Twenty Seven Years Later – Review of To: Chapter 2

Stephen King is undoubtedly an extremely skilled author. A lot of books have appeared from his pen, the vast majority of which are unlikely to be suitable for putting children to sleep. I dare say that many adults could also develop sleep problems after exposure to King’s prose. Let’s be honest, the term “horror master” didn’t come out of nowhere. No wonder then that the amount of adaptations of his texts can make many a writer feel the burning pain of a less noble part of the body. This and its adaptation can also be the envy of a wide range of authors.

The first part introduces us to a small town in Maine, where the not-so-happy Pennywise clown torments the local population, especially children. It is not without reason that I used the word “torments” in this case, because in the first chapter of this story, the main antagonist is, in my opinion, the embodiment of evil. Pennywise is a torturer who draws strength from the fear of his victims, pissing them off using their greatest weaknesses. The character constructed in this way was a really interesting escape from the whole crowd of repetitive avengers and haters from other productions of this type. This made the movie more than just a simple horror film. The heavy atmosphere immediately infested the viewers, often putting their hair on end. This is where the power of the movie lay .For this reason, I had ambiguous feelings when going to the cinema for the sequel to the story about this peculiar clown. Of course, I didn’t mean the first part was bad, quite the opposite. She was so good that I was just a bit afraid of what Pennywise was up to this time. As it turned out, not quite rightly.

Come home…

 It: Chapter 2 takes us 27 years ahead, when the heroes of the first part have managed to make a good life away from Derry. Stuttering Bill (played by James McAvoy) has a prosperous writer’s life, Beverly (this time Jessica Chastain) is in business, Ritchie (Bill Hader) has managed to turn simple jokes into a career, nervous Eddie (James Ransone) in insurance, and Ben has gotten rid of became overweight and became an architect. Stanley did pretty well too. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? The problem is that while the “Nerds” had practically forgotten about the dark secret of a small town, she never forgot about them. Hidden deep in the darkness, evil waited for the right moment to remember itself again, and the first to find out was Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa), who, in turn, was the only one left in Derry to pursue this evil. Despite the preparations he had made, he was ultimately not quite ready for what would happen in the near future, as were the rest of the “Suckers” who eventually, with some exception, returned to Derry to fulfill their oath.

Massacre of the innocents

I have to admit that To: Chapter 2 is definitely more brutal and blunt, as we can see at the beginning of the movie. A dismembered corpse? Why not? Bloody paintings on the spans of the bridge? No problem! Suicide of one of the heroes at the very beginning? Here you are! Sequel does not choose the means of expression, and Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) himself from a cynical torturer has turned into a more murderous beast. We have the opportunity to observe the clown several times as he mercilessly massacres his victims, among whom, as you can guess, there are of course children. Of course, Pennywise is still scary at times, but the scenes with his participation are based on a slightly different pattern. Instead of building a harsh climate of honor, we have jumpscares herewhich, although they are really effective, in my opinion capture the entire production. To: Chapter 2 thus loses out compared to its predecessor, catching up a bit with a wide range of generic horror movies filled with cheap gimmicks.

It’s time to float

Playing the role of the clown, Bill Skarsgård, with all his physiognomy and acting skills, once again fit into his role perfectly. The change in the dynamics of the character played by him did not significantly affect its final reception. Even the slightest hint of a clown’s presence is disturbing, as Pennywise can still be calculating, even though he uses his bulky fangs a lot more often. As for the “nerds”, their game is quite uneven. I must admit that I promised myself a lot when I saw James McAvoy in the cast of the film. His role in Split was really great. Unfortunately, like Pennywise, I had to end up with taste in the end, as he plays this Scottish actor in the second part of Theit left a kind of hunger. The character of Bill was, after all, the one who started all the embarrassment about Derry’s dark secret, and in the sequel she looks somewhat lackluster. This is basically a complaint against most of the group, which sometimes looks like a random jumble of noobs from World of Warcraft’s “Looking for Dungeon” . Fortunately, the Eddie and Ritchie duo save the day. A saucy comedian and a neurotic panic-monger are the perfect combination which, when confronted with the cynicism of a clown, gives a really great effect. One moment the sight of Pennywise makes our hair stand on end, and the second the characters do or say something so ridiculous that ends in a wave of laughter. This balancing on a very thin and tense border between comedy and horror is the film’s strong point.

I’ve seen it somewhere before …

 The sound setting is absolutely flawless and contributes a lot to the film’s unsettling atmosphere. The soundtrack, and most of all the phenomenal theme song, is really disturbing and will be remembered for a long, oh, long time after the screening. The visual setting also looks fine. The image of a modern day Derry fits with the vision of a sleepy small town nestled in the woods of Maine. However, I have a problem with him, so I would swear that I have already seen them somewhere. Derry from To: Chapter 2 reminds me of the title town from the first season of Castle Rock. I don’t know if this is a deliberate intention of the producers or maybe it just seems to me. However, when it comes to the overall impression, the sequel to the story about the dark clown attacks the viewer more with ugliness and brutality. At times there are too many CGI effects, weird monsters or rotting, moving corpses.

For the movie “To: Chapter 2” we invite you to visit the Cinema City cinema network.