'It: Chapter Two' will see new horror elements besides creepy Pennywise plaguing members of the Losers' Club
The first movie adaptatioon of 'It', the popular Stephen King novel, managed to leave both casual filmgoers and avid fans terrified and shocked, with critics labeling the 2017 movie as one of the best adaptations of King's novels till date. However, the highly anticipated second chapter, titled 'It: Chapter Two', might leave us even more scarred than its predecessor. And this time, the horrors aren't going to be just the dancing clown Pennywise, who - thanks to Bills Skarsgard - has been haunting our nightmares just like the town of Derry ever since the film's release.
Set 27 years after the Losers' Club first grouped together in the events of the first iteration, the sequel will see the members all grown up, having achieved major success in life, while they managed to suppress the traumas of their childhood. The only one who has neither moved out or on is Mike, who will be seen serving as a librarian in Derry in the upcoming sequel. Mike tries rounding up his friends when the story's villainous clown strikes once again, but this is not the only horror plaguing Mike in the sequel.
The makers have also suggested that the second chapter will see Mike battling a severe drug problem after he took to heroin to cope with the trauma and scars Pennywise left behind.
Sounds a bit too much for a children's horror story, but there's a perfectly good reason behind this toxic plot development too. Having dealt with racism all his life in the remote town of Derry, it is understandable why after the encounter with Pennywise, Mike resorts to drugs out of despair as his friends start moving out of town. But it has been also revealed that Mike's history with addiction will help him fight off the horror entity because of the drug-induced alterations in his mind.
Using those capabilities, through the "Ritual of Chüd", Mike is expected to help defeat Pennywise in 'It: Chapter Two.'
The other significant horror element that the movie will tackle this time around is suicide. Stan, who was one of the members of the Losers' Club to be directly attacked by Pennywise, is believed to snap when the horror returns. Labeled as a character who has been scarred both physically and emotionally following their first encounter, Stan won't be able to cope with the idea of going through it again and will kill himself, as has been confirmed by the producers and actor Wyatt Oleff, who will play his older version.
Apart from the horrors of drug addiction and suicide, the sequel will also involve all the psychedelic and Lovecraftian elements from King's original story, exploring them deeper than the 'deadlights' that were seen in Pennywise's mouth. These are said to be a direct portal venturing into other worlds, associated with time travel, so maybe the sequel might explore that too. Along with that, the Losers' Club's former human enemy, Henry Bowers, is expected to return in the sequel and his plot will see him teaming up with Pennywise to kill all the members of the club that he so enjoyed bullying.
'It: Chapter Two' arrives in theatres on September 6.