The first It was strange for a horror movie in that people loved it more for its setting and cast of characters than the actual scares on display. Don’t get wrong, Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise was a phenomenal creation but I found the film itself to be as scary as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. What worked for that movie however was its Eighties nostalgia which really set it apart. This film kicks that aside as the kids in Chapter One are now grown ups in the present day.

It Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the original as the now grown up Losers Club reunite and return to Derry, Maine in order to stop Pennywise the clown once and for all. While the actors from the original all return, their adult counterparts have also been fantastically cast. While everybody is brilliant, the particular standouts are Jessica Chastain (Beverly), Bill Hader (Richie) and James McAvoy (Bill). McAvoy in particular effortlessly makes you believe that a successful screenwriter can revert to a stuttering man-child in the space of a few scenes.

Less successful are the scares. Like the Conjuring movies, this is more of a blockbuster event than something that will linger in your mind for days. In fact, I had forgotten the details of many of its scares and set-pieces just minutes after leaving the cinema. Which is a surprise considering just how many jump scares it throws at the screen. What is particularly noticeable is just how silly and OTT some of the creature designs and special effects are. It Chapter Two really does try but can’t quite pull off the necessary tension.

As a horror fan, it is strange that the movie this reminded me of is of a completely different genre. That movie is Avengers: Endgame. Just like Endgame, this is the joke-laced culmination of an epic story with an equally epic running time. It Chapter Two also feels perfectly paced which is surprising considering it is just shy of three hours. The other thing that made me think of the MCU blockbuster is the massive and hugely impressive cast that director Andy Muschietti has assembled.

Ultimately, it is that cast that sells this movie. Whether it works as a horror is up to the individual viewer. There is no denying that there is fun to be had here but it is hard to be overly enthusiastic about a horror that is more interested in filling seats than really scaring you witless. The first It is undoubtedly better due to its Eighties nostalgia and sharp story but this certainly attempts to be scarier. This time, It Chapter Two is about as scary as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Image Credit: File:IT (2017 film) logo.svg, Lin Pictures, Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) , some rights reserved.

Disclaimer Notice: Any thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely my own. Any images (copyrighted or otherwise) have been used according to Creative Commons and if needed, have been referenced to the best of my knowledge.

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