Nobody wants to play with clowns anymore: IT Chapter 2 review

IT Chapter 2 is finally in theaters. So obviously I was at the theater at 3 PM Friday to see how IT ends. I was not disappointed.

The King Renaissance rolls on as IT ends. IT Chapter 2 is an almost perfect follow up to the first film. I’ve said many times the original 1990 miniseries falls flat on the parts with the adult cast. That was rectified in IT Chapter 2.

The main complaint about most people is the film runs too long at 2 hours and 50 minutes. I wonder how they felt about the half-hour longer Avengers Endgame? If you ask me the story of the Losers Club coming back together 27 years later to finish what they started with Pennywise should have been a little longer.

The film begins with the brutalization of a gay man Adrian Mellon by small-town homophobes, and eventual murder of him (by Pennywise) however in the book there is a bit more substance to this subplot showing us more of Pennywise’s influence on the town’s indifference that we don’t get in the film.

More from Horror Movies

• Godzilla Minus One makes the King of the Monsters terrifying again
• A Creature Was Stirring scares up yuletide frights
• Pig Killer (2023): A morally ambiguous dive into shock cinema
• Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls: Demonically fun times
• Tobin Bell stars in new horror movie The Cello

There is a lot in here that’s in the book, but different. We get the smoke hole this time around, but the vision of where the entity that fancies itself Pennywise the Dancing Clown came from is a bit rushed.

We know how long IT has been around but not much of what has happened in Derry in all of that time. We also learn Henry (obviously) survives his fall, but we don’t know how exactly.

Then there are characters like Bev’s abusive husband Tom, and Bill’s wife Audra is seen once but never come back into the story again like they’re supposed to. There’s even a minor character from the book that is given a bit more of a substantial part for Bill’s character development.

IT Chapter 2 is equal parts terrifying, funny, and yes even emotional. This is in no small part thanks to the phenomenal cast. Both the returning child cast and their adult counterparts, a few of which can pass for adult versions of the children.

Once again the stand out character is Richie Tozier, played as an adult by Bill Hader. There are even a few familiar faces in small cameos if you keep your eyes open.

If this is truly the last we see of Pennywise, which it might not be since Andy Muschietti wants to explore more of lore in IT before the Losers Club, IT Chapter 2 is very appropriate ending of an epic tale of life, fear, death, and friendship.

What did you think of IT Chapter 2? Do you plan on seeing the movie in theaters if you haven’t yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

IT Chapter 2 is currently playing in theaters nationwide.