Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

It: Chapter Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 5, 2019

Crossword junkies or other word nerds (sorry) may instantly recognize the term “coulrophobia” as meaning “fear of clowns”, and for some people, it’s a very real and visceral anxiety. That may strike the non afflicted curmudgeons in the big, wide world as being maybe just a little humorous, but even those hard hearted judgmental types might find themselves feeling just the tiniest hint of angst when It’s Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård) shows up to wreak havoc in Stephen King’s fictional town of Derry, Maine. (Those who do suffer from coulrophobia will probably already be in a fetal position, attempting to find a quiet place to expire.) Part of It’s foundational conceit was the kind of almost “orbital” return of Pennywise every 27 years, and that passage of time allows writer Gary Dauberman and director Andy Muschietti (both returning from 2017’s It) to fashion a tale that has some surprising emotional heft and what is an almost elegiac tone at times, something that some may find at least a little unusual for a film trafficking in things that go bump in the night and/or sewer drain. There's a kind of nostalgic tone wafting through the film courtesy of a number of flashbacks to the first It's timeframe of the 1980s, but perhaps even more so simply due to the ebb and flow of scenes involving the same characters as kids and adults (in contemporary time). But for anyone assuming that It: Chapter Two is one of those Stephen King "mood pieces" without sufficient scares, buckle up, because this entry definitely has some scares up its grimy white ruffled sleeve, one of which may bring to mind another word crossword junkies and other word nerds may recognize: arachnophobia.

Considering the fact that the focal group in It is known as The Losers' Club may give an immediate insight into the fact that King, as tends to be his “tradition”, is interested in exploring the plight of the apparently powerless and downtrodden, especially when (again in true King fashion) these supposedly “incapable” folks are confronted with some sort of omnipresent menacing manifestation of Evil. The first It was lauded for its depiction of kids facing more “mundane” evils like bullying and anti-Semitism (even if some felt the portrayal of the Jewish character of Stanley was on the stereotyped side), and It: Chapter Two kind of picks up on that proclivity with a really shocking sequence involving two gay men getting beaten by a bunch of toughs in Derry. The attempted murder of one of them leads to the first contemporary sighting of Pennywise, which in turn alerts the adult Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) that the kids’ nemesis is “baaack” (to quote another film about childhood trauma and supernatural villains, Poltergeist II: The Other Side).

While the kids may have grouped together as supposed “losers”, judging by their adult lives, at least a couple of them went on to rather considerable success. We find Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy) admittedly suffering a bit of writer’s block but still more or less happily ensconced on a backlot where his wife is starring in a picture written by him (directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who has a kind of funny cameo). Richie Tozier (Bill Hader) is a major success as a stand up comedian, even if the call from Mike causes some unexpected nausea right before a live performance. While addled and neurotic, Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone) is gainfully employed in the insurance business, and Ben Hanscom (Jay Ryan) is also doing well as an architect, even if his social life leaves a bit to be desired. The two outliers in the once and future Losers’ Club are arguably Stanley Uris (Andy Bean), evidently still struggling with the kids’ now long ago showdown with Pennywise, and Beverly Marsh (Jessica Chastain), who, like several of the others, has forged a successful career utilizing her creativity but is beset with personal problems which weigh her down emotionally.

Suffice it to say (most of) The Losers’ Club reassembles in Derry, where they have to confront both their personal demons in the form of sometimes traumatic memories, as well as their “collective demon” in the form of Pennywise. The film, while arguably overlong (even longer than the first installment), does a nice job of ping ponging between the two timeframes to give context to various “emotional arcs”, while also providing at least sporadic jolts of scariness as various nightmare like visions manifest as the group attempts to figure out how to defeat It once and for all.

I’m not completely sure that the unabashed star power this second installment offers in terms of some of its adult players actually helps things, though performances are generally quite well realized, if often on the probably unavoidably mopey side a lot of the time. The kids continue to impress rather handily, though, and some of the most touching scenes in the film offer adult versions kind of experiencing their memories as full fledged realities in front of their eyes. Skarsgård once again manages to bring a kind of snarky impudence combined with an almost childlike and naive quality to Pennywise. The film’s over the top climax is probably too CGI laden and ultimately silly, perhaps so much so that it will provoke laughter instead of gasps of horror, but the film moves on to a rather sweet coda that does offer some real emotion.

It: Chapter Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It: Chapter Two is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. It: Chapter Two was digitally captured with a variety of Arri Alexa models and I'm assuming things were finished at a 2K DI (the IMDb lists the cameras and lenses, but once again fails to provide the resolution of the DI). This is in some ways even more stylish than the first It, though it was lensed by a different cinematographer, in this case Checco Varese. There's a really nicely burnished, summery quality to many of the flashbacks to the 1980s and the kids, with a very natural and appropriately warm looking palette, and I noticed less of the kind of tamped down ambience vis a vis the palette that was evident in the first It. Even a number of the "contemporary time" scenes that place out doors feature a really nicely suffused palette with typically excellent fine detail levels. There are some heavily graded and/or unusually lit sequences, with a prevalence of yellows and blues. The final act takes place in near darkness a lot of the time, and there are a couple of other near hallucinogenic sequences where things look at least relatively a bit softer. A few passing moments of CGI are also on the soft side, but generally speaking even some of the animated visual effects have above average detail levels throughout the presentation.

It: Chapter Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It: Chapter Two features a nicely wrought Dolby Atmos track that provides good, consistent immersion and a nice splaying of both overhead effects and some thundering, rumbling LFE. There are some really interesting mixes of what sound like "real" ambient environmental effects with what might low frequency washes of either foley or maybe even synth patches, which add an ominously foreboding sense to several key sequences. Early scenes like the horrifying attack at the carnival have a glut of surround activity which is also made even more visceral with really smart discrete placement of effects in individual channels. Dialogue, score and effects are all mixed smartly, with excellent prioritization and wide dynamic range. There are no problems of any kind to report.

It: Chapter Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One (Feature Film)

• Commentary by Director Andy Muschietti

Disc Two (Bonus Features)

• The Summers of IT - Chapter One: You'll Float, Too (1080p; 35:38) is the first of two very engaging featurettes which offer a ton of interviews and behind the scenes footage, including auditions by various performers. This has some really sweet footage of the kids a couple of years ago making the first It and getting to know each other and the ins and outs of a film set.


• The Summers of IT - Chapter Two: IT Ends (1080p; 39:30) catches up with the kids a couple of years later and introduces the adults playing the grown up versions into the mix in the second of the two nicely done featurettes.


• Pennywise Lives Again (1080p; 9:55) is a fun piece focusing on Skarsgård and his transformation into the crazed killer clown.


• This Meeting of The Losers' Club Has Officially Begun (1080p; 8:12) centers on the two "versions" of the characters and the actors portraying them.


• Finding the Deadlights (1080p; 6:18) features the inimitable Stephen King.

It: Chapter Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It: Chapter Two is a surprisingly emotional horror film, one which manages to craft a moving story that offers some nice prismatic refractions of characters at two epochal points in their lives. The film is arguably overlong (something it shares with its progenitor), and some may feel the scares are too few and far between, but It: Chapter Two conveys both significant jolts and some touching moments in about equal measure. Technical merits are first rate, and the two "Summers" featurettes in particular are quite charming and enjoyable. Highly recommended.