IT Chapter Two [2019] (4 Stars)

It's been a long two years since "IT Chapter One" was in the cinemas. Much too long. I've been impatient to see the conclusion, and now it's here at last.

It's 27 years since the children in the Loser's Club defeated the clown Pennywise. They weren't sure whether or not he was dead, so they swore that they would return to Derry if he ever came back. Six of them left the town as adults. Only Mike Hanlon remained in Derry. The six who left became rich and successful in their new lives. Mike became a lowly librarian. The six who left forgot what had happened. Mike devoted his life to studying Pennywise and his appearances over the centuries, in case he ever returned.

Now he's back. Once more he's killing children. Mike phones his six friends and reminds them of their promise. Reluctantly they return. Back in the town, they slowly begin to remember their former lives and their battle with Pennywise.

This is a very different film to the first chapter. It's the same horror, but the circumstances of the Loser's Club have changed. In the first film they were seven innocent children, cute and likeable. Now they're middle-aged adults, all 40-ish, and not all of them are pleasant characters.

It's a fascinating film that I need to see again soon, preferably back to back with the first chapter.

I've read news reports that parents have complained about the film posters scaring their children. Clowns are supposed to be funny, but they're always scary. I'm not sure why. I've never been scared of clowns, but I know that many other people find them creepy.