Film

Critics Say ‘It: Chapter Two’ Is Terrifying (And, Y’know, Pretty Good)

Bill Hader fans, get excited.

by Joseph Earp  22 August 2019
It Chapter Two -- Pennywise

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In an industry increasingly littered with stale, flat-looking superhero movies that all tell the same story, the first It film was a rare blast of rancid, terrifying air.

A lavish, attentive adaptation of Stephen King’s source text, the film doesn’t skimp on the childhood trauma or the horrifying, murderous clown business, paying equal dues to both of the elements that make the source novel such a masterpiece. The result: a big, weirdly open-hearted blockbuster about childhood, nostalgia and how to escape an ancient, fang-toothed clown demon.

Now, that film’s director Andy Muschietti is set to release his sequel into the world, a horror epic titled It: Chapter Two that covers the second half of King’s book. That means this time the Losers are all grown-up, haunted by the horrors of their childhood, and desperate to finally defeat the demon Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård, doing his creepiest grins).

It: Chapter Two is still a few weeks off release, but a select number of critics were screened the film early. Their initial impressions haven’t been entirely positive — more than a few writers reckon the film is slapdash and awkward, particularly in its first third. But there’s still a lot to get excited about. That’s particularly true if you’re a fan of Bill Hader, who critics uniformly agree steals the show as Richie, the grown-up version of the character played by Finn Wolfhard in the first film.

For instance, Perri Nemiroff of Collider reckons the film is unrefined, but nails “a truly epic” feel, while Chris Evangelista of Slashfilm praises its “big”, overblown vibe, even as he admits that it feels slightly hurried and unrhythmic at times.

More positive is Fox Force Five News critic Sean James, who calls the movie the best horror film of the year — a big call, given that Ari Aster’s Midsommar came out a little under a month ago.

Of course, given that this is It we’re talking about, a lot of critics have pointed out how horrifying and unnerving the film is — Slashfilm’s Peter Sciretta even reckons it’s scarier than the first.

And then there’s the Hader love. Creative and influencer Elyse Willems says it’s Hader “at his finest”, while Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango, says that the actor “steals it”.

In any case, looks like we’re only a few weeks away from having the absolute pants scared off us.

It: Chapter 2 hits cinemas in Australia on September 5.