Hoped for it to be more than it was

Rating: 5/10 (8 September 2019)

I am a fan of the book and mini series, and Part 1 of this remake really creeped me out. I can honestly say that the first one (which we rented again just before going to Part 2) honestly made me not want to miss any of the frightening moments. We pre bought early admission tickets and took off early from work, eagerly anticipating this movie! Even the trailer sent a few chills up my spine! We were excited, so perhaps that eagerness helped let us down. While there is a strong cast of dedicated, capable actors, with a moderately strong plot, the excessive CGI made it almost laughable (SPOILER TO FOLLOW).
Starting with the Chinese restaurant, that could've been genuinely thrilling, but the CGI just made it look a little cheesy as human headed lobster spider things just didn't match the spookery of the first part. There is something to be said about less being more...sometimes not seeing and seeing reaction would be even more efffective,
The scene with the old woman, seen in the previews started as frightening, but the globular plasticized old woman took the magical scare factor down.
The leper and the brown soupy vomit took away from the the truly frightening element of Eddy seeing his worst nightmare come to life.
Honestly, if they just removed the excess CGI, and let the creep factor be realized more with what you don't see, it would have gone further.
The deeper story line of the power of friendship really shined through. And I wish the suspense without excess CGI would have been more realized.
I'm not saying it's a bad movie, or that you should not see it -- I'm saying maybe don't spend those extra movie theater prices, and make your own popcorn and adjust your expectations.