5/10 - A series of vignettes and jump scares doth not a movie make...

Rating: 5/10 (4 September 2019)

As a huge fan of the book admittedly it is impossible to have this film meet complete expectations but there were fundamental flaws particularly in Chapter Two which are systemic of the cynical way hollywood approaches horror in the last 20 years.
We basically had 2h 50mins of vignettes each with around 2 to 3 jump scares. Rinse/Repeat. Each vignette was formulaic and whilst clever from a technical effects standpoint, really stagnated the overblown narrative and offered nothing to character development.
Without going into spoilers there was also a complete waste of the Bowers character which really wasnt necessary or of any impact.
If Cary Fukunaga was allowed to make these films I believe he would have shown less of this formula and more character psychology particularly with his proven use of flashbacks from TD Season 1.
Anyhoo if Chapter 1 "floated" your boat you will probably enjoy this installment as well.