Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Twenty-seven years later, the Losers’ Club are back for unfinished business in Derry, Maine. Now all grown up, Beverly, Bill, Ben, Richie, Mike, Eddie and Stanley face their old nemesis, Pennywise, as they hope to end the series of child deaths in their hometown. They return noticing that nothing has changed–including the presence of the fear entity, Pennywise. This causes the friends to question their presence in Derry, and creates much doubt in their psyche on the success of their intentions.
There’s something about Stephen King novels and childhood trauma that really gets to the core of fear. This is what makes ‘It: Chapter Two’ such a heavy psychological thriller. The movie interpretations that got to me in the same mold as ‘It’ are ‘Pet Sematary’ and ‘Firestarter.’ In all of these films, the use of children creates more emotional relatability that makes the movies so edgingly scary until it reaches a tipping point. ‘It: Chapter Two’ uses all of this pent-up fear and emotions to its advantage, and the result is a movie with enough scares to keep you at the edge of your seat.
When the Losers’ Club returns home, they realize that their previous encounter against Pennywise has left their minds traumatized to the point that they need to uncover secrets of the past long forgotten. Pennywise is a fear entity. He feeds on fear as he creates it. You will remember your encounters with him until adulthood. This fear reverts these now confident adults to their childhood personas and makes them smaller than they are. Because of this, the Losers’ Club fall into the emotional net set by Pennywise which hampers their chances of succeeding as they did when they were younger. The difference is that these children-turned-adults intend to stop Pennywise for good… which is no small task at all.
‘It: Chapter Two’ reveals the origins of Pennywise which gives the Losers’ Club some advantage when it comes to defeating their foe. But the question is: do they have the strength to use it? That question itself goes to the very core of childhood trauma. Even when equipped with the tools to overcome that trauma, sometimes the fear is just too much that it overwhelms the spirit to defeat it. It is an important lesson that, once realized, tips the balance in favor of those willing to bear these weapons to destroy a monster such as Pennywise.
As such, ‘It: Chapter Two’ is a movie about overcoming childhood trauma. It is no mere horror thriller. Nor do you need to watch chapter one to enjoy it–there is enough backstory provided to let the movie stand on its own. Both films show that there is a need to overcome trauma. If not, they will come back to haunt you time and time again. ‘It: Chapter Two’ gives viewers enough incentive to do so. Overcoming your own monsters is horrifying, but the benefits are worth fighting for in the end.
To entice you further to enter Pennywise’s world, here’s the final trailer of ‘It: Chapter Two’ now open in Philippine cinemas.
Will you be catching this in cinemas? Let us know!
