It Chapter Two: The Reunion Tour That Went Horribly Wrong
Twenty-seven years after the Losers’ Club took a one-way trip down memory lane filled with balloons and bad parenting decisions, they’re back in Derry, Maine, where the only thing scarier than Pennywise the Clown is the thought of attending a high school reunion. Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to invite old friends who might still be harboring childhood trauma?
So, the gang—Mike, Bill, Beverly, Eddie, Richie, Ben, and Stan—are all living their adult lives, which apparently involves a lot of therapy and avoiding clowns at all costs. But when Mike, who has apparently taken up the role of Derry’s unofficial alarm clock, realizes that Pennywise has decided to throw a comeback tour, he sets out to gather the gang. It’s like a really dysfunctional Avengers Assemble, but with more emotional baggage and fewer superpowers.
First up, we have Bill, who’s now a successful author. His books are so scary that even the clowns are reading them for their nightmares. Then there’s Beverly, who has traded in her abusive relationship for a life of glamor and hair products. Eddie is still a germaphobe, but now he’s wearing a suit, which only makes him more paranoid about touching doorknobs. Richie, the comedian, is still cracking jokes, but they’re mostly about how he’s still not over that one time Pennywise tried to eat him. Classic trauma bonding!
Oh, and let’s not forget Ben, who’s transformed from the chubby kid into a swoon-worthy hunk. Seriously, he looks like he just walked off the cover of a romance novel. Meanwhile, Stan decides that the best way to handle his childhood trauma is to, um, not show up. Thanks, Stan! That’s some top-notch problem-solving right there.
As they gather in Derry and reminisce about how they almost got eaten by a clown, they quickly realize that their childhood fears have not just been haunting them, they’ve been throwing a full-blown rave. It’s like the Overlook Hotel but with more balloons and less Jack Nicholson. Pennywise is back, and he’s upgraded his game, using their deepest fears against them. It’s like he went to clown college and majored in psychological warfare.
Richie confronts his fear of being a closeted nerd, while Beverly faces her past with a surprising amount of hairspray. Eddie’s fear of germs manifests in a giant leper, because nothing says “I’m afraid of getting sick” like a monster that looks like it just crawled out of a dumpster. And Bill? His fear of not being a good writer is represented by a sad clown with writer’s block. Talk about meta!
As they face off against Pennywise, we get some truly bizarre scenes, including a trip to a funhouse that feels like a fever dream designed by a toddler on a sugar high. There’s a giant spider, a bunch of deadlights, and a lot of running around like headless chickens. It’s like a horror movie and a circus had a baby, and that baby was raised by wolves.
In the end, they come together to confront Pennywise in a showdown that involves a lot of shouting, a bit of crying, and some very questionable life choices. They figure out that to defeat him, they just need to embrace their inner children. Spoiler alert: it involves a lot of yelling “You’re just a clown!” like that’s going to take him down. Who knew that self-acceptance was the ultimate weapon against a cosmic entity?
And when all is said and done, they realize that the real horror wasn’t Pennywise, but the fact that they all still have to pay their student loans. The movie wraps up with a bittersweet moment as they leave Derry, vowing to never return, because let’s be honest—who wants to deal with a killer clown and their unresolved issues?
So, if you’re looking for a film that mixes nostalgia, fear, and the realization that adulting is just as scary as childhood, then It Chapter Two is your ticket to the most dysfunctional reunion ever. Just remember to leave the balloons at home!