IT Chapter 2 is the fulfilling finale to one of the greatest horror stories of this generation. This clown teaches a better life lesson than most family stories in this epic tale of self-discovery and letting go of the pains of the past. This spoiler free review will talk about the overarching feeling of the film without going into details.

Pennywise is back, 27 years later, hungry for more with the infamous kids of Derry. This 2 hour and 49 minute film uses its lengthy runtime to provide a complete story that honestly has more teaching moments than one would ever expect from a film in the horror genre. After nearly 30 years the Losers Club is called back to Derry as Pennywise begins to terrorize the town again. Through personal struggles, fights, anxiety-filled moments and group bonding this group learns what it takes to fight their fears.

If you were a fan of IT Chapter 1 you will also love this film. The two are extremely similar in horror and humor alike. In fact, the films and the actors within felt made for each other. Each character is represented as their younger and grown-up self with their actor’s portrayal being spot-on. The looks and mannerisms of the characters stand true, but in case you miss it the film does a great job of bringing it all back to the original film.

In fact, the film actually showcases the younger actors way more than expected with tie-ins that actually build upon the original film. This is part of the reason I felt that the message of this film was stronger than the scares. But, don’t get me wrong, this film has plenty of fingernail-biting anxiety-driven scares in it too.

While IT Chapter 2 does features jump scares, (what horror film doesn’t) it doesn’t rely on them to provide the fear. So much of the fear comes from the imagery that is simply just scary to look at. While computer-based special effects needed to be used to create much of the horror in the film, it is done very well. In fact, the horror element lies in the genuine believability of the action.

The story that hides behind the fear is actually the main reason I suggest seeing this film. After the first installment I wanted to learn more about these characters and what other fears they could face. This film did just that while touching on modern struggles like suicide, homophobia, bullying, anxiety, self-worth and more.

Before seeing the film I kept seeing positive reviews about Bill Hader who plays Richie Tozier when he is grown up. After seeing the film I could not agree more. While the entire cast stuck whole-heartedly to their character, Bill Hader brought so much to Richie and the film as a whole. He easily had the funniest moments in the film and brought a new level of life and realism to Richie.

Overall I would say that IT Chapter 1 was the scarier film, but it did not have the same level of completeness that Chapter 2 had. Chapter 2 brought together scares, real-life struggles, hilarious moments and a strong finale for this two-part horror story.

IT Chapter 2 premieres this Friday, September 6th. It is rated R for disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material.