HallowScream - It Chapter Two (2019)

     Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we dove into the world of Stephen King earlier in the month with the first It, so today for HallowScream, let's head back to the world of Stephen King's It with the 2019 film: It Chapter Two. Now, believe it or not, this movie marks one of the few occasions where I went to an opening night screening of a horror film, and yes, the showing I went to was pretty well packed. But, let's just dive right into It Chapter Two. 

    Alright, so it's been twenty-seven years since the Losers' Club last encountered Pennywise, and most of them have moved on from Derry. Bill is now a horror novelist, who struggles to come up with a good ending, Richie is a stand-up comic, Eddie works for an insurance company, Beverly is a fashion designer in an abusive relationship, Ben, who's slimmed down tremendously, is an architect, and Stanley is a founding partner in an accounting firm. When they each receive a call from Mike, who stayed in Derry and is a librarian, Bill, Richie, Eddie, Beverly, and Ben all head for Derry. Stanley, however, commits suicide after Mike calls him. It turns out that the reason Mike called them is because Pennywise attacked a man several nights before, and Pennywise left  message for the Losers' Club. Meanwhile, Henry Bowers, who's been in a mental asylum for the death of his father, escapes and is sent on a rampage to kill the Losers' Club for Pennywise.

    The Losers' Club meets at a Chinese restaurant to catch up, and after a night of joke-filled fun, Mike reveals the reason he called, and soon their repressed memories of their childhood fight against Pennywise return, followed by a hallucination regarding why Stanley isn't there. After confirming with Stanley's wife about his fate, Richie and Eddie decide to leave Derry for good, but Beverly says that she had a vision that they'd all die if they failed their mission to stop Pennywise for good. Meanwhile, at a baseball game, Pennywise kills a little girl. Mike, meanwhile, teaches Bill about the Native American ritual, or the "Ritual of Chüd" as it's also known, that can stop Pennywise for good. And do the Losers' stop the demonic clown? Does that psychopath Bowers kill any of them? You'll just have to watch the movie yourself to find out. 

    Many people complained that It Chapter Two isn't as scary as the first It. And that is true, as director Andy Muschietti smartly had all of the scenes with the Losers' Club as kids be in the first movie, and had all the scenes of them as adults be in this movie. And the things that scare us as kids aren't nearly as scary when we get older. However, the one major part I wanted to focus on was the casting for the Losers' Club as adults. First off, both James McAvoy and Bill Hader knocked their performances out of the park as Bill and Richie. Heck, I'll bet half the reason Bill Hader got picked was because of how similar a look both he and Finn Wolfhard have. Jessica Chastain, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, and James Ransone are all excellent as Beverly, Mike, Ben, and Eddie. Unfortunately, due to the story, we didn't get a lot of time with Andy Bean as Stanley, but his performance is good for what little screentime he gets. The one stand-out, once again, is Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise. This guy just creeped out so many people with his performance in both of these movies. Guaranteed, for years to come, when people think of Pennywise the Clown, this is the image they'll see, not whatever Tim Curry was in the 90's miniseries version of It. The visual effects were great once again, and a lot of the scares, including one involving a giant lumberjack statue, were all terrific. I also really enjoyed the cameo Stephen King made in the movie as a pawn shop owner. Overall, not as scary as the first film, but It Chapter Two is still a must-have for any Stephen King fan, so it gets a rating of 4.5/5. 

    This Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of Chuck's Movie Breakdown, and to celebrate, I'll be reviewing my favorite movie of all time: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Until Saturday, this is huck signing off. See you guys next time.