It Chapter Two
A staff writer reviews a highly anticipated new horror film.
When I heard back in May that the new It Chapter Two movie was coming out in a couple of months, I grew anxious for the thrilling movie. Not only did the movie exceed my expectations, but it also felt like I was in the movie, watching the story unfold from a character’s perspective. Even though the film was three hours and fifty minutes, time still felt like it flew by instantaneously. The horror movie, IT Chapter Two, consists of laughs and multiple jumps scares. The movie showed the viewers that by sticking together, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
The members of the “Loser’s club” started their friendship as teens in the first movie and the sequel reunites the group as adults. Troubles from their youth have left scares on all the members of the loser’s club and once again, they must battle their worst fears. The suspense starts once the Loser’s club reconnects as adults in the Chinese restaurant. Their first problem arises when they realize their best friend, Stanely (Andy Bean), has gone missing. Throughout the movie, the characters face many individual obstacles. Each character has their own fear that the antagonist, Pennywise the clown, exploits. As the adults face the clown, Pennywise always seems to find that sweet spot between terrifying and hilarious.
As many of the viewers see the flashbacks, the boys all seem to be different but have many aspects that were alike to when they were kids. Pennywise, however, has stayed the same. Beverly (Jessica Chastain), the only girl in the club, has to keep all the boys in line. In It, she becomes entrapped in a controlling and abusive relationship with her husband For six adults part of the club, he always knows what specifically scares each of them. Aside from that, the leader of the Loser’s Club, Bill (James McAvoy), not only experiences fear but also quilt. After losing his little brother to Pennywise in It Chapter One, Bill’s guilt strengthens. He begins to feel his brother died as a direct result of him helping make a paper boat together which then leads to the drain. The guilt follows him through childhood and adulthood and enables Pennywise to torment him through the illusion of the death of his brother.
Because the first movie in the sequence was such a hit, It Chapter Two drew a large audience. The acting was really well played out, however, other features of the movie were not. For instance, high schooler, Anna Becker stated the following, “One thing that I would change is that it’s not very realistic. There was a lot of animation and I feel like I wasn’t really a part of the movie. I also wasn’t as scared as I usually am when it comes to horror movies.” Fans of the original It had high expectations for the new movie but they didn’t seem to have been met. Alison Buck wished the movie was “less gory” and had “more frightening scary bits to it.” The movie was criticized on multiple occasions for lacking the scary aspect of the thriller.
After reviewing the aspects, It Chapter Two definitely met my high expectations. In comparison to others comments, the movie, however, made me jump out of my recliner chair. With it having an easy to follow story line, many audience members loved the scary twist to the movie. Just remember not to get to close to the drain on the side of the street.
Hailey Newinski is a junior editor for the category of Arts and Entertainment. She is on Varsity Soccer, Speech team, and track. She also is involved in...