Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘It Chapter Two’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Over the course of its illustrious history, the horror genre has truly established itself as the perfect place to examine the human condition. Because for some odd reason, combining raw terror with elements of our world, somehow provides the audience and the folks that bring the story to life, with the perfect environment to dissect the problems that plague modern society. And that’s why time and time again we find ourselves enjoying scary stories on the small and silver screen that send shivers down our spines and leave us pondering upon the problems that we often see on the evening news long after the story in question has come to an end.
 
But as the genre continues to grow and find new fans thanks to its outright unprecedented popularity in this day and age, I cannot help but notice that the genre is evolving when it comes to its commentary. For it is beginning to tackle bigger topics, the kind that the genre has never gone near in the past and it’s also finding ways to handle more intimate matters as well. Because it is clear now that horror is looking to dive into exactly terrifies us on a more personal level, and uncover exactly what creates the demons that we carry with us in our day to day lives and for proof of this grandiose new evolution for horror as a whole, then look no further than It Chapter Two.
 
For this is a horror film that took me by surprise with its ability to examine a great many things that this genre normally shies away from since it focuses heavily on the power of the past and how we sometimes block out to the bad from our childhood in order to function in the present and that’s bold new territory for this genre to head into. Especially when one considers that this movie doesn’t disguise what it has to say in the slightest. Because it is clear early on in this film, that the Losers’ Club have more or less hung onto their childhood trauma and in some cases, embraced it as their identity, making it evident that they’ve not dealt with any of these matters in the slightest and while that alone is heavy enough of a message to get through to the audience, the story has no qualms with diving into it further.

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​Because once we return to Derry to deal with Pennywise, the movie immediately takes the time to remind us that whether or we like or not, at some point we have to deal with our past, regardless of when the trauma occurred and how that is explored in this part of the story is fascinating and brilliant all at once. For this allows for traditional horror elements to slide into the structure of the film, the kind that unsettle and terrify with ease, but at the same time we are privy to something that is genuinely wonderful and rare in the genre; character growth. Because one by one, the Losers’ Club face their fears and learn something about themselves in the process and this is just uplifting and brilliant to see in a motion picture about a starving and shapeshifting killer clown and it adds an odd sense of hope to a story that should have none.
 
However, all analysis aside, make no mistake about it, this is still a horror film through and through. And while Pennywise may not be as front and center as he was in the first movie, his presence looms large over the story and when he does appear, horrible and uncomfortable things happen. In fact, I have to admit that on several occasions, this movie actually managed to make me jump, something that is rare for me when it comes to horror films these days. But the scares are unique and original enough to force one to bounce in their seat and that’s thanks in large part to the creativity that goes into several scenes, and Bill Skarsgård’s performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. For there is a certain savagery and fury to Pennywise this time around that wasn’t present in the first film and it’s wonderful to see that this twisted creature is bitter over defeat since it adds depth to what is, in essence, a fairly one-dimensional villain.
 
Speaking of the performances in this film, the cast here is just phenomenal through and through, and kudos to casting director Rich Delia for assembling a group of physical dead ringers that match their ‘younger selves’ and that some of these actors are genuine, A-List heavy hitters that add magnificent gravity to the subject material. If anything, all of these elements make this a motion picture that I highly recommend. Because it really is a different kind of horror film, one that is oddly hopeful, a true rarity in the genre. But what matters most to me is that this movie’s unique commentary could be quite the game changer when all is said and done. Because you just don’t see scary movies offering ‘self-help’, so to speak, and this one pulls that off by reminding the audience that we all have our own Pennywise to overcome and I am quite curious to see how this new style of commentary is going to continue to evolve in the years to come.  

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