It Chapter 2 Trailer Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

Pennywise says hello again...

Pennywise Clown
Warner Bros

Considering the huge success of Andy Muschietti's It and the apparent revival in the horror genre (or at least more mainstream interest), it was inevitable that there'd be a fairly big cloud of hype around the first trailer for the sequel. Everything we've seen so far, from the casting news to the promises that it will be even weirder and even scarier, suggested that we're in for a wild, white-knuckle ride and now that the trailer is here, it looks like those expectations were nailed on.

It's creepy, it trades on the audience appreciation of Bill Skarsgard's beautifully odd titular character and there's a very real sense that the director is delivering more of the same while also pushing in new directions. In other words, he's making a successful sequel, even from this early look.

Here's the trailer...

That's left a pretty big mark. If it's not one of the most viewed trailers of the year, there's something seriously wrong. But as ever, it's not perfect (what would we talk about if it was?) and it's important to have a look both at the high-point and what maybe didn't work QUITE so well...

First the negatives...


3. The Switch To A "Superman Score"

Pennywise Face
Warner Bros.

The opening build is very, very good and it's a great choice to show an abridged version of one key scene as the majority of the trailer's run-time, but it works precisely because it depends on simple signifiers of creepiness. It's all about the power of the audience's own persuasion: what we don't see, or hear or understand is what's most scary. That's why the parred down music and creepy sounds work so well.

So it's somewhat jarring when the trailer's other footage kicks in and you're basically assaulted by a Hans Zimmer boom out of nowhere. Sure, it's an audio assault, but it doesn't work nearly as well as something more creepy and less bombastic would have been. Like, it's a cliche, but why not some circus music building to that "hello" from Pennywise?

Executive Editor
Executive Editor
