Closing chapter chills but sets glacial pace
The two-year wait for this concluding chapter to Pennywise’s battle with the Losers Club has been pretty agonising.
Director Andy Muschietti’s masterful work on the hugely impressive first flick – a superior take on Stephen King’s opus than the wonky 1990 mini-series – left fans baying for more blood.
An impressive adult cast was assembled to play the Losers Club in their advancing years and everything seemed set to blow horror buffs away.
Chapter Two sadly fails to match its predecessor, though, as Muschietti and writer Gary Dauberman take a too much of a good thing approach.
The sequel’s biggest flaw is its length; there’s no need for the near-three-hour running time.
Clocking in at just shy of the mini-series’ total time, there are many moments that could easily have been left on the cutting room floor.
Much of the expert tension exhibited in Chapter One falls by the wayside as the pace plods when it should be hurtling towards the final showdown.
You can see why Muschietti wanted to feature his talented cast as much as possible – with Jessica Chastain ( Beverly), James McAvoy ( Bill) and Bill Hader ( Richie) in particular on imperious form and Bill Skarsgård‘s Pennywise continuing to be the stuff of nightmares.
But they would have been better served with similar screen time to the first flick’s younger group – all back in flashback form here.
One thing the director doesn’t struggle to recreate, however, is his ability to make an audience cower in fear; standout sequences include a geyser of blood, haunting house of mirrors and Beverly’s visit to an old lady.
Fans of King’s source material will notice a few changes but nothing that detracts from the cinematic experience – which, while still scary and slick, overstays it welcome.