It:Chapter Two (2019) A review by Shlomoh Sherman September 17, 2019 Read about IT: Chapter Two On the Internet Movie Data Base

It Chapter Two (2019) Director: Andy Muschietti Writers: Gary Dauberman (screenplay by), Stephen King (based on the novel by) Stars: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard Plot Summary - Plot Synopsis: In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town. Plot Keywords: killer clown - second part - evil clown Tagline: It Ends Genres: Drama - Fantasy - Horror Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): Rated R for disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material. Parents Guide: See below Country: Canada - USA Language: English Release Date: September 6, 2019 (USA) Filming Locations: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Box Office: Budget:$79,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend USA: $91,062,152, September 8, 2019 Gross USA: $153,803,524 Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $323,303,524 Company Credits<: Production Co: KatzSmith Productions, Lin Pictures, New Line Cinema Technical Specs: Runtime: 169 min Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos - Dolby Digital Color: Color

Review: Some sequels try too hard because they want to be better than what they are sequelizing. And some go on far too long, -- over 3 hours! No one wanted to see this with me except my friend Mike and he is only vaguely familiar with Stephen King's works and knew nothing about the story of IT. However, once you see the flashbacks to Chapter One, you can pretty much figure out what's going on. We are back in Derry, 27 years after the ending of Chapter One and the major characters are now adults in their early 40s. Most have successful careers and few are married. Although successful, their dysfunctionality has followed them into adulthood. Bill Denbrough, who lost his brother Georgie to Pennywise, has become a successful mystery novelist. He is still filled with guilt over Georgie's death, blaming himself because he pretended to be sick since he didn't want to play with him. The website at https://screenrant.com/it-chapter-2-movie-ending-explained/ ponts out that The biggest running gag in IT Chapter 2 is that Bill is a great author, but he can't write endings to save his life. He's constantly mocked for it ... [though] one of his books is being] turn[ed] into a film. When he returns to Derry and goes to buy his old bike, the shopkeeper - played in an extremely meta-nod by Stephen King himself - tells him that he's read his book, and he too didn't like the ending. King often injects himself into his characters, and Bill is no exception, but this takes things even further by so directly addressing a criticism of King himself: that he can't write good endings. Beverly Marsh, the Losers' Club lone female member, is a Chicago fashion designer married to an abusive husband as was her father. Ben Hanscom, the shy, chubby kid in the Losers' club, develops a crush on Beverly. Not only did he lose weight and become muscular. He also has become an established architect. Richie Tozier has become a DJ in Los Angeles. The movie suggests that, as a kid, Richie was in love with club member Eddie Kaspbrak. Eddie Kaspbrak has become a married New York City entrepreneur. Like Bill, he also sees visions of Georgie. Mike Hanlon is the only Loser to have remained in Derry. Mike works as a Derry librarian and calls the others to warn them about It’s return. Stanley Uris, the Jewish kid in the Loser's club is the most nervous member. He has become an Atlanta accounting professional The town bully, Henry Bowers, escapes from an asylum and chases after the Losers' Club members. Presumeably, but not actually, killed by members of the Losers' Club, It, in the form of the clown Pennywise, returns to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine. Now adults, the Losers friends have long ago departed Derry and gone their separate ways. But when people start being killed again, Mike Hanlon calls the others home for one final fight against IT. Emotionally damaged by their horrid experiences from the past, the united Losers have to conquer their deep fears in order to destroy Pennywise, now more powerful than ever. As I pointed out in my review of It: Chapter One, "The character of Pennywise does not appear as much as we might expect. In fact, some have noted that his appearance is minimal." See that review HERE. - In this film, Pennywise appears in many more scenes which is perhaps a bit overdone. I again quote the article at https://screenrant.com/it-chapter-2-movie-ending-explained/: IT Chapter Two is a long, ambitious film that doesn't always work, but its ending is a satisfying close to this story ... Although a lot of what's in IT Chapter 2 is quite faithful to Stephen King's IT book, there are some big changes. That's not too surprising given it's a 1,100-page novel, so there's a wealth of stuff in there that even two movies can't fit in, despite IT Chapter Two's 3-hour runtime .. As usual, I cite an excerpt from an IMDB reviewer. Here is one from the September 10, 2019 review by BrownPelican: Worth a watch - Excellent special effects with the monster It. Some humor which fits well. Cool cameo with Stephen King. Usual plot and nice philosophical lecture at ending. A bit long but a decent flick in the horror genre. Could have been kept with a 2 hour or less length. KUDOS to James McAvoy as Bill Denbrough; I have appreciated him as a wonderful actor and can hardly believe that this is the same man who portrayed the evil monster in SPLIT and GLASS. McAvoy, an acclaimed Scottish actor. KUDOS to Jessica Chastain joins as Beverly Marsh. She is best remembered for her performance in Zero Dark Thirty. KUDOS to Jay Ryan as Ben Hanscom. He is not a familiar actor to me. KUDOS to Bill Hader as Richie Tozier; I cannot tell you enough how much I love this Saturday Night Live actor/comic; Bill plays the hitman Barry in the HBO series of the same name. KUDOS to Isaiah Mustafa as Mike Hanlon; he is best known for starring in a series of Old Spice commercials, and he also starred in the Freeform series Shadowhunters. KUDOS to James Ransone as Eddie Kaspbrak; he starred in HBO's THE WIRE, and portrays The Deputy in the SINISTER movie franchise; he obviously has some horror movie experience. KUDOS to Andy Bean as Stanley Uris; Bean starred as Greg Knox in the Starz series POWER, and also portrayed Alec Holland in the short-lived DC Universe series SWAMP THING. KUDOS to Teach Grant as the malicious town bully, Henry Bowers; Grant has appeared in the series ALTERED CARBON and VAN HELSING.

Trivia: The role of Richie Tozier was written with Bill Hader in mind, but it still allowed freedom for another actor to potentially take on the role. Once Hader officially joined the cast, the script was edited to tailor the role specifically for his talents. Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise) has stated that he had more fun on set during this movie because he was actually able to talk to and hang out with his adult co-stars. Skarsgård had minimal contact with his child co-stars in Chapter One so that they would be more genuinely scared of Pennywise once they saw him. The young actors who were the Losers Club in chapter one grew tremendously in the 2 years following filming. They had to be digitally 'de-aged' in some scenes as they looked significantly older than before. Bill Skarsgård stated in an interview that even after filming had wrapped, he would have nightmares of Pennywise. In these nightmares he would have to battle Pennywise just as the characters in the film do. One of Richie Tozier's character traits is his ability to do "voices" and impressions. Bill Hader is a well-known impressionist, famous for the celebrity impressions he did for years on "Saturday Night Live." With this in mind, screenwriter Gary Dauberman wrote a scene in which Richie does an impression of Al Pacino, a voice that Hader is quite good at. However, Hader requested that the impression be removed from the script because the Pacino impression was old material and he didn't feel like doing it again. Stephen King calls the film not a sequel but the second half to It. James McAvoy injured himself for real during his character's fight scenes with Pennywise, suffering a double thigh strain. [Cameo] Andy Muschietti, the director, plays a customer at the pharmacy where Eddie picks up his prescription. Idris Elba expressed interest in playing Mike prior to Isaiah Mustafa's casting. It would have been Elba's second Stephen King adaptation, following The Dark Tower (2017). Brandon Crane who played young Ben in the TV miniseries, has a small cameo as the businessman on video call to the current old Ben. During the scene where Beverly has to face her fears, the bathroom fills up with blood and one character says "Here's Johnny!", paying a homage to the film The Shining (1980), based on the book by Stephen King. Towards the end of the film, Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) places a book about Derry's history on a table. The author is mentioned as being Richard Bachman, a pen named used by It writer Stephen King during his writing career. The room where Bill is typing at the end of the film, when he gets the call from Mike, is the same room from Stand By Me. The ending of the movie differs than the book, in that Pennywise is revealed to be a female spider in its most true form to humans and the Loser Club must destroy all the eggs that were laid because they're about to hatch. Pennywise is in the film for 10 minutes, fewer than his appearence in Chapter One. Stan's Bar Mitzvah scene was originally filmed for It (2017), but only brief shots from it were used in the film (the full scene was made available on the BluRay edition). The sequel contains the full scene as a flashback, but apparently with different takes used. Quotes Pennywise: For 27 years, I dreamt of you. I craved you... I've missed you! Waiting for this very moment... TIME TO FLOAT! Georgie Denbrough: You lied, and I died. YOU LIED, AND I DIED! Mike Hanlon: [From trailer] Something happens to you when you leave this town. The farther away, the hazier it all gets. But me, I never left. I remember all of it. Mrs. Kersch: You know what they say about Derry. No one who dies here ever really dies. Soundtracks: 1. 27 Years Later (2:06), 2. Memory (1:39), 3. Come Home (2:24), 4. I Swear, Bill (1:30), 5. Beverly Escapes (2:20), 6. Henry Bowers (1:21), 7. Firefly (3:08), 8. Losers Reunited (0:52), 9. Echo (1:44), 10. Fortune Cookies (2:10), 11. You Knew (1:49), 12. The Library (2:07), 13. Shokopiwah (3:28), 14. The Barrens (1:21), 15. The Clubhouse (3:48), 16. Perfume (2:35), 17. Mrs. Kersh (1:46), 18. Miss Me, Richie? (1:23), 19. Dirty Little Secret (feat. Pennywise) (1:20), 20. Silver Bullet (1:53), 21. Why Georgie? (3:45), 22. Your Hair Is Winter Fire (3:20), 23. Eddie and the Leper (1:50), 24. Festival Pursuit (1:06), 25. Hall of Mirrors (2:14), 26. Bar Mitzvah (1:35), 27. Bowers Attack (1:18), 28. Back to Neibolt (2:49), 29. Home At Last (1:28), 30. It´s Stan (2:03), 31. This Is Where It Happened (2:03), 32. The Place of It (1:56), 33. Artifacts (3:09), 34. The Ritual of Chüd (2:04), 35. Very Scary (1:39), 36. Scary (1:30), 37. Not Scary At All (1:25), 38. You Lied and I Died (2:54), 39. My Heart Burns There Too (2:29), 40. Spider Attack (3:28), 41. You´re All Grown Up (5:23), 42. Neibolt Escape (1:35), 43. Nothing Lasts Forever (4:17), 44. Goodbye (0:54), 45. Stan´s Letter (4:17) PARENTS GUIDE FOR IT: CHAPTER TWO(2019) MPAA Rated R for disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material. Certification Argentina:16  Australia:MA15+  Austria:16  Belgium:12  Brazil:16  Bulgaria:D  Canada:14A (Alberta)  Canada:14A (British Columbia)  Canada:14A (Manitoba)  Canada:13+ (Quebec)  Chile:14  Colombia:12  Czech Republic:15  Denmark:15  Ecuador:12 (Guayaquil)  Ecuador:12 (Loja)  Ecuador:15 (Quito)  Finland:K-16  France:12  Germany:16  Greece:K-15  Hong Kong:IIB  Hungary:18  Iceland:16  Indonesia:17+  Ireland:16  Israel:16  Italy:VM14  Japan:R15+  Lithuania:N-16  Luxembourg:16  Malaysia:18  Maldives:18+  Mexico:B15  Netherlands:16  New Zealand:R16  Nigeria:18  Norway:15 (2019, cinema rating)  Peru:14  Philippines:R-16  Poland:15  Portugal:M/16  Russia:18+  Singapore:M18  South Africa:18  South Korea:15  Spain:18 (ICAA)  Sweden:15  Switzerland:16  Taiwan:R-15  Thailand:15  Turkey:15+  United Kingdom:15  United States:R (certificate #52302)  Vietnam:C18 SEX & NUDITY: A giant, naked (CGI) elderly woman runs towards Beverley and tried to attack her. There are a few kissing scenes. A couple kisses at the beginning. We see a Stan's buttocks when he's getting into a bathtub naked. Beverly is almost raped by her husband and she fights him off. Richie says a masturbation joke during his stand-up routine. VIOLENCE & GORE: Multiple graphic onscreen deaths/murders of adults and children alike. An adult Beverly suffers domestic violence. One instance is when she is attacked by her partner Tom Rogan who punches Beverly in the head, causing her to fall back on the bed. Beverly does fight back later. The violence in the IT movies is very tame compared to most other R rated horror. Especially given the subject matter, the movie could easily pass for PG-13 aside from a few scenes with onscreen violence. An entire row of 5-8 year olds sat in front of me during this movie and were all fine. PROFANITY: Strong language throughout the whole film Over 120 uses of "fuck" and frequent uses of "shit", "bitch", "dick", "asshole", and "faggot". ALCOHOL, DRUGS & SMOKING: The characters drink alcohol which could mean they are intoxicated. The same characters then leave a restaurant and immediately operate motor vehicles. Beverly often smokes FRIGHTENING & INTENSE SCENES: This film is much darker and meaner than scary opposed to the first. As the first is supposed to appeal more to the fear of a child, and Chapter Two is to appeal to the fear of an adult. Pennywise (or IT) disguises itself as many frightening things in the movie. Pennywise can morph his mouth into a giant gaping mouth with layers of sharp teeth which he uses it mangle and eat his victims in gory and graphic ways. This is all done with CGI but can definitely scare young kids. The finale is intense and involves scary imagery and loud noises Some scenes use flashing lights to add to the intensity. This may affect photosensitive viewers. Multiple children are killed by Pennywise on screen. They are very disturbing to watch EPILEPSY WARNING: This film has several scenes that use severe strobe light effects. The most intense ones happen in a pharmacy basement, in a house of mirrors, and interwoven through about half of the climax of the movie, which lasts roughly half an hour. SPOILERS: The Parents Guide items below may give away important plot points. SEX & NUDITY In an illusion, multiple people call a woman "slut." Beverly's husband, Tom, hears her phone call with Mike, telling her to return to Derry. He thinks Beverly is cheating on him and he throws her on the bed and says, "I want you to do what you were going to do to Mike to me." Tom takes off his shirt (he has a tank top underneath) but Beverly escapes. VIOLENCE & GORE: In one scene, we see Beverly almost drowning in a toilet cubicle that fills up with blood. Eddie gets stabbed on the side of his face (cheek) by Henry Bowers. There is some blood dripping down his face. A young girl's face is bitten into by Pennywise. Not overly graphic but could be upsetting for some viewers. We see a zombie-like form of the late Patrick Hockstetter present Henry Bowers with a switchblade. This form also assists Henry in escaping from the psychiatric institute he has been in for 27 years. A child is trapped behind glass panes in a Funhouse. Pennywise repeatedly bangs his forehead against a pane to get to the child. As the glass cracks, Pennywise smiles to reveal his sharp teeth. One of the Losers is on the other side of the child, desperately trying and failing to break through the glass before Pennywise. Pennywise eventually breaks through the glass and bites the child's head. Although the contact is offscreen, blood splurts onto the glass. A gay couple are attacked and brutally beaten. Bones in one of the victim's bloodied face are heard cracking as he gets repeatedly punched and kicked whilst helpless on the ground. The same man is thrown over the bridge in an attempt to kill him. The man soon after falls victim to Pennywise when a large chunk of his upper body is bitten off; Pennywise is seen eating this chunk of flesh. Eddie is stabbed through the chest by one of Pennywise's giant spider legs. He later dies from the injury and is left in the cavern whilst the rest of the Losers Club escape. Tom Rogan, Beverly's husband, physically abuses Beverly and Beverly fights back to defend herself. This could be upsetting for some people. The Hobo/Leper from the first movie attacks adult Eddie and throws up in his face while a song plays. It's played as dark humour. Multiple on-screen deaths including children getting their heads bitten into by Pennywise's giant mouth. These sometimes result in blood splatters. These are more graphic than the first chapter. One form Pennywise takes is young Beverly, with her hair on fire and skin gradually decaying. Henry Bowers is killed when Richie throws an axe into the back of his head. The impact is offscreen but you see the results when he collapses to the ground. Pennywise is shrunken down to a smaller size by the Losers Club's taunts. Mike reaches into It's chest and pulls out its heart. The rest of the losers then crush It's heart, killing It. It screams as it dies. Eddie stabs Henry through a shower curtain. The impact of the blade going in isn't shown and the blade is covered by the curtain. Henry is seen shortly after pulling the blade out though this part is very brief. Multiple bodies of dead children are seen emerging from a body of water. They are incredibly mutilated with various limbs scattered around the water. Somewhat graphic. Bill shoots his younger self in the head with a Bolt Gun. Mike's parents are shown in a flashback burning alive. Their charred hands can be seen protruding from a door but the rest of their bodies are abstracted. Right before Beverly leaves her old home. Pennywise appears to her in human form. He paints white paint on his face and then cuts his face with his finger nails making blood pour down his face. This movie is believed to have had the most blood ever in a movie scene (when Beverly is drowning in blood inside the bathroom). One character is stabbed in the face. The character then stabs the attacker in the chest with the same knife. ALCOHOL, DRUGS & SMOKING: Mike takes a fictitious hallucinogenic substance, called Maturn Root, given to him by the Shokopiwah tribe to allow him to see Pennywise's origins. The same character later spikes Bill it. Bill is drugged by Mike in order to see the origins of It and how to defeat It. FRIGHTENING & INTENSE SCENES: Early on in the film, two gay men are verbally then physically attacked by a group of homophobic men. One of them is savagely beaten and is then thrown off a bridge into a river. Pennywise appears to help the man out of the water, but bites a chunk out of the man's upper torso whilst the man's boyfriend watches in terror. Both Pennywise and the victim are obscured by balloons, then mysteriously disappear. The final sequence involves Pennywise changing into a large spider-like creature and chasing the members of the Losers Club through an underground cavern. This could be distressing for anyone with claustrophobia or arachnophobia. Towards the beginning of the film, a character commits suicide by slitting his wrists whilst in the bath. Although the action is not shown, his body is seen afterwards on two occasions, with blood trickling from his hands. This could be distressing for anyone affected by self-harm or suicide. Pennywise creates a illusion of Stanley's severed head. It taunts some of the losers before turning into a spider like creature. It attacks Bill, Richie and Eddie before being stabbed multiple times by Ben. In one scene, 2 characters go through 2 doors. In one door, a body from the torso down is running at them with blood spurting out of his torso. In the other door is at first a cute dog for a few seconds but then turns into a monster like dog which might scare some viewers (the jump-scare is unexpected) Andy Muschietti on How He Directed IT:Chapter Two Throughout It: Chapter Two, it becomes clear that Richie is a closeted gay man in love with his childhood best friend, Eddie. How 'It Chapter: 2' Gay Moment Lets Richie Tozier Down. Read about IT: Chapter Two On the Internet Movie Data Base

Cast: Cast overview, first billed only: Jessica Chastain ... Beverly Marsh James McAvoy ... Bill Denbrough Bill Hader ... Richie Tozier Isaiah Mustafa ... Mike Hanlon Jay Ryan ... Ben Hanscom James Ransone ... Eddie Kaspbrak Andy Bean ... Stanley Uris Bill Skarsgård ... Pennywise Jaeden Martell ... Young Bill Denbrough Wyatt Oleff ... Young Stanley Uris Jack Dylan Grazer ... Young Eddie Kaspbrak Finn Wolfhard ... Young Richie Tozier Sophia Lillis ... Young Beverly Marsh Chosen Jacobs ... Young Mike Hanlon Jeremy Ray Taylor ... Young Ben Hanscom