It Chapter Two is a disappointing sequel to the 2017 film as, despite some of the well written characters and horror, the plot structure is messy and results in a strange and unfocused experience.

Taking place 27 years after the first film, the shapeshifting entity returns to terrorize the town of Derry. This prompts the Losers’ Club to reunite in adulthood to confront and kill It once and for all.

The Plot

In the first act not enough time is spent on establishing the now adult Losers’ Club. We learn a lot about Beverley and how her past experience with her abusive father led her to marry an abusive husband. The other characters however only have a brief scene or so before they’re all together in Derry.

This issue plagues the rest of the film. The plot cannot give each character the same amount of attention, hence it has to prioritize and focus on the ones who are the most important in the story. The first film understood this as despite having seven principle characters, the plot only really focused on three of them (Bill, Beverly and Ben). Chapter Two doesn’t seem to know which characters to centre on as there are long periods of time that revolve around certain characters and at random points in the plot.

For example, by the second act we know about Richie and Eddie and their fears. After that you’d think it would just be a case of them overcoming their fears and helping the group to kill It. However, as the second act ends and the third begins, new information about their characters emerges, putting them at the centre of the film’s attention. Are Richie and Eddie principle characters? If yes why? They weren’t really in Chapter One. Wouldn’t it make more sense to focus on Bill, Ben and Beverly as we know more about them?

To make things worse, flashbacks to incidents that took place during Chapter One are scattered throughout the film, which could’ve easily just been scenes we’ve already seen in Chapter One as they’d serve the same purpose.

The Horror

In some scenes, the horror in Chapter Two is actually better than that in Chapter One. Some scenes rely mostly on atmosphere and subtle dread rather than jumpscares or big loud Goosebumps monsters. In most scenes however the horror is just the same as Chapter One’s. There’s some disturbing body horror, which is actually quite creepy, but there’s also the usual abundance of jumpscares.

Pennywise is degraded in terms of horror. In Chapter Two he’s a lot cheesier as while chasing and scaring the Losers, he mocks and insults them like a comic book villain. He’s not the horrifying force of nature he was in Chapter One, he’s more like Mark Hamill’s Joker.

There’s a lot of humour in the film which, if you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you’ll know that I appreciate in a horror film as it balances the tone and makes the film more engaging. In Chapter Two the comedy’s mostly in the interactions and banter between the Losers, very much like in the first film. However, there are countless scenes where the comedy conflicts with the horror. It will appear in a disturbing form and then Richie will crack a one-liner. There’s a lot of moments that seem to mock It, which I think contradicts the serious, more threatening presentation of It in Chapter One. Not only does the comedy weaken the horror but it weakens the antagonism and the stakes.

In conclusion, despite some of the well-written characters, the plot and most of the horror ruin It Chapter Two as a sequel. I’d recommend it if you want to know how the story ends but I’d prepare to be disappointed.

I’m going to have to give It Chapter Two a weak 6 out of 10.