappointed. I noticed quite a few flaws here, but I still ended up finding a fairly significant amount of macabre enjoyment as well.
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