So bad it's funny...

Rating: 1/10 (29 February 2020)

Already after the first scene, the only truly apalling scene in the movie, I wanted to switch It off. And I should have. The pointless but sadistically detailed depiction of a hate crime, which also looks and feels like directly lifted from the 80s or 90s (the root of the conflict, the hairstyles, the clothing, the queeny, weak gay men vs the tough, braindead hetero men stereotypes), doesn't make any sense at all. It might actually be the rebirth of It, as it feeds on the evil in the small backwater town, but the uninformed viewer never gets much of a chance to understand that. But as the script generally is full of holes, meaningless hints or pointless "horror", this is simply what you get. The only thing really made clear is that men are only allowed two things: die or mope around as depressed losers, dreaming of romantic relationships which will never happen.
The rest of the movie is mostly unintentional comedy. It now looks and feels like a clownish freak or who loves whacky costumes and fake gore. Large insects with clown faces or small town weirdos acting as his standins are not that scary either, they are either funny or pathetic (or somewhere inbetween). The scene where the female protagonist is locked in a restroom stall with her menstrual blood sloshing around everywhere and some silly creeps shouting obscenities through the door really had me chuckling, as it felt just stupid. The two stupid, self-hating gay guys, who in the end nearly died adoring a puppy ("So cute!") before one of them actually dies with probably the most hilarious last words on his lips ever uttered ranged somewhere between homophobic comedy and sarcastic black humor. Actually, most of the overblown "horror" in the movie felt like a black comedy making fun of schlocky CGI horror fests.
But, after the unintenionally hilarious final death blow to It (remember: simply call evil beings from outer space who were even too much to handle for tough Native American sorcery "clowns" and they are gone for good - life can be so easy sometimes!) we get some very superficial hints that the adults are happy now (except the gay guy, of course), and that's it. The story, I mean. Why it took the lousy team of filmmakers so long to tell this trashy 80s comic book plot is another mystery never explained.
If you liked the first movie, or if you liked the original novel, or even if you simply value your time and sanity, stay far away from this dull mess.
But remember,. before you die, tell everybody who's hot that they are hot or carve their initials into wood while weeping - if you are gay. If you are straight, just enjoy the good things in life like saying "I love you" on the telephone (for no apparant reason) or sunbathing with your equally hot partner on your yacht. And if a monster shows up, just say "Clown". Perfect, another lesson learned!