Shocked at the Reviews. This is an awful movie.

Rating: 1/10 (18 September 2019)

I cannot believe this movie is currently sitting at above 7/10. It was not bad but awful. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. I created this account just to write this review. But, where to begin?

Character Development: I liked the first one. What I think made it special was the character dynamic. In this movie, you have the "same" characters, as in, the characters in adulthood; however, the problem is it's not the same characters and you never build a relationship with any of them. This would have been possible if there was an attempt at character development, but it seems the writers were ok with just going, yep, it's the kids you loved all grown up! Enjoy. I didn't.

Not scary/chilling/dark: With the exception of Bev going home and the short interaction with the older woman, this movie was not even remotely scary, chilling or dark. The CGI was silly, as is so often the case. The jump scares certainly didn't make me jump, however cheap they may have been.

Not funny: There are a few clever parts. Some witty one liners, but nothing particularly funny, despite all the pathetic and constant attempts at humor.

The Indian Ritual: So, Mike has this idea that everything is tied to this ancient indian ritual and they have to perform it in order to kill IT...or something. So, we lose about an hour or more of the characters exploring the demons of their childhood gathering what can only be called "horcruxes," only for them to be totally ineffectual. I guess this is supposed to be where the characters are developed, but the focus is more on jump scares and other nonsense. No real development takes place.

Bowers: I haven't seen any discussion of this, but what in the world is going on with Bowers? Is he possessed, just pure evil, why did he turn out this way? This is never ever touched on. It's just so strange. Also, why is he even in the movie? What purpose does he serve? Perhaps worst of all, a convicted murderer (Bowers) escapes from an asylum after murdering a guard and no one seems to care. No cops, no reports, it's not even addressed.

Length - Wow. Long. 2 hours and 50 whole minutes. And let me tell you, it feels like it. Honestly, if this were 1.5 hours I probably wouldn't be writing this review. A kooky clown movie doesn't need to be three hours long.

"The Losers" aren't Losers: With the exception of Mike, and even then it's debatable, the Losers aren't really losers. They're all somewhat successful, good looking and ostensibly well-adjusted. Part of the appeal of the first was these rejects getting revenge and working together to fight against this wicked evil force. Totally lacking in Chapter 2.

I'm sure there's more but that's really all I can think of. Some people have said you shouldn't give this one star if you haven't read the book. However, the movie should be able to stand alone. It's obviously not written exclusively for the people who have read this insanely long book. And, if it is so much like the book, then I can say with the confidence the book blows, just like the movie.