The film revolves around events in Derry, Maine where the group of seven kids, who confronted the clown Pennywise, known as the Losers have returned 27 years later following events involving mysterious murders in the town committed by Pennywise. It’s a film that has these adults not only fulfill an oath to return to Derry to defeat Pennywise once and for all but also to confront some demons. Gary Dauberman’s screenplay opens with the beating of a gay couple as one of them would be killed by Pennywise as it leads to Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs as a teenager/Isaiah Mustafa as an adult) to call the rest of the Losers. Dauberman’s script does a lot to establish the stakes and what the Losers must do but some of the execution and plot-pointing unfortunately leads to a messy narrative. Notably in a few flashbacks where some of the losers deal with moments from their past but also blur the idea of whether it’s a memory or a fantasy recreated as their younger selves. It gets confusing while some of the back story about Pennywise’s origins are confusing as well with Hanlon being the one to research everything in how to kill him once and for all.
Muschietti’s direction does have some style in its compositions and approach to suspense while also play into the idea of memory and nightmares. Shot on location at the Manitoba province in Canada with some of it shot in Toronto as Maine and New York City. Muschietti also dwell into the events that these characters have to cope with as he uses wide shots to get a scope of the locations including some of the nightmares they all have to deal with. The medium shots and close-ups that Muschietti uses to play into the interaction with the characters such as their reunion scene at a Chinese restaurant where it starts off fun but then becomes scary. This approach to wanting to be funny, dramatic, and serious is where the film does have tonal issues where Muschietti wants the film to be a lot of things but it never gets a balanced tone while there are other things in the film that never gets fully explained. Notably the character of Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton/Teach Grant) who is aided by the dead body of his friend Patrick (Owen Teague) as that is never fully explained.
Despite the messy elements in the film’s second act where it is bogged down by lots of exposition, Muschietti does manage to get things going for its third act with the climatic showdown between the Losers and Pennywise. It is a grand sequence that has a lot at stake but also forcing people to relieve their nightmares as well as confront their own guilt from the past as children. It is a sequence that has a lot going on while its aftermath does go a bit overlong at times though it’s quaint in comparison to some of the events in the second act. Overall, Muschietti crafts a riveting though flawed film about a group of adults who reunite to destroy a mysterious clown who terrorized them as kids 27 years ago.
Cinematographer Checco Varese does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lights for many of the interior/exterior scenes set at night to help maintain the eerie mood of the film. Editor Jason Ballantine does terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few stylish cuts to play into the suspense and horror. Production designer Paul D. Austerberry, with set decorators Crystal North and Shane Vieau plus art director Nigel Churcher, does amazing work in not just the look of Derry but also the places the Losers go to as it play into their nightmares. Costume designer Luis Sequeira does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the Losers wearing casual clothing.
Hair designer Stephanie Ingram, along with makeup designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., does brilliant work with the look of a few of the adult characters as well as the look of Pennywise. Special effects supervisor Kristy Hollidge and visual effect supervisor Nicholas Brooks do superb work with the visual effects from the look of Pennywise in his different incarnations to the design of some of the demons the Losers face. Sound designers Erick Ocampo, Randy Torres, and Bill R. Dean, with sound editor Nancy Nugent, do incredible work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as sound effects to create some suspense. The film’s music by Benjamin Wallfisch is wonderful for its eerie orchestral score that helps build up some of the film’s suspense and drama while its music soundtrack features pieces from Juice Newton, Cameo, and New Kids on the Block.
The casting by Rich Delia is marvelous as it feature notable small roles and appearances from Stephen King as a pawn shop owner, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich as himself, Jess Weixler as Bill’s actress wife Audra, Juno Rinaldi and Megan Charpentier in respective roles as the older and younger version of Gretta, Will Beinbrick as Bev’s abusive husband Tom Rogan, Martha Girvin as Stan’s wife Patty, Xavier Dolan and Taylor Frey as a gay couple who are attacked by a gang early in the film with the former being a victim of Pennywise, Molly Atkinson in a dual role as Eddie’s mother and his wife, Luke Roesseler as a young boy Bill encountered in the second act, Ryan Keira Armstrong as a young girl with a strange birthmark on her face, Owen Teague as the dead corpse of Bowers’ friend Patrick, Jackson Robert Scott as Bill’s late younger brother George, and Teach Grant and Nicholas Hamilton in their respective roles as the older and younger version of the bully Henry Bowers with the former being a total psychopath hell bent on revenge towards the Losers. Bill Skarsgard is fantastic as Pennywise as the clown who terrorizes kids though he is hampered by the fact that he’s underused and not much information about who he really is emerges.
Andy Bean and Wyatt Oleff are terrific in their respective roles as the older and younger version of Stan Uris as the former appears briefly as the adult version who is the one person who doesn’t return mainly because he has a plan that would help the Losers with the former being the nerdy Jewish kid who starts to find his own path. James Ransone and Jack Dylan Grazer are superb in their respective versions of the adult and younger version of Eddie Kaspbrak as hypochondriac who still has issues but also comes to terms that he must face Pennywise while also finding a sense of humor. Jay Ryan and Jeremy Ray Taylor are excellent in their respective roles as the adult and younger version of Ben Hanscom as the latter is the fat yet resourceful kid with a crush on Bev while the former is a fit adult who still pines for Bev despite his success as an architect as he is eager to fight Pennywise. Isaiah Mustafa and Chosen Jacobs are brilliant in their respective role as Mike Hanlon as the one person who stayed in Derry to study on Pennywise and how to defeat as he would bring everyone together while figuring out how it could be done.
Bill Hader and Finn Wolfhard are amazing in their respective versions of Richie Tozier with Hader being the comedian who is reluctant to return as he copes with his own issues while he’s still a foul-mouthed and witty person like Wolfhard’s role as the young Tozier. James McAvoy and Jaeden Martell are incredible in their respective versions as the older and younger Bill Denbrough as the former is now a successful author who still has creative issues as he is eager to stop Pennywise while dealing with other issues that he still has as the latter. Finally, there’s Jessica Chastain and Sophia Lillis in a phenomenal performances as their respective versions of the adult and younger version of Bev Marsh with the latter being in a troubled marriage as well as admitting that she has some strange visions that she attained as the former.
It Chapter Two is a stellar film from Andy Muschietti. Despite its messy script, 169-minute running time, and inconsistent tone, the film is still a fascinating horror film thanks in parts to its ensemble cast and study of fear. In the end, It Chapter Two is a fine film from Andy Muschietti.
It Chapter One
© thevoid99 2020
Based on the novel by Stephen King, It is the story of seven children who are terrorized by a mysterious clown as they deal with their fears. Directed by Andy Muschietti and screenplay by Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, and Chase Palmer, the film is a horror film that play into the disappearance of children where seven of them try to find out who has been abducting them. Starring Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Nicholas Hamilton, and Jackson Robert Scott. It is a riveting and intense film from Andy Muschietti.
Set in the late 1980s in a small town in Maine, the film revolves a series of disappearances that occur where a group of kids deal with this mysterious clown who feeds on the fear of children where seven misfits decide to confront the clown. It’s a film that play into these disappearances that has been going on for months as much of the story set in the small town of Derry, Maine in the summer of 1989 has these seven kids coping with what is happening as one of them believes that it relates to strange events in this town that occurs every 27 years. The film’s screenplay opens with an incident months earlier on October of 1988 where a young boy is chasing a paper sailboat where it falls into a storm drain where he sees this clown in Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgard) and is never seen again.
For that boy’s older brother in Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher), he is consumed with guilt over what happened as he is determined to find out what happened to his little brother with the help of his friends in the foul-mouthed Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), the hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Glazer), and the Jewish mysophobe Stan Uris (Wyatt Olef) who are eager to have fun in the summer despite the presence of bullies that is led by the sociopathic Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). Denbrough later meet up with one of the new kids in town in the bookworm Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor) following a violent encounter with Bowers as they’re later joined by another outcast in Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) who some believe is a promiscuous teenager that is disliked but is really a victim of sexual abuse from her father. During their investigation and finding answers in which Hanscom believes it all relates to incidents in the town that happened every 27 years. The group would include another outcast in the African-American homeschooled kid Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) who also sees strange things like the other kids that would play into their fears.
Andy Muschietti’s direction definitely owes a lot to films of the 1980s that involve kids embarking on their adventures yet it has elements that play into something that feels more grounded into the situation they’re in. Shot on various locations in Ontario as well as bits of Toronto as it play into this small town world where everyone kind of knows each other although Hanscom is still a newcomer who baffle librarians due to his interest towards books rather than do what other kids do during the summer. Muschietti definitely infuses that element of nostalgia that is prevalent as it is set mainly in the summer of 1989 where kids would go see the big summer movies of the time or go to an arcade. Muschietti’s usage of the wide shots would play into the vast look of the locations but also in scenes that play into the air of horror that includes the film’s climax involving Pennywise’s secret lair.
Muschietti would also use medium shots and close-ups that play into the interaction with characters that include the boys’ fascination towards Beverly as it adds to their fascination towards girls. Still, it’s an innocent moment despite the awful reputation Beverly has received forcing her to reveal some truths about herself while there are moments in the film that do have elements of humor. Muschietti also play into these chilling moments of violence that relates to the fear of these characters as it include scenes of each fear these seven kids have. Some of it is taken to great extremes while others are psychological as it would lead to this climax of the seven kids going into Pennywise’s lair to confront him but also confront their own fears. Overall, Muschietti crafts an evocative yet unsettling film about a group of outcast kids dealing with a mysterious clown who feeds on the fear of children.
Cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung does amazing work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of stylish lights for some of the interior settings in the day and night where it has a certain tone to it as well as exterior scenes set on a rainy day or at night as it help play into the sense of terror. Editor Jason Ballatine does excellent work with the editing as it uses rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense and horror. Production designer Claude Pare, with set decorator Rosalie Broad plus art directors Brandt Gordon and Peter Grundy, does brilliant work with the look of the mysterious house where Pennywise supposedly lives as well as his lair and the homes of the other characters in the film. Costume designer Janie Bryant does fantastic work with the costumes as it play into casual look of the kids without the need to establish too much of what kids wore in the 1980s.
Makeup designers Alec Gillis, Sean Sansom, and Tom Woodruff Jr. do incredible work with the look of Pennywise to create that air of creepiness and terror. Special effects supervisor Warren Appleby and visual effects supervisor Nicholas Brooks do terrific work with the visual effects with some of the movements of Pennywise as well as parts of his lair that play into its air of intrigue. Sound designer Paul Hackner and sound editor Victor Ray Ennis do superb work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the suspense as well as in some of the chilling moments for the horror set pieces. The film’s music by Benjamin Wallfisch is wonderful for its orchestral-based score that does have elements of synthesizers to play up to the feel of the 1980s while using heavy string arrangements to amplify the suspense and horror while music supervisor Dana Sano creates a fun soundtrack featuring a wide array of music from the Cult, Young MC, XTC, New Kids on the Block, Anvil, the Cure, and Anthrax.
The casting by Rich Delia is remarkable as it feature some notable small roles from Stephen Bogaert as Beverly’s father, Molly Atkinson as Eddie’s worrisome mother, Geoffrey Pounsett and Pip Dwyer as Bill and Georgie’s parents, Stuart Hughes as Officer Butch Bowers who is the father of the bully Henry Bowers, Steven Williams as Mike’s stern grandfather Leroy, Ari Cohen as Stan’s rabbi father, Joe Bostick as the local pharmacist Mr. Keene, Megan Charpentier as Mr. Keene’s daughter Gretta who bullies Beverly, the trio of Owen Teague, Logan Thompson, and Jake Sim as friends of Henry Bowers who are also bullies, and Jackson Robert Scott as Bill’s younger brother Georgie who would be the first to be captured by Pennywise in a chilling moment of the film that is intense to watch. Nicholas Hamilton is terrific as the school bully Henry Bowers as a sociopathic kid with a penchant for violence as he likes to terrorize others for how different they are including Mike because he’s an outcast.
In the roles of the group of outcast kids known as the Losers, there’s Wyatt Oleff in a superb performance as the Jewish mysophobic Stan Uris as a kid who is afraid of a lot of things including a painting that comes to life as his biggest fear while Jack Dylan Grazer is fantastic as the hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak who doesn’t like germs and is allergic to a lot of things as he would have an encounter with Pennywise that is scary while coming to grips with his fears. Chosen Jacobs is excellent as the homeschooled student Mike Hanlon as an African-American kid who delivers meat to stores as he is among the first to see Pennywise while dealing with Bowers. Finn Wolfhard is brilliant as Richie Tozier as a foul-mouthed kid in big glasses who says nasty things while admitting to having a fear of clowns while Jeremy Ray Taylor is amazing as the new kid Ben Hanscom as a bookworm who gathers a lot of the information of the town as he believes something terrible is the reason for these disappearances.
Sophia Lillis is incredible as Beverly Marsh as a teenage girl who is given a seedy reputation in the town which is untrue as she deals with the abuse she receives from her father while she helps the boys in dealing with Pennywise. Jaeden Lieberher is marvelous as Bill Denbrough as a teenager who is trying to find the whereabouts of his little brother while learning about Pennywise as he is the leader of the Losers in some respects in his determination to find truth and make sure no more disappearances happen. Finally, there’s Bill Skarsgard in a phenomenal performance as Pennywise as this dancing clown that is the manifestation of the fears of children where he lives for those fears where it’s a small yet effective performance that has Skarsgard play up to the air of terror that he brings in the film.
It is a sensational film from Andy Muschietti. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, uncompromising approach to violence and terror, a chilling music score, and a compelling premise set in the late 1980s. It’s a film that is definitely bear many of the horror tropes expected from the mind of Stephen King while also studying the idea of fear, guilt, and confrontation of those things from the perspective of seven kids who don’t fit in with the ideas of society. In the end, It is a spectacular film from Andy Muschietti.
It-Chapter Two
© thevoid99 2018
