It: Chapter Two

CULTURE

The Return of Pennywise

By Keith Parnell

JACKSONVILLE, FL— Since the 1990 release of Stephen King’s It, Pennywise has held a place in the dark pit of my stomach; that place where all of life’s fears and anxieties reside. With the 2017 release of the Andy Muschietti reimagining of the classic King novel, all of those feelings were fiercely reignited. Nostalgic anxiety being the most notable. Bill Skarsgard danced a new life into the terrifying clown, bringing those same anxieties back, enhanced by the films cultural relevance and adulthood.

Muschietti delivered an anxiety driven adaptation of King’s most horrifying evil and with the sequel,It Chapter Two, he further builds on that intensity. Twentyseven years after the events of the first film, the now adult members of the Losers Club return to Derry to fulfill their childhood oath to kill Pennywise if, when he reemerged. Having shed the apprehension of Skarsgard measuring up to the role, we are free to fall into the films seemingly endless abortions of fear. The films expertly cast adult characters fit seamlessly with that of their younger counterparts, furthering the nostalgic properties of realism that drive the storyline.

What makes It stand out from the crowd of supernatural horror films released over the years, is Pennywise’s all too human conduit to fear. For those unfortunate enough to cross his path, the fear of death is only a grim afterthought. By way of the individual storylines of each member of the Losers Club, in one way or another we are confronted with our own fears of abuse, humiliation, and shame along with countless guttural fears that far exede a simple fear of clowns.