By Andrea Lindsey | Contributor
Today marks Friday the 13th — the first one of 2019.
With September barely brushing over our calendars, Halloween lovers aren’t quite ready to sink their teeth into their Halloween horror traditions just yet, but what better opportunity to dabble in spooky events than with the release of “IT: Chapter Two”?
Disclaimer: The beginning of the film includes sensitive content that involves the murder of a gay man. The details are gory, and they spared no expense for the graphics in this scene. It doesn’t seem like the plot could continue without this crucial part, as it marks the return of the infamous clown Pennywise.
Being an anti-horror film enthusiast, when this movie was released, I wanted no part of it whatsoever. Being forced to watch this movie (along with two toddlers who watch horror quite often) allowed me to reanalyze the parts of horror films that I didn’t like and eventually get over my fears of these types of films altogether.
The film serves as a continuation of the adventure of the Losers (Beverly, Bill, Richie, Mike, Ben, Eddie and Stanley) 27 years after they’ve all gone their separate ways and left their old life in Derry, Maine. That is until Pennywise makes an unexpected return, and it’s up to them to honor the pact they made with each other all those years ago — kill the clown.
Throughout the film, the characters were challenged to go back into the deepest parts of their memories to find what tied them back to their individual encounters with Pennywise that would later aid in their efforts to defeat him. Seeing that most of them had forgotten about their childhood in Derry, this proved to be a challenge to reconnect themselves to a past they wished to forget.
Half of the movie was just flashbacks of horrifying memories of the characters’ past, so don’t worry if you haven’t seen the first “IT” yet (like me); this movie recaps and catches you up quite a bit.
If you’re someone like me who despises scary movies, and you’re concerned that it’ll be “too much,” I made it through just fine (if you forget about the parts where I covered my ears and eyes, all while my baby cousin made fun of me for looking away).
In terms of horror, I believe this film was more disturbing than scary. The amount of gory attention to detail and graphics shown throughout the duration of the film make you say “Ew!” more than scream in terror.
Arguably, the most terrifying part of this whole film is the end when Pennywise takes on his final form (without revealing too much), and is so vividly sketched in my brain that I can hardly describe it while trying not to think about it ever again.
The filmmakers seem to have created a healthy balance between a horrific and comical film adaptation (except for a few misplaced jokes).
“The spine-chilling film scored 91 million in the first weekend, making it the second biggest horror movie opening of all time,” according to the the Los Angeles Times.
The film seemed to be a hit at the box offices, but it didn’t quite live up to the success of its predecessor — the biggest horror movie opening ever.
I think it is also important to mention the running time of this film is two hours and 40 minutes. Quite lengthy for a horror film, so make sure you go to the bathroom before.
Overall chapter two of the movie series did a good job at instilling a relatable life lesson: perception is key. All good things must come to an end; however, the writer has already hinted at yet another chapter in this thrilling story.
Don’t wait for the next one — hurry to your nearest movie theater to check out “IT: Chapter Two” before the filmmakers, or Pennywise, strikes again.
