It: Chapter Two (2019)

Trauma. It sticks with you for all of your life. What are the things you remember? Do you remember more good things than bad? When bad things happen, do they haunt you forever? These are the questions that It: Chapter Two confronts. Pennywise isn't just some scary clown. As Stephen King's horror epic suggests, he's a metaphor for childhood trauma and how to overcome it. In reality, many people are incapable of overcoming trauma. But for fiction's sake, it makes for a better and more rewarding story to imagine our protagonists (The Losers) coming together to defeat it. If you can't escape the clown.. kick it's ass. 

It: Chapter Two is not packing the same punch with audiences as the first one did. For starters, it's nearly three hours long. With a runtime like that, you’d better hope that you’ve made one of the greatest horror films of all time. But as I sat and watched, those hours raced by. Forgive me, but I had a ball. It’s a night of dumb horror fun if nothing else. But the amount of character development is not too shabby either. Bill Hader kills it as adult Richie. Hilarious, and at times, heartfelt. Everyone else brings their all from McAvoy to Chastain. The scares are plentiful. Most of them land perfectly. Although, oddly enough, many are played for laughs. I found myself cackling at some of Pennywise’s antics, whereas last time, he just creeped me out. That’s a jarring difference for sure, but it almost harkens back to Tim Curry’s classic performance, and that’s something I can appreciate. If narratively speaking, this film follows the same beats as the first film, remember, that’s because its the same book divided in two. It isn’t supposed to break new ground. Are certain things about this film sloppy? Sure. Could it have used a trim? Maybe? But what we get in mistakes, we are overcompensated in thrills. 

So in terms of the snark this film is facing, I just don’t understand it. Count me out as a naysayer. My bottom line is fun. Scare me, thrill me, make me laugh and keep me invested the entire time. It: Chapter Two does that with little clown horns on it’s feet. It kept me liking it for 169 minutes. How many films can do that?