Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two

Review by RCR entertainment reporter, Eric Szymanski, follow him on Twitter at @ecmanski

Pennywise is back! 27 years following the events of 2017’s IT, strange events are once again happening in the town of Derry. Mike Hanlon ( Isaia Mustafa), the one member of the Loser’s Club that never left, sees this and quickly summons the others to reunite and battle the terror that haunted them back in 1989. Of course not everyone is eager to return. Bad memories resurface and that sickening feeling fall over our heroic band. Should fans of Chapter One feel the same way about returning to Derry? We may not get those feelings of dread or nausea but we’re also not getting the same level of scares and tension as we did with our first visit to Derry. Not to say IT Chapter Two doesn’t deliver. The jump scares are just a little more predictable this time around. Still a blast to watch though even with it’s 2 hour and 45 minute run time.

Where this film shines is with the comedy of the adult version of the Losers. Particularly from Richie portrayed hysterically by SNL alum Bill Hader. Sure we get the same kind of smack talk banter we’d come to expect from the grown up and now stand up comedian. Only when something creepy happens, his one liners are what you’d come to expect from someone in that situation. If you’re sitting in a Chinese restaurant and the fortune cookies start hatching creatures, how would you react? The same way Hader does I’m sure. His reactions are what our reactions would be. F this, I’m out!

Bill Hader, James McAvoy, Jay Ryan, Jessica Chastain, and Isaiah Mustafa in It Chapter Two (2019)
Bill Hader, James McAvoy, Jay Ryan, Jessica Chastain, and Isaiah Mustafa in It Chapter Two (2019)

Actually, all of the adults were perfectly cast here. Jason Ransone channels Eddie’s uptight, hypochondriac personality with comedic flare. Jay Ryan is what all husky, New Kids on the Block listening, hopeless love struck teens hope to become. James McAvoy is exactly what you’d picture a young Bill would grow up be with the guilt of his brother Georgie’s fate still haunting him years later. Of course Jessica Chastain shines as Beverly. Her adult life seems to mimic the patterns she grew up with in Derry with her abusive and manipulative father. It’s those demons she returns to face with the others.

Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two
Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two

Speaking of demons, if I were to have one complaint about anyone from the original cast, it would be the screen time given to our favorite clown menace Pennywise. I wanted more of him which may be why the tension in this film didn’t feel on the same level as the first installment. Sure he pops up to terrorize new victims in present day Derry but I didn’t feel his presence was looming the entire time. Instead we get a creepy old woman, a couple bullies from back in the day and a few CGI creatures that could be from a 1999 blockbuster. Seriously, a couple shots looked like they could have been from the Mummy. In all honesty, if you go back and and watch the 1990 mini series, this version is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of visuals. What made this movie were the human moments and the connection the Losers had to one another. Sure, Pennywise made them face their worst fears but it’s their resilience and way they handled themselves where you become truly invested.

IT Chapter Two may not be perfect on it’s own but as a companion piece to the first film it works brilliantly. I can’t think of many other horror franchises that can boast the same. At no point of the extensive run time was I taken out of the film or ready to run for the exit door. I was completely satisfied with how it ended for our characters.

I’m loving the fact that Stephen King is enjoying this resurgence as of late and the horror genre itself is hotter than ever. So assemble your crew and go check out IT Chapter Two. Just watch out for any red balloons ?

4/5 ????

Catch IT CHAPTER TWO only in theaters September 6, 2019

About IT: Chapter Two
Evil resurfaces in Derry as director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club—young and adult—in a return to where it all began with “It Chapter Two.” The film is Muschietti’s follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed and massive worldwide box office hit “IT,” which grossed over $700 million globally. Both redefining and transcending the genre, “IT” became part of the cultural zeitgeist as well as the highest-grossing horror film of all time. Because every 27 years evil revisits the town of Derry, Maine, “It Chapter Two” brings the characters—who’ve long since gone their separate ways—back together as adults, nearly three decades after the events of the first film.

Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Mama”) stars as Beverly, James McAvoy (“Split,” upcoming “Glass”) as Bill, Bill Hader (HBO’s “Barry,” “The Skeleton Twins”) as Richie, Isaiah Mustafa (TV’s “Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments”) as Mike, Jay Ryan (TV’s “Mary Kills People”) as Ben, James Ransone (HBO’s “The Wire”) as Eddie, and Andy Bean (“Allegiant,” Starz’ “Power”) as Stanley. Reprising their roles as the original members of the Losers Club are Jaeden Martell as Bill, Wyatt Oleff as Stanley, Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie, Finn Wolfhard as Richie, Sophia Lillis as Beverly, Chosen Jacobs as Mike, and Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben. Bill Skarsgård returns in the seminal role of Pennywise.

Muschietti directed the film from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman (“IT,” “Annabelle: Creation”) based on the novel IT by Stephen King. Barbara Muschietti, Dan Lin and Roy Lee produced the film, with Marty Ewing, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg serving as the executive producers. The behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Checco Varese (“The 33”), Oscar-winning production designer Paul Denham Austerberry (“The Shape of Water”), editor Jason Ballantine (“IT,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”), and Oscar-nominated costume designer Luis Sequeira (“The Shape of Water,” “Mama”).

The music is by Benjamin Wallfisch (“Shazam!,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “IT”). New Line Cinema presents, a Vertigo Entertainment/Rideback Production, an Andy Muschietti film, “It Chapter Two.” The film is slated for release in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2019 and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two
Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two