Stephen King Fans discussion

The trailer is out for Chapter 2, and IT looks thrilling! 🤡

Oh wow... Looks scary

The teaser trailer looks really good.

Here is the link for anyone looking for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUop...

Love it! The extended preview scene in Beverly's house, that pause...

Such a good trailer! I have hope that they'll stay close to the book with the bits that matter after seeing that.

I am so excited about this sequel. Just everything leading up to this has been spectacular, I hope they stick the final landing.

That old lady is creepy as hell, and when her face freezes? I got goosebumps. Looks good.

Grandma’s dance in the hallway - um, time to leave

September feels so far away! I want to watch it now!

I don't mind the wait.... I'll watch part 1 on the DVD just before I'll go see part 2....

Jennifer wrote: "Grandma’s dance in the hallway - um, time to leave"

That creeped me out.

Does the actor playing Bill keep his accent? It sounded like I could hear it in some places but not in others, so now I'm wondering if Bill's coming back to Derry with an inexplicably plummy accent.

Summer wrote: "Does the actor playing Bill keep his accent? It sounded like I could hear it in some places but not in others, so now I'm wondering if Bill's coming back to Derry with an inexplicably plummy accent."

My sister also heard the accent but I didn't. Remember though in the novel, (view spoiler)[he's married to an English actress and is living there at the moment he gets Mike's call (hide spoiler)], so they might play off of that, say he lived somewhere in the UK for most of his life or something.

That was my thought too Andre

Has anyone seen the second movie yet?

Not yet I'm planning on next week; letting all the crazies go first

I haven't heard anyone really talking about it.

I seen it last weekend. It ties the story up nicely and I noticed a lot of syncronicity with the book in places. I wish they had expanded on the Henry Bowers story a bit more but all in all it was good!

I saw it last weekend and I enjoyed it. It made me jump in a couple of places.

I watched the second movie last Saturday - 9/10 - and want to see it again and again. Didn't find it that scary but I was immersed in the relationship of the kids and the adults. I had tears in my eyes and became quite emotional throughout and at the end. No spoilers but it was like losing childhood friends when it finished. I will have to read the book again for let me think....about the 30th time.

The acting was superb from the young cast and the adult Losers spot on for both quality of performance and symmetry with the child actors, one of the many things the dreadful mini series seriously failed on.

I agree Conor they could have added another 15 minutes to flesh out Henry getting arrested as a child and his descent in to madness and i would have liked the Patrick and Henry scene from the book including "Pet Fridge" within that.

But on the whole I cannot find fault with the movie. Part 2 was a wonderful feel good and feel bad epic feature that at last did justice to the wonderful SK novel. Loved SK's cameo as well.

My man Andy Muschetti is also going to blend both films and release as one 6 hour movie with deleted scenes included which I am very excited about.

I also loved this movie and feel exactly as you do. From a fan perspective it was top notch. I was so emotional that I think I will see it again this weekend to pick up the things I might have missed.

Definitely. I want to watch it again and again. Definitely to pick up on things I missed as well.

I saw it the day it was released and really liked it. I want to watch it again. It was not scary to me except when they fast forwarded the movements of the clown and the monster. I don't want to put any spoilers but someone else mentioned King's cameo appearance ... I love that he does that.

Karen B. wrote: "I saw it the day it was released and really liked it. I want to watch it again. It was not scary to me except when they fast forwarded the movements of the clown and the monster. I don't want to pu..."

I am trying to remember, did he do a cameo in the first movie?

I saw it last weekend. The acting was phenomenal, and of course some of that has to do with casting, but a lot is just talent. It was my absolute favorite King cameo.

My only issue, and really, it's not so much an issue as an observation, is that despite the terrific performances, King's imagination is just a bit much for the screen. When I read I imagine things in a completely believable way. When a director tries to show me, it often comes across as cheezy. It did here in places, but that's ok.

Best King cameo I have seen.

And the references to liking the books but hating the endings was amusing.

Best dam King movie ever and best dam cameo with a dig on then endings. OMG, I cried my dam eyes out.

KenJen wrote: "Best dam King movie ever and best dam cameo with a dig on then endings. OMG, I cried my dam eyes out."

I did too KenJen. It was a masterpiece.

So true Steve. Some scenes still haunt me this morning. And that cameo which he does listen to what people say about his writing, and his comments were priceless.

Wow, I didn't think it was very good at all. There was no real suspense and a lot of it was unintentionally humorous to me.
I was just a kid when I watched the miniseries but I remember that terrified me.

Book Nerd wrote: "Wow, I didn't think it was very good at all. There was no real suspense and a lot of it was unintentionally humorous to me.
I was just a kid when I watched the miniseries but I remember that terrif..."

I kind of agree with this to a point, though I still found it enjoyable enough. There were just a few too many predictable jump scares which I always find a poor substitute for actual scary moments.

Across both films I think they did a decent enough job but there is just a nagging thought that it could have been so much better.

I still cant believe the mini series comes up here. I get people being terrified when they were very small children. BUT I watched it in 1990 when I was 21 and I thought the mini series was dreary, soulless, derivative and the acting and soundtrack dreadful. I felt it was an abomination of the book and Tim Curry was more Krusty the Clown than Pennywise.

Andy modernised the themes of the book to appeal to a wider more unforgiving audience. I believe had he set it in the 50's, whilst it would appeal to us book fans, it would not have appealed to the masses.

I felt It Chapter 1 and 2 from 2017 and 2019 nailed the crux of the book and the themes throughout - growing up pains, adults ignoring/not understanding their kids, bullying & puberty. I felt Part 2 was more a social statement than a horror film. The monsters in your life are sometimes the ones that should love and nurture you - lower end Bill's parents blinded by grief and higher end - Ed's Mum (brilliantly played by Molly Anderson who is gorgeous in real life) and Bev's Dad (Steven Bogaert was excellent).

Yes it was unsettling & there was some jump scares but Part 2 left me with tears in my eyes as several parts left me feeling like I had lost a childhood friend. THAT IS the mark of a great movie.

I cannot wait for Andy to blend both films and include the deleted scenes.

I also believe Bill Skarsgard did an excellent job as Pennywise & got as close as we will ever get to IT in the fantastic novel.

I think maybe Andy Muschetti should get together with Stephen King and do a 10 part mini series on Netflix based EXACTLY on the novel. Us book lovers could then enjoy it better and remove the CGI. Personally I loved IT 1 and 2 and gave it an 8 and 9 out of ten respectively but I get why people were disappointed it didn't mirror the book for timelines and plots entirely.

Perhaps we can then consign that dreadful 1990 debacle to the bin where it belongs.

1000000% agree with Steve.

Steve wrote: "I still cant believe the mini series comes up here. I get people being terrified when they were very small children. BUT I watched it in 1990 when I was 21 and I thought the mini series was dreary,..."

I completely agree about the miniseries. I "tried" to watch it again a month or so ago and couldn't stomach it. The acting was atrocious and I found Tim Curry's clown to be embarrassingly laughable (not in a good way). I also don't remember being at all scared back when it originally aired, though I would have been 22 at the time.

Thanks Anarchic Rain and Sue. I showed my 12, 10 and 8 year old kids the clip from the mini series of Georgie. They had already seen the 2017 version on YouTube. They couldn't stop laughing!

I tried to watch the mini series a couple of years ago and again last month as it was on one of the cable channels and be objective. I had to turn it off.

Objectively I wouldn't give it one out of ten and think it is the POOREST SK adaptation to date.

Agree about the miniseries, it was largely woeful. These films are much better, and I like them both, it’s just that some parts felt quite generic.

A ten-part series would be terrific and I reckon at some point a series could happen. Let’s hope!

Steve wrote: "I also believe Bill Skarsgard did an excellent job as Pennywise & got as close as we will ever get to IT in the fantastic novel.

I think maybe Andy Muschetti should get together with Stephen King ..."

Skarsgard was excellent and should have had more screen time, for me. The scene under the bleachers with the little girl was probably my favourite scene.

I would add IT; 2017 & 2019 was spot on, which I was emotionally moved by the 2019 where I found myself crying. Also, the Adrian Mellon scene was hard to watch.
Pennywise is something that sprung from Stephen King’s imagination, but [this hate crime] is something that happens. IT happened in the book, IT happen in 1980’s and IT happens now. Unfortunately, The movie makers didn’t have to change much to make it feel appropriate for 2019, and that is the thing that scares me to death.

Steve wrote: "I watched the second movie last Saturday - 9/10 - and want to see it again and again. Didn't find it that scary but I was immersed in the relationship of the kids and the adults. I had tears in my ..."

I feel the same way. Not very scary so I could understand from the casual horror-movie-goer perspective it might not live up to the hype, but if you went and saw Chapter 1, you should know by now what to expect. I enjoyed it for what it brought to the table and the excellent blending of genres. I've watched it once but I hope to see it again soon.

One gripe I had was seeing the use of the quick, jittery effect for the scares again that we saw in the first film. It grows a bit stale, but it provides consistency with Chapter 1 and it wasn't overdone as much as you would expect in a 3 hour movie, so I can't fault it too much. I also felt that (view spoiler)[ The Bill, Bev, Ben love triangle (hide spoiler)] was a bit messy and they could have either spent more time on it to make it feel more natural, or due to time constraints, just cut the (view spoiler)[ Bill and Bev kiss (hide spoiler)], as it wasn't even acknowledged in any way, shape, or form after the fact. I loved the (view spoiler)[ bathroom/clubhouse side-by-side scene with Ben and Bev (hide spoiler)].

I found that it didn't have very many jump scares at all, which is partly why a lot of people might be quick to call it out as "not scary", as so many recent horror movies have made us grow accustomed to them. Even though I didn't think it was that scary myself, there was real tension in some scenes, and it has excellent re-watch value.

Overall a lot of fun and lives up to what was set up by Chapter 1. I didn't know about the 6 hour "ultimate" cut but I will likely get it.

I never thought the first one to be like any traditional horror movie I've seen so I wasn't all that disappointed in seeing the second one. I knew what to expect. I saw it opening weekend with a friend who absolutely adored this movie over the first one. Although I've heard many people complain about the runtime I just couldn't get enough. i really can't wait until Andy's "super-cut" is released.
The casting was phenomenal and Andy's filmmaking has always intrigued me. It was interesting to see what things he would do differently in this film. The shots were amazing, acting on point and transitions spectacular. We aldo can't forget King's cameo! Ultimately for something coming straight from the mind of Stephen King I thought they did an amazing job. How would you all feel about a Pennywise origin story?

A Pennywise origin story would be simply amazing. There are references to early tragedies in the book so our man Andy could do IT Origins from the source material.

I write this as a very big fan of Stephen King and, in particular of the "source' novel from 1986. One of the aspects of most of Mr. King's novels is his skill at writing very personable and human characters who are thrust into often horrendous situations and how they cope with same. And "IT" was no exception. For all of its girth and epic proportions this novel (for me. at least) was filled with characters who always seemed to preserve their "human-ness" to a greater or a lesser degree. So when I saw that "Chapter 1" maintained that very human, personable focus I became very enthused for "chp.2" to see how the characters would keep their humanity. And then all of the CGI kicked in and the attention seemed to stray away from characters we came to appreciate from the first movie and just morph into an everyday, "bloated", generic horror show. Kind of sad because King seemed to value the plight of those characters throughout the entire 1986 novel.

Steve wrote: "A Pennywise origin story would be simply amazing. There are references to early tragedies in the book so our man Andy could do IT Origins from the source material."

I feel the same way.

I finally saw this. Overall I did like it, especially (view spoiler)[King's cameo in the pawn shop (hide spoiler)]

I just watched it today. I thought it was too long and rather boring. The kids were still the best part

Erin wrote: "I just watched it today. I thought it was too long and rather boring. The kids were still the best part"

I agree about the length.

And too many jump scares, which the cinematic equivalent of a sugar high.

I thought Bill Skarsgard was great as Pennywise. I think he was one of the highlights of the movie.

I loved the first movie, but wasn't a big fan of the second. It just felt like a drawn out repeat telling of the first movie, and the ending seemed to fall flat. With the interdimensional dynamics from the books, it was going to be hard for any director to make it all work a certain way. But the cast was all great and I did enjoy some of changes they made from the source material.