Come Back Home
Synopsis
Seven friends reunite in their hometown to honour an oath they made as children, an oath to destroy an evil entity that brings the greatest fears of his victims to life. The friends must brave their own pasts in order to defeat this old enemy and bring peace to their sleepy town and themselves.
IT Chapter 2 is the highly anticipated conclusion to the remake of the classic 1990s film of the same name. The film takes place 27 years after the first series of confrontations between seven young friends and a carnivorous beast moonlighting as a clown. The end of the first film would see the self named ‘Losers Club’ fail in their attempt to rid their small town of it’s dark predator, but would swear an oath to return one day to finish the job for good. When the day finally does arrive, the young adventurers who had braved decrepit houses and dark sewers in their youth, placed a good deal of distance between themselves and the hometown that had made their fears flesh.
While most managed to leave the nest and explore territories new, one decided instead to remain in the town of Derry and dedicate his life to researching the origins of Pennywise The Dancing Clown and more importantly, how to kill it. The man in question is Mike Hanlon, and after seeing the clues of ITs return, he would reach out to each of his old friends and request that they fulfill the oaths they had made so long ago. While reluctant at first to put their demanding lives on hold, something would pull the friends back to their old stomping ground like moths drawn to a flame, and the return to Derry would also bring a return of memories long lost, or perhaps only buried deep within.
The reunion would serve as the first step of Mike’s master plan that would eventually culminate into an ancient ritual designed to destroy IT. However, each of the losers would have to take a tentative stroll down memory lane and confront the demons of their pasts, the entire town serving almost as large house of mirrors designed by Pennywise to drive his victims mad and make them easier targets to devour. The memories of the protagonists would come back initially as a trickle, then as a torrent before eventually breaking the floodgates and exposing the group to a past that they they had turned their back on. It is indeed these memories that would serve as an integral part to the ritual that the group would hope to perform successfully.
The intimate knowledge of their adversary would give the friends a slight advantage heading into the fray, and as such, Pennywise would throw everything and the kitchen sink at the group, weaponizing not only the fears of the past, but also the secrets of the group's present.
Screenshot From Mac
Screenshot From Mac
We All Float Down Here
Mike certainly hits the nail on the head when he speaks of how memories are a funny thing at the film's opening. My own recollections of IT took me back to a time long ago when the image of Tim Curry in clown make-up grinning menacingly on the cover of the thick Stephen King novel was enough to keep me up late at night. It was a time when horror films preferred a more full frontal approach as opposed to subtle suggestion of the more modern times that requires audiences' imaginations to do most of the leg work.
With IT, the clown is revealed, leaving little in the way of mystery, not unlike a dream girl who decided to give that kiss on the first time of asking, much to the surprise and possible disappointment of a young man who would discover that it is indeed the journey and work that make the reward more satisfying. With the cat out of the bag, the film compensates, or rather over compensates with one jump scare after the next, just about every scene designed to bring to life a disturbing image or a large jolt in the audience seat.
With time, this becomes old quickly, and a realization develops that this is a film that not only fails to be scary, but actually fails to be good. Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but perhaps one that holds with regards to what the latest remake is and perhaps a deliberate approach on the part of the film makers. As to first point, one doesn't need reminding as to the power of nostalgia, and IT was a cow waiting to be milked, hence two parts to the film as opposed to the original which played out as one. The opportunity to sell the metaphoric camera and film separately was an opportunity too good to pass up, and so the first focused on the children, while part two focused on the adults.
Screenshot From Mac
Screenshot From Mac
As to the second point, the jumpscares and other approaches to invoking fear in his quarry became so predictable, that one can't help but entertain the possibility that this was a deliberate way of involving audiences in the film's overall message, and that is that there is nothing real to fear, and eventually the films attempt to elicit the response becomes almost pathetic. In many ways, I felt as if Chapter 2 was trying to pay homage to it corny 1990s roots while still giving the look of a modern day horror.
In comparison to the original, I was glad that they took away Bill's stupid ponytail as well the cringy bike riding bonding moment between him and Mike, but despite attempting an entirely new direction as far as the story was concerned, there were still a few nice tributes to the past, even if they did feel like spare pieces of luggage stuffed into an already packed bag.
All Grown Up
Interestingly enough, the opening scene where a homosexual couple get brutally assaulted by some of Derry's most intolerant, was far more disturbing and visceral than anything that the film offered during it's rather lengthy run. There are certainly some quality scenes to fawn over, and while the jumpscares become old, and the approach with the dead guilt tripping the living elicits more eye rolls than actual disturbance, there is certainly a good deal to be said about the editing and the composition of the film.
I liked the smooth transitions back into the past, taking audiences through the intimate memories of the group and their many moments that were not shown in the first film, moments apart from the madness brought on by the colorfully dressed clown, indeed memories of battles fought aside from the nightmares cooked up by the sewer dwelling demon.
As mentioned already, the run time of the film felt unnecessarily long and could've done with a trim, and there did feel as if there was some interesting territory that was touched upon with regards to particular characters, but not satisfactorily explored. The gang's old bully, Henry Bowers, also felt like a superfluous addition to the film, while the real points goes to the hilarious chemistry between actors Bill Hader and James Ransone in their roles as Richie and Eddie, respectively.
Screenshot From Mac
Despite the supposed terrible endings in Bill's own books, I quite liked the ending of the second chapter, as it gave heartwarming closure to not only the adults of the story, but their inner children who were also crying out for respite from the nightmare. The addition of Stephen King in a small roll within the film was also a nice touch, giving the creator a chance to go back in time and be part of the journey with the creations of his past.
IT Chapter 2 will most likely not make the cut with the die hard horror connoisseur, but you couldn't ask for a better film for a weekend chill session with the friends, not to mention the little Easter eggs waiting to be discovered on follow up views. So on that note, I wish you all happy viewing and remember to stay away from the sewers.
