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IT Chapter 2 - anyone seen it?

26 replies

xsquared · 15/09/2019 15:00

and is it any good?

I've seen the mini series when I was a teen and have just finished reading the book thanks to my Kindle app.

I thought I would hate the 2017 version, but I enjoyed it and thought the modern makeover worked very well.

Planning to see it next week so I hope the wait is worth it!

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NutFreeFlight · 15/09/2019 15:23

I love the book and the original mini series/film. Also found part 1 of the remake good, unfortunately I felt part two lost the storytelling aspect that you expect with something based on Stephen King's works. It just seemed jumpy scares for the sake of it. Others may disagree, I didn't feel the connection between the adults in this version and Pennywise seemed a bit off. Maybe I'm just biased because Tim Curry did such a creepy, brilliant job for the original in my opinion that it's hard to top it.

Doormat247 · 15/09/2019 15:39

I saw it last week and thought it was really good, better than I was expecting.
There's quite a few funny bits in there too but my DP felt we were the only ones laughing for much of those Blush

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xsquared · 15/09/2019 15:40

Interesting to hear your thoughts about this, Nutfree, as a colleague who has seen it said the opposite. She didn't like the Tim Curry version but thought Bill Skarsgård was spot on as Pennywise.
On the other hand, she also wished there was more gore in it!

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IHaveBrilloHair · 15/09/2019 15:43

Is it worth seeing even though I've not seen part 1 of the remake?

NutFreeFlight · 15/09/2019 15:47

I do wonder sometimes if my adoration of Tim Curry as Pennywise is maybe unfounded.. others think he was mediocre but he absolutely petrified me as a teenager, whereas in the remake Pennywise doesn't instill that same fear in me. Bill Hader was fantastic though! Came away with a new found love for him.

MyRaGaiaStarFishPieA · 15/09/2019 15:49

I am a massive fan of all of Kin's works and loved It from the 80s. I could not wait to see the remake. Part 1 is brilliant, some poor script writing at times but over all very good. I loved that they brought it up to date for the people my age by setting it when we were younger and first saw "IT" on TV. I was super excited by part 2 and without giving you any spoilers I will talk about it a little. For me, it felt like it was written and directed by a totally different team. It didn't flow anywhere near as well as the first part. Writing was poor to awful and some of the scary parts were more comedic that scary. For me the most scary part that really did affect me was the opening scene.....none of the rest came close. And the ending was frankly ridiculous. BUT i have seen it twice and will download it on sky when its out.

NutFreeFlight · 15/09/2019 15:51

Post above me basically said everything I needed to say in a more eloquent way 😂

Kyvia · 15/09/2019 15:52

Hmm it’s definitely part 2 of a 2-part story! You wouldn’t be completely lost though, it’s not a complex story.

I love the original with Tim Curry. I also loved part 1 of the remake and think Bill Skarsgad does an amazing job. Enjoyed James McAvoy and the other adults performances too. Sadly though I felt there was something that lets part 2 down, not sure if it’s the script or production or what. The end definitely left me feeling “well, that could have been better”. But I didn’t hate it and it was an enjoyable few hours, just part 1 was better IMO.

peachgreen · 15/09/2019 15:54

Part 2 is pretty rubbish. The writing is so bad and some of the directing choices turn what should be scary moments into laughs - and not in a good way. That said, I really enjoyed it anyway (it's good, schlocky fun) and thought Bill Hader was absolutely fantastic. Nothing will ever come close to the book though.

Danglingmod · 15/09/2019 16:00

Part two was okay. It's really more of a comedy film followed by an action film ending than a horror film, though. Nothing scary about it at all. Two - thirds comedy, one-third violence.

Pumpkinsarepurple · 15/09/2019 16:00

My husband and daughter went to see it last night ... apparently it was too long and missed SH from the title !

Kyvia · 15/09/2019 16:06

I agree about the verging into comedy aspect - although I think some of that was just the source story ageing.

Stephen King’s cameo was fun as well.

100PercentThatBitch · 15/09/2019 17:18

I too think Part 1 is much better than part 2

Each characters individual storyline drags it right out

Not many real scares either

Should've been about 40 mins shorter

I would see part 1 first

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xsquared · 15/09/2019 17:25

So generally people thought the first part was better?

I've seen part 1 already 100%thatbitch and thought it was very well done.

There seems to be a lot of remakes and new adaptations of Stephen King stories in the last few years: Carrie, Per Semetary and Doctor Sleep is coming soon as well. I didn't bother with Carrie and Pet Semetary although I've read and seen the original. I just think there's too much too soon.

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100PercentThatBitch · 15/09/2019 17:27

Sorry, my comment about seeing Part 1 was to BrilloHair who hasn't

They are remaking The Stand soon

I do think Doctor Sleep looks dreadful just off the trailer

IHaveBrilloHair · 15/09/2019 17:47

Thanks.
I think I'll give it a miss until I have seen part 1.

PennyNotSoWise · 15/09/2019 23:14

I watched it last night, and I honestly can't put in to words how disappointed I was by it.

The first is in my top 5 favourite films, love the book, but this was just pure shit imo, and I've been so hyped for it since the 1st came out.

The acting is good, and it's eerie how much the older losers resemble the younger cast . The opening scene is the standout, but it's all downhill from there.

I cringed through most of it. Physically recoiling in my seat at how bad it was. The forms of IT were so, so bad, mainly because of the CGI. It really bummed me how bad it was :(

bakedbeanzontoast · 18/09/2019 03:02

@PennyNotSoWise totally agree. Not a patch on the original film. Thought the same re the pet Sem remake too.

LetsGoFlyAKiteee · 18/09/2019 22:09

I quite liked it. More humour then scary moments though. Did enjoy the older cast but it didn't need to be as long.. Did get a tear at the little monologue at the end though.

Saucery · 18/09/2019 23:33

Bit cartoony for me, although the adult cast worked well. Bill Hader a bizarre mix of Alan Carr and Jack Nicholson, which was disconcerting. Nice nod to The Thing, but apart from that pretty dull.

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xsquared · 21/09/2019 22:25

Well, I watched it today.

I thought it was definitely worth watching but not really as good as the first part. The scares were very predictable, but I still found the child murder scenes very hard to watch.

If you're a Stephen King fan, then you'll enjoy the easter egg hunt.

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GoodBoyGhost · 29/09/2019 21:34

@PennyNotSoWise I felt exactly the same! I love a good horror and the first one was brilliant and properly scary! I was so looking forward to the second part, went to see it on opening night and it was just awful.

I kept thinking "any minute now it's going to get better" and it just didn't. I actually felt like walking out it was so terrible.

I felt like the cast was perfect but they were seriously let down by a very poor script. Why they decided to turn it into a comedy I'll never know. Genuinely gutted!

PennyNotSoWise · 30/09/2019 15:43

@GoodBoyGhost

I felt like the cast was perfect but they were seriously let down by a very poor script. Why they decided to turn it into a comedy I'll never know. Genuinely gutted!

Absolutely! I think comedy can work in horror, the first actually had some pretty good comedic moments, but it was so misplaced here, it just felt a complete mess!

I wanted to walk too, tbh, but stuck it out to see if it improved. Being completely honest, I was bored already after the introduction of the adult losers, even that felt really drawn out. Like Mike, the first 2 losers clearly don't know who you are, just say it's Mike from fucking Derry for the next 4 of them to save the "Mike who?" over and over. If a film is going to be nearly 3 hours long, it needs to be interesting, this just felt like 3 hours of nothing because of the repetitive formula.

I think the first worked really well because it managed to be creepy, rather than 'in your face' horror, excluding a few moments. The atmosphere was brilliant, and the kids just made me feel so nostalgic. I wanted to be back with my friends effing and jeffing out of the ear shot of adults and having rock fights Grin

I can't believe the same person directed this one. He completely butchered it! How do you hit the mark so well first time round, then produce something this bad? I've seen people comparing it to the old Goosebumps shorts on TV, and totally agree.

A 3 hour run time had so much potential. There was a lot that could have been cut out without being a detriment to the film, in favour of better content. I feel sad they wasted the opportunity.

AndysFavouriteToy · 03/11/2019 19:06

Finally started to watch this last night and actually ended up turning it off half way.
To be fair even with the original I loved part one and disliked part two.
The scene at the beginning with the homophobic attack has hit me today though, it shows that humans are far more scary than penny-wise...
Apparently that scene was based on a true life attack which has disturbed me further.

JoyceDivision · 03/11/2019 19:11

PT 2 rubbish... Huge let down in comparison to Pt 1.... Only good part was the nod to people always saying the ending of IT the novel is rubbish!