It Chapter 2

Released: 6th September 2019

BBFC Rating: 15

Directed By: Andy Muscheitti

Cast: James Macavoy, Bill Skarsgård, Bill Hader, Isiah Mustafa, Jessica Chastain

It chapter 1 blew audiences away when it was released in 2017, being a horror film that appealed to a wider range of audiences than ones previous, probably due to the whole killer clown craze which had only just gone past. It however  did not leave too much of an impression on me, with it feeling like most other horror movies: too many jump scares which are loosely connected by a thin plot which doesn't appeal. By contrast, It chapter two is much more interesting and all round better than the first one, with characters which are more detailed , and a story which wasn't just driving towards the next predictable jump scare. The story line is much more detailed than the last, diving more into the back story of IT, and creating a more tense film as a result, as the characters become more human than the child ones, with more depth this time round rather than just kids running scared the whole time. I think it does well to fit with the previous film, with callbacks subtly reminding the audience what happened last time round while still keeping itself fresh. While the first two acts of the film are very interesting, psychologically challenging the audience with a plot which seems less predictable than before, the third act reverts back to usual, with it turning into the exact same film before, visiting similar locations and feeling like the last level of a video game, fighting a boss which is just a bit more powerful than last time we saw him, which sort of ruins it a bit really. It is a real shame as the film did well to separate itself from the traditional iconography of the genre, creating a more appealing horror film with a complex story which was profoundly interesting until the end of it. Its not just the story, the characters seem to get weaker near the end of the film as well, with them suddenly realising what is going on and transforming back into their child traits of either scared or brave, which with the long run time could have easily been avoided. Overall however I found it more interesting than the first, and most horror movies at that, and if not for the end probably one of the best films films of 2019.

Contains Frightening imagery, gore, frequent bad language

My rating: 7/10 ( Good )

Image subject and copyright to Warner Bros. Pictures. I do not own this image.