Horror

It would seem like audiences are suffering from a bit of Stephen King fatigue, as 2019 saw three theatrical releases of his films and each of them seemed to under-perform at the box office. Pet Sematary was a lackluster adaptation, and It Chapter 2 was fun, but still disappointing when considering how good the first was, and then there was Doctor Sleep, the long awaited sequel (depending who you ask) to The Shining.  When it comes to The Shining, I’m a fan of both King’s book but also of Stanley Kubrick’s take on the material.  King has always had his problems with the Kubrick version due to the many liberties taken with the material, and many people tend to forget how personal that story was for King and how it dealt with his own personal struggles with alcohol and addiction.  Because of all this, I believe it’s why the announcement of Doctor Sleep as a book and eventually a film was so shocking and even polarizing for some.  When I read the book, it was a fun and unexpected journey that eventually leads back to the Overlook, but most enjoyable was the journey on getting there as King created a sequel that delved more into what “the shining” is rather than simply return to a haunted hotel.  So how was the film, and how does the director’s cut differ from the theatrical cut?
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“This meeting of the Losers’ Club has officially begun.”

I don’t think I’d be exaggerating by saying It Chapter 2 might be the most highly anticipated horror film in quite some time. Two years ago when the first It hit the cinemas, sure, I expected it to be a hit, but the film went on to be a pop culture sensation.  Pennywise was already well known because of the books by Stephen King, but also because of the loyal fan base of the 90’s mini-series.  Debates were heated about which Pennywise was better and more terrifying, while other debates went on about which adaptation was better.  I always felt it was unfair to compare this new version to the mini-series simply because we only had half a film, and now finally this weekend we have the conclusion to the story about our favorite Losers’ Club, only instead of teenagers they are all grown up.  Now that the wait is over, how does this film stack up alongside the first half and the mini-series? Well, I’ll say it’s better than the mini-series but doesn’t quite have the magic of the 2017 film.
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