“IT Chapter Two” opened to theaters a little more than a month ago on Sept. 6, 2019. Fans of the genre entered the theaters, jumping and trembling with anticipation at what was expected to be the best horror film of the year. However, horror fans left the theaters weighed by hefty disappointment. The long awaited film is the screen conclusion to Stephen King’s well known novel “It”. 

The movie begins with an innocent carnival, where a gay couple is attacked by a homophobic group of men. In the aftermath of this event, Pennywise makes his first appearance, coming to prey upon the beaten man left behind in front of his terrified partner.

The cast of “IT Chapter Two” is excellent in the standard they present when imitating their younger versions, not only in the acting, but the looks as well. Jessica Chastain plays the older version of Beverly Marsh, complete with the striking red hair. And she blended seamlessly into the role of her younger counterpart, going so far as to imitate her younger version’s wide eyed smile whilst reading her childhood love note. James Ransone plays Eddie Kaspbrak, nailing the anxiety and cowardliness Eddie struggled with as a child in the first film. Although the cast is more than complimentary, its written counterpart is less than average, being mediocre at best. 

“IT Chapter Two” has not met the expectations of many, having the scares more gruesome or just plain disgusting than anything else. Many viewers found themselves looking away with a twisted stomach. For example, when the Loser’s Club visits Pennywises’ haunted house (as seen in the first film as the entrance to his lair) they fight what appears to be the younger Stanley’s decapitated head, which has spider legs erected from his around his skull and face. He is only defeated when he is beaten by the group together. Another instance is when Eddie visits the Pharmacy, wandering to their basement and finding a Leper in hiding, which attacks him, taking to licking Eddie’s face as a form of torture. When Eddie seemingly overcomes this, the Leper then vomits all over Eddie. 

In addition, the film has a running commentary from the group comedian, Richie Tozier, who is played by Bill Hader. Jokes can be found throughout the film, in turn, devaluing the few scares that do manage to please audiences here and there. For example, IT manages to ensnare a little girl into agreeing to be his friend. And without hesitation, he hooks his teeth onto her and pulls the girl into the darkness, never to be seen again. This form of horror, coming from the point of innocence, had scare fans twitching. 

Pennywise is defeated by insults hurled at him from the Loser’s club, which is a disappointing ending, seeing as Pennywise is a powerful interdimensional being that feeds on fear. On top of that, the movie lasts a substantial two hours as well. 

Over all, “It Chapter Two” did not astonish audiences or capture the amount of terror it was meant to inflict. It was a waste of time, not to mention money. And the trade off was two hours of eating popcorn in a dark theater.