It Chapter 2 Trailer Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

3. The Very Real Sense Of Dread

And one of the most pertinent and pressing emotions in there is dread, which is exactly what you'd want both from a sequel trailer and a horror of this nature.

The key to this film being a success wasn't just about doing what the original did, even though that's initially what guarantees an audience: they also implicitly expect escalation and the best way to achieve that is to make it very clear that absolutely everyone is potentially dead meat. Even with limited screen-time to play with, we get shots of most of the principle cast either under threat or clearly feeling some sort of terrible emotion. And remarkably, the trailer manages to convince of that ominous feeling without showing Pennywise interacting with anyone in any real way.

We needed to know that these grown ups are just as troubled and just as in danger as their younger selves and the trailer not only delivers on that expectation but surpasses it. They look very much f*cked and that's exactly what we're all here for.