It Chapter Two Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

4. It Commits To The Insanity Of The Source Material

The first It did a smart job of adapting much of the demented spirit of King's source material while omitting some of the more objectionable content - namely that orgy scene - and similarly, returning writer Gary Dauberman has willingly committed himself to engaging with the nuttier aspects of the book.

While fans hoping to see Maturin, the novel's infamous cosmic turtle, will be left disappointed, the film does nevertheless invoke some of the more memorably out-there moments from the book, such as the horrifying death of Adrian Mellon (Xavier Dolan), the Ritual of Chüd, and also some fairly explicit nods towards Pennywise's origins.

Dauberman and Muschietti get pretty freaking weird for a $70 million movie produced by a major studio, and though the film is fundamentally a mess, you can't knock their ambition and enthusiasm for the mind-melting spirit of King's material.