It: Chapter Two - Review
Director: Andy Muschietti
Cast: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgard
It is back. Two years after the phenomenal success of It (Chapter One), adapted from the first half of the Stephen King novel of the same name that became the highest grossing horror film of all time, the second instalment of the two-parter hits our screens.
Having defeated the maniacal clown Pennywise (Skarsgard) in the summer of 1989, the Losers' Club disbanded and went their separate ways, leaving the traumatic experience and Derry behind them. 27 years later, Pennywise resurfaces and Mike Hanlon (Mustafa) calls the rest of the gang to take a united stand against the shape-shifting terror and end his reign once and for all.
Armed with an already petrifying reputation, Pennywise exacerbated the fear of clowns that permeated the zeitgeist, upheld by Bill Skarsgard's defining performance as the iconic horror antagonist. Until the spectacle third act when the inevitable showdown takes place, Pennywise's presence is felt more than it is actually seen and he instead manifests into a multitude of different fears rather than assuming the clown identity. This function to reflect the Losers' most innate anxieties unfortunately fails to reach the same heights of horror that Skarsgard does in his role as Pennywise, and his scenes where Pennywise does what he does best (luring impressionable children to their untimely deaths) are inarguably the film's highlights.
The first chapter of the finite franchise succeeded in many ways, with the chemistry and rapport between the young cast being a large factor of the film's mass appeal. As the story flashes forward 27 years, the teen actors have largely been replaced by their elder counterparts including the likes of James McCoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader. Their dynamic may not be as entertaining to watch, but the established actors provide an emotional core of acceptance, overcoming fears and insecurities, and grief that the younger versions of their respective characters could not reconcile.
Deviating away from Stephen King's material, Mike informs the Losers that they must individually retrieve an artefact from their past. What follows is a 30-45 minute litany of set pieces where we must watch each of the members complete their assigned mission and face a series of terrifying manifestations, all orchestrated by Pennywise, in the process. These scenes are interspersed with flashbacks to their younger selves, confusing the timeline of the story and also whether or not the scares the characters are enduring are in their past or their present. The jump scares are plentiful, but the action soon becomes repetetive and a chore to sit through.
Ambitious in its scope and impressive scale, It: Chapter Two overcomplicates the appeal that its predecessor possessed and relies on bursts of tension found in set pieces rather than sustaining a cohesive sense of dread throughout.
EB
Cast: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgard
It is back. Two years after the phenomenal success of It (Chapter One), adapted from the first half of the Stephen King novel of the same name that became the highest grossing horror film of all time, the second instalment of the two-parter hits our screens.
Having defeated the maniacal clown Pennywise (Skarsgard) in the summer of 1989, the Losers' Club disbanded and went their separate ways, leaving the traumatic experience and Derry behind them. 27 years later, Pennywise resurfaces and Mike Hanlon (Mustafa) calls the rest of the gang to take a united stand against the shape-shifting terror and end his reign once and for all.
Armed with an already petrifying reputation, Pennywise exacerbated the fear of clowns that permeated the zeitgeist, upheld by Bill Skarsgard's defining performance as the iconic horror antagonist. Until the spectacle third act when the inevitable showdown takes place, Pennywise's presence is felt more than it is actually seen and he instead manifests into a multitude of different fears rather than assuming the clown identity. This function to reflect the Losers' most innate anxieties unfortunately fails to reach the same heights of horror that Skarsgard does in his role as Pennywise, and his scenes where Pennywise does what he does best (luring impressionable children to their untimely deaths) are inarguably the film's highlights.
The first chapter of the finite franchise succeeded in many ways, with the chemistry and rapport between the young cast being a large factor of the film's mass appeal. As the story flashes forward 27 years, the teen actors have largely been replaced by their elder counterparts including the likes of James McCoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader. Their dynamic may not be as entertaining to watch, but the established actors provide an emotional core of acceptance, overcoming fears and insecurities, and grief that the younger versions of their respective characters could not reconcile.
Deviating away from Stephen King's material, Mike informs the Losers that they must individually retrieve an artefact from their past. What follows is a 30-45 minute litany of set pieces where we must watch each of the members complete their assigned mission and face a series of terrifying manifestations, all orchestrated by Pennywise, in the process. These scenes are interspersed with flashbacks to their younger selves, confusing the timeline of the story and also whether or not the scares the characters are enduring are in their past or their present. The jump scares are plentiful, but the action soon becomes repetetive and a chore to sit through.
Ambitious in its scope and impressive scale, It: Chapter Two overcomplicates the appeal that its predecessor possessed and relies on bursts of tension found in set pieces rather than sustaining a cohesive sense of dread throughout.
EB
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