The Washington Post - 06.09.2019

EZ

THE WASHINGTON POST

.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Movies

It Chapter Two


A sequel that’s overstuffed, overlong

Ratings guide

Masterpiece

Very good






Okay





Poor




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BY ALAN ZILBERMAN

The heroes of “It” are known as

the Losers Club. “It Chapter Two”

features the same group of talent-

ed young actors as the original

2017 film, and also adds older

versions of these characters, who

are in their 40s. Director Andy

Muschietti attempts to honor ev-

eryone involved, including Ste-

phen King, author of the 1986

novel “It,” so the movie is like a

game of musical chairs that runs

too long. And since Muschietti

has few scare tactics at his dispos-

al, the film loses its capacity to

frighten.

You will recall that “It” had the

Losers Club defeat Pennywise

(Bill Skarsgard), a demonic spirit

that can take many forms but

prefers that of a demented clown.

Twenty-seven years pass — this

film is set in 2016 — and only

Mike (Isaiah Mustafa) remem-

bers what happened. Like a bad

nightmare, the rest of them bare-

ly recall that period in their young

lives. Now that Pennywise is on

the prowl again, hunting children

and other vulnerable people,

Mike contacts the rest of the

Losers and asks them to return to

Derry, Maine. Only together can

they defeat Pennywise once and

for all.

At first, Muschietti successfully

taps into the novelty of older

actors playing adult versions of

child characters. James Ransone

plays the older version of Eddie,

the hypochondriac motormouth,

and he finds heartbreaking notes

of paralyzing fear. Bill Hader

leaves a strong impression as

Richie, the bespectacled comic

relief whose need to tell jokes is

almost a crutch. Mike asks the

Losers to venture out alone, effec-

tively reacquainting them with

the events of that fateful summer

and reliving past traumas.

Once the Losers separate in

Derry, “Chapter Two” grinds to a

halt. This sequence is essentially

an opportunity for every actor,

both young and old, to interact

with some version of Pennywise.

Once again Muschietti relies on

jump scares and unsettling im-

agery, techniques that are, admit-

tedly, effective. But after yet an-

other Loser experiences an ultra-

vivid hallucination, we get the

point. At nearly three hours long,

the need to resolve every subplot

creates a gnawing sense of impa-

tience. Screenwriter Gary

Dauberman includes meta-jokes

about how King never quite

knows how to nail an ending, but

that common criticism exists for a

reason.

Monsters and giant clowns are

not the only thing that make the

film disturbing. “Chapter Two”

opens with a violent hate crime,

and adult Beverly (Jessica

Chastain) deals with brutal do-

mestic abuse. Maybe these scenes

are meant to show this is a more

“mature” horror film, except

Muschietti does not deal with

their ramifications in a sensitive

or dramatically consistent way.

Real trauma is given the same

consideration as a literal fun-

house of horrors, which cheapens

what the characters and audience

are put through.

The first “It” was such a com-

mercial and critical success be-

cause it was essentially a coming-

of-age film with some scary bits

thrown in. Moreover, Muschietti

used the first battle against Pen-

nywise as a metaphor for self-reli-

ance and the loss of innocence.

Now that the characters are older,

there are fewer lessons for them

to learn, so “Chapter Two” re-

gresses them into a childlike

state. Romantic subplots are in-

delicate, and shared grief arrives

with less trauma. The cumulative

effect is downright maudlin,

which is not what you might

expect from a film with gallons of

blood and other bodily fluids.

[email protected]

PHOTOS BY BROOKE PALMER/WARNER BROS. PICTURES

R. At area theaters. Contains

disturbing violent content and

bloody images throughout,

pervasive crude language and

some crude sexual material.

169 minutes.

Horror follow-up uses

too few scares to tie up

too many loose ends

ABOVE: The Losers Club, now

all grown up — from left, Bill

Hader as Richie, Jessica

Chastain as Beverly, James

McAvoy as Bill, James Ransone

as Eddie, Isaiah Mustafa as

Mike and Jay Ryan as Ben.

LEFT: The Losers must work to

rid themselves of Pennywise,

the demonic spirit played by

Bill Skarsgard that can take

many forms but prefers that of a

demented clown.