As October prepares its final frights, let’s flashback to 2019 for a nostalgic showdown 27 years in the making – the epic conclusion to Pennywise’s reign of terror in It Chapter Two.
After Andy Muschietti’s smash first chapter, expectations ran sky-high for the adult Losers Club reunion years later, where Bill Skarsgård’s crafty clown lay in wait once more. While inevitablylosing some intimacy in scaling up to a sprawling feature, Chapter Two still delivers heart and horror with a game cast.
Seeing the grown-up Losers revisit childhood traumas resonates deeply, especially vulnerable turns from Jessica Chastain as Bev and James McAvoy as a damaged Bill. And Skarsgård remains eerily commanding as Pennywise, building on his breakout turn. His arachnid Deadlights form took creepy shape-shifting to surreal new heights.
It Chapter Two effectively channels nostalgia for the 1990 miniseries by recruiting original stars for flashback cameos, honoring Tim Curry’s legacy. And the climactic Neibolt house showdown indulges wildest teenage fears, unleashing all of Pennywise’s nightmare circus tricks for a kitchen sink finale.
While overlong, Chapter Two underscores the bittersweet finality of moving past trauma into self-determination. And Muschietti nails the poignant cycle of friendship between generations of ostracized outcasts. Before November’s chill takes hold, revisit Derry and these exceptional Losers for old times sake. Because for us, it’ll always be summer in the sewers with Pennywise…
