IT Chapter Two is an impressive sequel to its predecessor that delivers on all cylinders from the establishing shot to the final credits.
We constantly talk about the state of horror in the industry, and how much the genre keeps evolving into a refreshed and insightful style of this incredible medium called filmmaking. For me, my very ignorant opinion on horror changed in 2017 with Andres Muschietti’s hit “IT (or known as IT Chapter One).” After being blown away by the coming of age/horror masterpiece by the Mama director in 2018, I would be blown away by another director in the name of Ari Aster with his directorial debut, Hereditary. Now in 2019, I am eagerly anticipating the conclusion of this story with IT Chapter Two and I can say that this is one that will be one I will be talking about for the rest of the year.
I don’t think I have been this nervous about a sequel to a reboot in a long while. Now to preface, I think what helped the most with this watch was that we recently watched its predecessor again. IT Chapter Two is a monumental achievement by Muschietti and his incredible cast and crew. The film delivers on everything it has riding on it some aspects being the direction, dynamics between the adult Losers, and underlying story of revisiting trauma.
This time around the Loser’s Club are played by Jessica Chastain (Beverly), James McAvoy (Bill), Bill Hader (Richie), Isiah Mustafa (Mike), Jay Ryan (Ben), James Ransone (Eddie), Andy Bean (Stanley), and of course the incredible Bill Skarsgard returns to deliver a goosebumps inducing performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The younger cast returns to portray themselves again with some accompanying de-aging technology (which by the way is pretty much unrecognizable). The adult cast works wonderfully together and it feels like the spirit of the Loser’s Club never leaves them. Some of my favorite dynamics were Beverly/Ben, Richie/Eddie, and Bill/Mike. Each of the components of the club help each other to form a bond in the film that you truly believe from beginning to end. This sequel never actually feels like a sequel even though it picks up 27 years after the events of Chapter One. We never lose sight of the things that made the first installment incredible even though the story is much more mature.
IT Chapter Two is not better or worse than Chapter One but it is just the right blend of what to expect from the film with some outstanding aspects. Andres Muschietti has provided us with a horror masterpiece that we will be keeping in conversation for years to come. Something tells me we will also be doing the same with this incredible director. I for one cannot wait to see what this incredible creative force will bring to his next directorial effort The Flash.
The Nerd Corps 