‘It: Chapter Two’ is a satisfying culmination of the classic Stephen King story 

The second part of the iconic killer clown story “It: Chapter Two” arrives just in time for spooky season. Two weeks ago, this book-turned-film hit theaters and, despite its “R” rating, brought in audiences of all ages. Even people who were not horror-movie fans were excited for this film, and the audience in my theater was buzzing with excitement. 

The story of “It: Chapter Two” starts off with the 2017 film titled “It” about a group of teens called the Losers’ Club that join together to take down Pennywise, a shape-shifting clown that feeds off fear. Though they wound Pennywise at the end of the first film, they promise to come back to defeat the clown if he makes another attempt at terrorizing their hometown of Derry. Each go their separate ways and all but one of them move away from Derry. 

Twenty-seven years later, the Losers’ Club has pretty much forgotten about Pennywise, but the killer clown from the sewers is back and killing people. This is where “It: Chapter Two” begins, with the Losers’ Club realizing that it’s time to go back to Derry to finish off Pennywise. The odd thing is that all the members of their group can’t remember much about what happened after Pennywise previously disappeared. Now the Losers have to remember their pasts in Derry while trying to defeat the vengeful Pennywise. 

The film did an excellent job at re-creating the atmosphere of Derry, making the town more modernized while keeping the vibes from the novel. The film’s setting felt nostalgic, and it worked well with the flashbacks that were incorporated into the plot. In no way did the film shy away from the creepiness and horror that was found in the first film; you had to be on your toes the entire time.  

The acting was spot on. The grown up Losers were cast so well and seemed to understand how the younger actors wanted their characters to be portrayed. Jessica Chastain plays Beverly, and she did a fantastic job depicting her character’s troubled past. James McAvoy plays the leader of the Losers’ Club, Bill, and was able to skillfully show audiences his struggle with the death of his brother, Georgie. A surprisingly good performance was from Bill Hader, who plays Richie. Hader, who I only really knew from his comedic work, blended his joking personality with the more serious development of his character. Bill Skarsgard, who reprised his role as Pennywise, blew his last performance out of the water with an even more terrifying portrayal of the murderous clown. 

A rather confusing part of “It: Chapter Two” was the Losers Clubs’ collective memory loss. Although the flashbacks of their missing memories were important to the plot and showed how much Pennywise continued to agitate them, the supernatural reason for their memory loss felt awkward alongside the otherwise realistic town of Derry.   

“It: Chapter Two” is a wonderful example of a horror film that doesn’t rely too heavily on jump-scares and other horror movie clichés. It was equally as touching as it was scary, and completed the “It” films full circle. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 

Calista Giroux is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at calista.giroux@uconn.edu.