#MovieMonday: IT Chapter Two Review: 3-Hour That’s Worth Holding Your Bladder For

Let me jog your memory if you’re a goldfish: back in 2016, clowns started to appear randomly in various parts of the US, scaring both kids and adults, and occasionally attacking people.

They soon started to spread to other countries, even in Singapore, but that guy was immediately detained by our ever-efficient SPF and questioned for hours.

Up till today, it’s unknown why they’ve appeared—whether it’s a copycat crime or simply a publicity stunt for the horror clown-centric movie, IT, that was due to be released on the following year.

The movie went on to great success, earning USD$700 million with a mere budget of USD$35 million, and winning numerous awards. And even before the movie was out, a sequel was already in the pipeline.

And that sequel was released last week.

IT Chapter Two

Lest you’re not aware, IT is an adaption of horror novelist Stephan King’s 1986 novel, which explains why the first movie takes place in the 80s. The director managed to pack the 1,138 pages into a 2 hours 15 minutes movie then, and everyone loved it.

Therefore, its sequel has some large shoes to fill.

Warner Bros released its first trailer in May this year and everyone then went apeshit for this blockbuster, with it clocking an impressive 48 million YouTube views:

Soon, the second trailer came but it didn’t perform that well.

So how does it fare in the big screen?

Would it be as terrifying as the granny in the first trailer, or would it flop like the second trailer?

Granny: Hold my underwear.

Three-Hour Film That’ll Keep You on Your Seat

IT Chapter Two has a runtime of 169 minutes, which means it’s just 12 minutes shorter than Avengers: Endgame.

That also means it needs to be as entertaining as Avengers: Endgame, or people would either leave the cinema halfway or sleep through the movie.

Fortunately, the movie belongs to the former.

Just like IT, the movie doesn’t rely on jump scares to qualify as a horror movie: instead, it relies on its visuals and cinematography, and also our inner fears, to achieve an even better result.

Unsurprisingly, IT Chapter Two follows the same formula.

While the existence of real-life clowns hiding in forests is no longer relevant, the movie scares us with new techniques that you’d not have thought of before. The first trailer is a good example: granny walking naked in a strange manner might be funny, just like how clowns should be funny.

The movie somehow turns that funny moment terrifying.

Your bladder might not like the three-hour runtime, but you’d love it: the pace is rather fast, though flashbacks to the past might be a tad too slow for some. But I get the dilemma; it might be the first IT movie for some, so these scenes are essential.

Actors like James McAvoy, who plays Professor X in the rebooted X-Men franchise, and Jessica Chastain, who was also in an X-Men movie, all added depth to the adult characters. With the movie relying heavily on visuals, the cast were able to bring out the fear in us with just their stares.

So, is it a movie that’s worth a weekend ticket price?

Even if you’ve not watched its predecessor, I’d say go for it.

Rating: 4/5