IT Chapter Two: Why watch killer clowns?

IT is not supposed to be an easy hop, skip and jump to the cinema. But unlike more traditional horror films IT expertly exploits a common fear: clowns.

Why is it so successful? After watching IT: Chapter Two Thursday night I can tell you that in terms of sheer horror, it’s simply not that scary.

Did you watch part one in 2017? The remake and first cinematic production combined nostalgia and relatively mild horror to terrorise a whole new generation.

It was so effective, it became one of the highest-grossing films of that year – and the second installment aims to take that even further. And yes, in so doing many pleading friends will be forced to get terrorised in their local cinema by a clown.

Again, why is it so effective? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that it has nothing to do with horror, but rather the idea of a time specific zeitgeist.

Bill Skarsgård in IT: Chapter Two. Picture: Warner Bros

In the new film evil resurfaces in Derry as director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club in a return to where it all began, the conclusion to the highest-grossing horror film of all time.

This time the themes are more adult, it’s darker and also a lot more tuned into creating a film that will make you laugh, just before a great jump-scare. That’s good filmmaking.

Combining schmaltz and self-observing horror is a delicate business, and in part two Muschietti doesn’t disappoint.

That success might be thanks to the master of horror Stephen King who also formed part of the process to really create a perfectly balanced horror that will scare you, but not haunt you forever.

In addition to adopting the novel’s storytelling structure, Muschietti increased the King quotient by including the novelist more directly.

IT: Chapter Two. Picture: Warner Bros.

He says: “Stephen is very respectful of adaptations, and our communications with him started when we were nearly finished with the first chapter. We screened it for him, and he reacted very positively. I didn’t want to let the chance go by without getting his thoughts for our second film.”

King says: “I had hopes for the film, but I was not prepared for how good IT was. I think the best vote of confidence for the second movie is that when the first movie ended with a title card that says, IT: Chapter One, audiences applauded. They wanted more. Now, they’re going to get the rest. It’s not a sequel; it’s the second half of one unified story.”

If you’re going to the theatre this weekend more is what you’ll get. At three hours the second film is a long journey, but even with its ominous air and expected scares, it never really gets laborious.

It’s also about friends who have to face something otherworldly, and human reactions to trauma.

The power of these individuals who find a sense of belonging and unity in being losers had always hit home with Muschietti, who also read the book in his youth.

IT: Chapter Two. Picture: Warner Bros.

He says: “It was a story that spoke to me about experiences I was having. It was a kind of mirror that showed all of the awkwardness and insecurities at that age. Reading IT again as an adult, you understand it from a different perspective.

“It is basically a love letter to childhood and talks about all of the treasures of that time, like imagination and belief, that are inevitably lost in adulthood. That’s why these special kids, who now happen to be adults, are the hope in this story.”

But it is always Pennywise the dancing clown that gets feet in the cinema, and again the film is a complete success. The return of Pennywise means the real-world reappearance of Bill Skarsgård in the role he brought menacingly and memorably to life in IT.

Muschietti says: “This time, we really pushed Bill to the limit, and he accepted that and then went even further.

“Pennywise appears in many forms and, many times, he is completely out of control. Bill did not hold back, ever. He always had this terrifying unpredictability to the character.”

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