The city of Derry, Maine had to wait 27 years for Pennywise to return. However, viewers did not have to wait 27 years for the next installment of the “IT” franchise to come out. “IT: Chapter Two” premiered on September 6, 2019.

Jessica Chastain (Beverly Marsh), James McAvoy (Bill Denbrough), Bill Hader (Richie Tozier), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike Hanlon), James Ransone (Eddie Kaspbrak), Jay Ryan (Ben Hanscom) and Andy Bean (Stanley Uris) all star as the adult versions of the Losers’ Club from the first “IT” film.

Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Jeremy Ray Taylor and Wyatt Oleff all reprise their roles from the first “IT” film as the young versions of the Losers’ Club. Bill Skarsgård also returns as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

“IT: Chapter Two” is, of course, the companion piece to 2017’s “IT.” Just like the novel by Stephen King, the “IT” movie franchise is split into two parts: part one, when the Losers’ Club were young teenagers, and part two, when they were adults.

The movie was enjoyable. All of the actors had strong chemistry, interesting dialogue and great performances. The flashback scenes throughout the movie were some of the strongest scenes. They served as a nice throwback to the first “IT” movie.

The movie’s predecessor was better in terms of scariness, but “IT: Chapter Two” definitely had its great moments. The movie itself is almost three hours long, which allows for plenty of content.

The jumpscares throughout the movie were very effective. A lot of the interactions between the Losers’ Club, especially Eddie Kaspbrak and Richie Tozier, will make fans of the film series smile. The love triangle between Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom and Bill Denbrough is still going strong as well. There were moments where the group’s interaction felt like a coming-of-age film instead of a horror movie, which was enjoyable and a nice break from the scares.

The ending was definitely a tear-jerker. It pulls at the viewer’s heartstrings in a nostalgic way that makes them feel like they have grown up with the Losers’ Club as well.

Apart from scares, “IT: Chapter Two” also dealt with some heavy subject matter pertaining to sexuality, abuse and suicide. The movie portrayed all of these accurately, no matter how sad the reality of those scenes in question may be. Viewers should also be aware that there is a lot more blood and violence in this movie than in the first one.

The only negative point in the movie relates to tone — the building of tension was broken with comedy at more than several parts throughout the movie. While Richie is a favorite character of many and he is known to be comic relief, the formula of “scary moment + comedic moment from Richie = broken tension” came to be expected at some points.

The tension-breaking comedy was not always a bad thing. Knowing that at least one witty comment or joke from Richie would be coming during or after a particularly unsettling scene made things seem a bit less scary.

Overall, “IT: Chapter Two” is a fantastic movie. The film is an almost perfect blend of horror and comedy. If you like scary movies that also have humor mixed in, “IT: Chapter Two” is the movie for you.