BLU-RAY REVIEW & GIVEAWAY — “IT Chapter Two”

When it comes to monster scares and performances, “IT Chapter Two” does not clown around.

Director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club in “IT Chapter Two,” now available on 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital. Listen to our review here.

The follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed smash “IT,” which grossed more than $700 million worldwide to become the highest-grossing horror film of all time, “IT Chapter Two” returns to where it all began as IT resurfaces to terrorize the town of Derry 27 years after the events of the first film when the Losers defeated Pennywise.

Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways. However, people are disappearing again, so Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the only one of the group to remain in their hometown, calls the others home. Damaged by the experiences of their past, they must each conquer their deepest fears to destroy Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) once and for  all… putting them directly in the path of the shape-shifting clown that has become deadlier than ever.

Based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel, the horror saga’s conclusion is stacked with a phenomenally-talented cast, both young and old. The spot-on adult casting choices include a healthy combination of established stars and lesser-known-talent that are the perfect counterparts to the young actors from the first film.

“IT Chapter Two” stars James McAvoy (the “X-Men” movies, “Split,” “Glass”) as Bill, Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Mama,” “Molly’s Game”) as Beverly, Bill Hader (TV’s “Barry,” “The Skeleton Twins”) as Richie, Isaiah Mustafa (TV’s “Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments”) as Mike, Jay Ryan (TV’s “Mary Kills People,” TV’s “Beauty and the Beast”) as Ben, James Ransone (TV’s “The Wire,” “Sinister”) as Eddie and Andy Bean (“Swamp Thing,” “Allegiant”) as Stanley.

To recapture the magic of the first film, the original Losers are brought back in several flashback scenes. Oddly, some of the rapidly-aging child actors necessitated digital de-aging to resemble their youthful selves from the initial film.

Reprising their roles as the original members of the Losers Club are Jaeden Martell (“St. Vincent,” “Midnight Special”) as Bill, Wyatt Oleff (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”) as Stanley, Jack Dylan Grazer (“Shazam,” TV’s “Me, Myself and I”) as Eddie, Finn Wolfhard (TV’s “Stranger Things,” TV’s  “Carmen Sandiego”) as Richie, Sophia Lillis (“Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase,” TV’s “Sharp Objects”) as Beverly, Chosen Jacobs (TV’s “Hawaii Five-O,”  TV’s “Castle Rock”) as Mike, and Jeremy Ray Taylor (“Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween”) as Ben.

The cast, led by reliable veterans McAvoy and Chastain, delivers admirable performances. Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise returns as the film’s grotesquely menacing and a formidable villain who feeds off fear and gains strength by making others feel small.

The insanely-talented Bill Hader absolutely crushes it as an adult Richie, as does James Ransone as an older, but no-less squeamish Eddie. The pair provide the film with most of it’s comedic levity and heart. Without their performances elevating the film, “IT Chapter Two“ wouldn’t have been much less effective.

4K, BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS

“IT Chapter Two” 4K UHD Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack contain the following special features:

• Pennywise Lives Again!
• This Meeting of the Losers Club Has Officially Begun
• Finding the Deadlights
• The Summers of IT: Chapter One, You’ll Float Too
• The Summers of IT: Chapter Two, IT Ends
• Commentary with Director Andy Muschietti

“IT Chapter Two” DVD Special Edition contains the following special features:

• Pennywise Lives Again!
• This Meeting of the Losers Club Has Officially Begun
• Finding the Deadlights
• The Summers of IT: Chapter One, You’ll Float Too
• The Summers of IT: Chapter Two, IT Ends

With a running time of 169 minutes, “IT Chapter Two” is rated R for disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material.

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