After his first defeat to the Losers’ Club, Pennywise returns almost 30 years later to terrorize Derry, Maine for the second time. “IT: Chapter Two” was released on Sept. 6 and brought in $91 million in the first weekend alone, making it the second highest opening horror movie behind the first “IT” film. Internationally, the film earned a global cumulative of $185 million including $9 million in global IMAX sales.

The childhood friends are now all grown up and have headed their separate ways. Once the disappearances start again, Mike Hanlon, the only one still living in Derry, brings the whole gang back to town to defeat Pennywise once and for all. The Losers are forced to face their greatest fears head on to destroy Pennywise who is now more powerful than ever before. With a Rotten Tomato score of 63%, the film followed the path of many other sequels in the movie industry: it brings the series to a satisfying conclusion, but it ultimately falls short of the first film, which scored an 86% Rotten Tomato score. The film also received a 3/5 review from Rolling Stones.

“Is it weird to say that ‘IT: Chapter Two’ is almost as scary but not quite as grabby as Chapter One? Sorry, the truth hurts,” Rolling Stones reviewer Peter Travers said.

Contrarily, the New York Post raved about “IT: Chapter 2, claiming it outdid the summer blockbusters—“Godzilla: King of Monsters” and “Spiderman: Far From Home.”

“The sequel to the 2017 mega- hit “It” is an immensely satisfying, often thrilling adventure film,” New York Post reviewer Johnny Oleksinski said.

Mike, played by Isaiah Mustafa, has spent the last 27 years researching ways to finally destroy the clown, but the character comes off as a bit crazy because of his infatuation with Pennywise. Although Mike is a little intense, he leads the group on a journey that surfaces Pennywise’s long and strange past, which solves a lot of puzzles for the viewer and provides a lot of insight into the character. “IT: Chapter Two” also hosts the return of Bowers, played by Tech Grant, after his escape from a psychiatric ward. Unfortunately, grown-up Bowers becomes insignificant because the character comes off less psychotic in comparison to the tormented bully in “IT.”

“IT: Chapter Two” definitely lives up to the title of horror film, with its fair share of eerie, nightmare-inducing scenes and surprising moments that makes the audience jump out of their
seats. On the other hand, the film is a brutal two hours and 50 minutes long, more than a half hour longer than its preceder. The extra time entails more scenes and storyline, but in the process, diminishes its ability to firmly grasp the attention of the viewers.

One of the most notable scenes is the murder of Andrian Mellon, a gay man who becomes the victim of a hate crime. The incident was loosely based off of the real-life drowning of Charlie
Howard in Bangor, Maine. The movie murder sparks the reappearance of Pennywise, who finishes off Mellon once he is thrown off a bridge. This scene is especially interesting because King chose to include it to show the roots of evil human behavior, challenging the viewers to see the worst in themselves.

Overall, “IT: Chapter Two” matches the fear factor of the first film with many terrifying surprise moments and more. The sequel also offers a look into Pennywise’s origin, filling in a lot of blanks about his past. Although the film did not live up to the hype of the first one, it brings all of the original Losers back together in a heartwarming scene and the audience gets closure that Pennywise is finally gone.