With the release It in 2017, audiences were treated to a new modern horror masterpiece. Stephen King’s sprawling 1,100-page novel was adapted before as a miniseries in 1990, and while it might’ve thrilled back then, it certainly hasn’t aged well. In this new version, director Andy Muschietti adapted the first part of King’s novel and delivered a horror film with a sure hand that transcended the genre. The basic horror tropes were all in place, but the story elements involving the kids presented a sort of horror film infused version of Stand By Me that was an equally impressive coming-of-age story.
As viewers, we all knew It: Chapter Two was coming, and if you’re a fan of the source material or even the miniseries, you know that the second part of a story is a tad problematic. Things tend to drag a bit, and once we get more backstory on Pennywise the Clown, he loses a bit of his mystique. Knowing this, I had faith in Andy Muschietti as a director because of what he did with the first film. It was my firm belief that he could tackle these hurdles and put a new spin on the story.
In some ways, Muschietti’s ambitions for Chapter Two lead to some compelling moments that stuck with me but, sadly, I believe he overreached a great deal with the final result. At 170 minutes, Chapter Two is 35 minutes longer than its predecessor, and you feel it. Muschietti has a healthy visual style, but it seems like a lot of the screentime went to showcasing his visual prowess rather than expanding the story. The source material is long, but there is no reason for the film to meander as much as it does. Some help in the editing room would’ve been beneficial because the overall final result, while a necessary companion piece, comes off as a tad self-indulgent.
If you’re familiar with King’s famous novel or the miniseries, you know where we begin as we enter Chapter Two. Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgard) returns to Derry after a 27-year absence and this causes the seven people who defeated him in 1989: Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain), Richie (Bill Hader), Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), Ben (Jay Ryan), Eddie (James Ransone), and Stanley (Andy Bean) to form a bit of an unreluctant reunion to defeat him. The group is not only haunted by the monster of their childhood fears that they have named “It,” but they also struggle with the demons that have shaped them as they entered adulthood.
Essentially the film’s overall theme is that sometimes the scars and fears you experience as a child stick with you no matter how hard you try to run away from them. To conquer them, you have to combat them head-on but for some of our characters in It: Chapter Two, that’s easier said than done.
The biggest strength of It: Chapter Two also showcases one of its detriments. Through a series of flashbacks of dream sequences, the young kids of the first film (Jaeden Lieberher as Bill, Sophia Lillis as Beverly, Finn Wolfhard as Richie, Chosen Jacobs as Mike, Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben, Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie, and Wyatt Oleff as Stanley) are allowed to return and participate in the sequel. Their scenes offer up some of the stronger moments of the film and firmly drives home that they were a huge reason why that first film worked so much. They had unforced chemistry and likability that made you root for them from start to finish, and you get that same feeling when they appear here again. Whatever emotional weight that Chapter Two has, is due to their inclusion here that reminds of their journey to the events that shape them as adults.
The problem with bringing them into the story is that it shows the weaknesses in the overall chemistry of the adult performers playing them. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a bad performance in the bunch, but I never felt the group unity amongst them like I did with the young performers in the first film. The only reason we care about their adult fate is that we’re connected to the kids that paved the way in the original movie. It was a strange disconnect that I tried to overcome, but during the long runtime in which these characters appear together, I never felt the same group camaraderie.
Chapter Two also lacks in the thrills department. I never thought the 2017 film was particularly scary, but it did feature some solid set pieces that generated some chills. Chapter Two gets some jolts through a few jump scares that thankfully don’t dominate the film but some of the imagery that wants to elevate our pulse, never quite accomplishes its goals. A huge reason for this is some pretty shoddy CGI. The first film had some CGI moments, particularly during some of the Pennywise sequences, but they were backed up with some standout practical moments. There are a lot of Pennywise transformation scenes in the film where he takes on the form of various entities, but the majority of them don’t work. Bill Skarsgard is remarkably creepy and committed to it on his own that he doesn’t need a lot of enhanced CGI help to frighten us, but Muschietti doesn’t let the actor fully get to these places on his own. There are two standout sequences in Chapter Two that make you wish most of the film followed suit. There is a scene underneath the bleachers with a young girl and Pennywise that make you recall Georgie’s unfortunate fate while another scene involving a house of mirrors is frightfully claustrophobic and unsettling.
The performances are all top-notch, but that’s what happens when you bring a group of great actors (and in this case, one actress) together to create magic. Although I never fully felt the group dynamic, they each brought it individually and gave performances that were above the genre standard.
There are two MVP’s that do stand out the most. Bill Hader is a revelation here, showcasing his brand of humor to the fullest while also offering up some moments of intense emotional weight. He has a couple of moments during the film’s climax that stuck with me and hit me to the core. Also noteworthy is James Ransone, playing the adult Eddie. Not only is he a dead ringer for Jack Dylan Grazer but he also perfects many of the tics that Grazer established in the first film to some very interesting results.
Along with Hader, most of the emotional heft is provided from Ransone, and while he may not be as well-known as some of his co-stars, he shines above some of them. I also want to give kudos to the casting department as a whole because they have matched the adult performers to their young counterparts very well. I could fully believe that they would all grow up to look like their adult versions. Even Jay Ryan, who is taking on a more chiseled version of Ben as an adult, has the same facial features as the young Jeremy Ray Taylor.
Despite my issues with the overall outcome of Chapter Two as a whole, it does provide a fitting end for the two films in the grand scheme of things. I told my friend last night after our viewing that I was frustrated with what didn’t work, but I still thought it was an essential companion piece to the original.
Even if Chapter Two isn’t as reliable or impactful as its predecessor, it provides a clear conclusion and considering how hard it can be to adapt any of Stephen King’s work, let alone a sprawling novel such as this one, there is some consolation in knowing that the story for these characters was allowed to end with respect for them without throwing up some stinger setting up a new story.
