It: Chapter Two (2019)

27 years after defeating the evil the first time, the Losers come together in 2016 to fight the monster once more. This marks an improvement over the first chapter because we're introduced to the adult versions of the characters as we juxtapose back and forth in time. Unfortunately, the ambition of this film buckles under its own weight and can't sustain a nearly 3-hour runtime. Where these movies really excel are the production values and creepy visuals, but its detriment lies in the overreliance on CGI, which isn't very scary in and of itself. If we're talking about cheap practical effects vs. glossy CG, the former wins out each time. Sometimes less is more.

It doesn't quite stick the landing, but it's memorable enough for what it manages to accomplish.

3½ fortune cookies out of 5

It (2017)

Stephen King's classic novel gets a fresh coat of paint in the first of a new 2-part adaptation which transposes the events from 1950s to 1980s Derry, inspired by the recent nostalgic trend ushered in by Stranger Things. The result is slicker and scarier than what came before, but not any more effective. While the imagery and nightmare fuel is much more aggressive this time around (taking a page from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Sinister), it's missing the heart and charm of the original TV adaptation. While it may be considered superior in many ways, what King's works come down to at the end of the day are characters, and this lacks a lot of the chemistry and interactions between the Losers' Club which made that earlier film feel special.

Nevertheless, Bill Skarsgård steals the show as Pennywise, portraying him as much more sadistic and demonic than Tim Curry's version. It still manages to capture that scary feeling of being a kid, where domestic terror creeps around every corner. Since Derry's curse comes around every 27 years, this was followed up by It: Chapter Two in 2019.

3½ slide projectors out of 5

MAMA [2013]

Based on his Spanish short film, Mama, director Andrés Muschietti expands his creepy little modern fairy tale into a feature length, produced by Guillermo Del Toro.
It's a beautiful looking piece, filled with subtle yet effective sound design (best heard with a decent surround sound system) that pretty much takes visuals & ideas from many films before it.  Pulling out all the stops for maximum creep factor, including something in the closet, under the bed & in a box, you feel as if you seen it before but it's done with such delicate craft it doesn't really matter.  Unfortunately an uninspired script is what prevents it from becoming just that much better than it could have been.

2½  moths out of 5