"It Chapter 1" vs. "2"

“It Chapter 1,” a horrifying yet spectacular rendition of Stephen King’s 1989 novel “It,” was released in 2017 as the second film interpretation of the book since the 1990 movie release of “It,” and has since held its record as the highest grossing horror film of all time. The “It Chapter 2” cast continued on with the child cast from “It Chapter 1” in small flashback scenes alluding to the first movie’s plot. Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan-Grazer, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, along with Bill Skarsgard as It were then asked to select their own grownup cast, which resulted in renowned actors Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, James McAvoy, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Isaiah Mustafa and Andy Bean being cast. The story follows a band of kids called “losers”: Bill, Richie, Stanley, Beverly, Eddie, Mike and Ben- growing up in the town of Derry, Maine. After Bill’s little brother Georgie is brutally murdered by a supernatural being with the appearance of a clown named Pennywise, the team soon realizes that this entity, or what they call “It,” is trying to kill them by sending their greatest fears to hurt them. The group of kids beat It by overcoming these fears and sending the being into “hibernation”. After they defeat It, they make a blood oath to ensure that they will all come back to Derry to defeat It if It comes back.  “It Chapter 2” starts off 27 years after the incident when the children are all grown up and living separate lives. Mike, who had stayed in Derry, immediately calls the others, explaining that It has awoken from its dormancy and has come to prey on children once again. The adults barely remember what happened when they were younger, until It reintroduces them to their greatest fears. After most of the group tries to escape It, they come to the realization that until they defeat Pennywise, it will come to find and kill them wherever they are, even outside of Derry. The group starts to carry out Mike’s plan to kill Pennywise permanently, where Mike convinces the group that they need to do a ritual using “sacrifices” or “artifacts” of their memory the summer they fought It.  Notoriously, sequels are never as good as the first of a movie series; as is the case with “It Chapter 2.” Although there were quite a few jumpscares that truly shook the crowd, most of what could have been truly horrifying moments were met with laughter because of the dark humor director, Andres Muschietti, oddly implemented right before the majority of the jumpscares and emotional moments. Even though these bits of humor were well executed, most of the time by actors Richie and Eddie, Bill Hader and James Ramone, they were placed right before the instances where the movie intended for the audience to feel terrified or upset. It can be argued that these strangely placed jokes created a sense of realism; but these bits of dark humor right before scary moments took away from “It Chapter 2”’s nature as a horror movie. “It Chapter 2”’s scariness factor deeply paled in comparison to the horror that was “It Chapter 1,” even with all the new CGI monsters. This drawback was overshadowed, though, by the intense chemistry portrayed by the grown-up cast we see most in the movie.  Compared to the impeccable “It Chapter 1”, the convoluted plot and undaunting nature of “It Chapter 2” almost ruined the movie and novel. Yet, the chemistry and acting skills of the cast, cinematography and dark comedic effect held together and pushed the movie through to be a decently good movie. Therefore, I give “It Chapter 2” a 3/5 for being faulted, but well-rounded movie.