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Writer's pictureRyota Nakanishi

Film Review: It Chapter Two (2019) Mystery Unsolved...

Updated: Jun 5


Film Review: It Chapter Two (2019) Mystery Unsolved...
FILE PHOTO: A Still Image of IT CHAPTER TWO (2019). ©New Line Cinema

It Chapter Two


IT (2017) is a successful master piece as a remake because it successfully modernised the story and grabbed the heart of the 1980s generations. Before reviewing the IT Chapter Two (2019), we must see the first one in order to revive the memory and thoroughly understand the creative aspects.


IT Chapter Two (2019) is about protagonists, the Losers' Club and the antagonist IT's return to Derry, Maine after the incident of 1989 which the first film described. Director Andy Muschietti summed up the story line of IT Chapter Two (2019) earlier:


"According to Variety, who interviewed Muschietti about the film, "We’ll probably have a script for the second part in January. Ideally, we would start prep in March. Part one is only about the kids. Part two is about these characters 30 years later as adults, with flashbacks to 1989 when they were kids."

This seems like a wise way to split up a novel that is over 1,000 pages and a four-hour TV film that was split over two nights. Can you imagine them trying to jam the entire story -- kids and adults -- into one two-hour film?" —  Director Andy Muschietti (1)


In fact, IT Chapter Two (2019) is not IT 2.0. It should be called IT 2.5 due to its volumes. Moreover, the detailed story synopsis was disclosed by New Line Cinema recently:


Because every 27 years, evil revisits the town of Derry, Maine, It: Chapter Two brings the characters — who've long since gone their separate ways — back together as adults, nearly three decades after the events of the first film.

— New Line Cinema (2)


Typical Story Structure of Ensemble Drama


Not only IT (2017) is an ensemble drama but also IT Chapter Two (2019) is also the same. As the result, the typical features of being an ensemble drama are unavoidable. We can analyse the three act structure of IT franchise to grab its basic structure. Both films were skilfully written and edited.


ACT1: Exposition is that ''In October 1988, the protagonist Bill Denbrough crafts a paper sailboat for Georgie, his six-year-old brother. Georgie sails the boat along the rainy streets of small town Derry, Maine, only to have it fall down a storm drain. As he attempts to retrieve it, Georgie sees a clown in the drain duct, who introduces himself as "Pennywise the Dancing Clown". The clown entices Georgie to come closer, then bites his arm off and drags him into the sewer. Inciting Incident is seemed to be that one of the members of the Losers' Club Ben Hanscom finds the mysterious child disappearances for decades, and he is targeted by Bowers' gang, then one of them, Patrick Hockstetter is killed by the "Pennywise the Dancing Clown" while he searching the sewers for Ben. However, the true inciting incident is not any of the clown attacks on the protagonists. It is when Beverly Marsh, a girl bullied over rumours of promiscuity joins the group. This triggers the terrifying infestation among members of the group by "Pennywise the Dancing Clown." End of ACT 1 is when the kids officially name the group as ''the Losers' Club'' and determined to investigate the strange Clown attacks. ACT1 of IT franchise is longer than any ordinary films as an ensemble drama.


ACT2: The Losers' Club investigate into the well house where is found to be the centre of the terrifying incidents geographically. The attacks of "Pennywise the Dancing Clown" intensify. Midpoint: After the encounter with the "Pennywise the Dancing Clown" at the house, the group starts splitting, however the protagonist Bill and Beverly decide to keep fighting it. The antagonist is alive and fed in the victims' fear on it. End of ACT2 is the most intensified crisis that after Beverly almost kills her sexually abusive father, and kidnapped by "Pennywise the Dancing Clown." Then, ''the Losers' Club'' is reassembled to return to the well house to save her from the antagonist.


ACT3: Direct confrontation between the Losers' Club and "Pennywise the Dancing Clown" at the underground of the well house.


The major missing point still not being solved in the IT Chapter Two (2019) is that these victims they find at the sewers are whether alive or dead. The Losers' Club is back in the sequel with new adult actors but it is still a mystery. The films did not show the stoned victims floating in the air within the sewers are alive or dead. Moreover, IT Chapter Two (2019) shows that the protagonist Bill Denbrough is failed to find his missing brother George among the victims they find at the end of IT (2017).


However the major creative achievement among contemporary horror films is that IT Chapter Two (2019) likes IT (2017) did not heavily rely on ''jump scares'' and decently stick to the traditional story telling in an ensemble drama.


I highly recommend IT Chapter Two (2019) for all horror fans.



Notes


(1) https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/it-already-has-a-sequel-planned accessed on July 12, 2019.

(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJAE_xzz8iQ accessed on July 12, 2019.


 

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Film Review: It Chapter Two (2019) Mystery Unsolved...

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