Though its protagonists are children, and it often leans heavily on the humor that exists between members of the Losers Club, the first It is a dark movie featuring everything from a child murder in the first 10 minutes to a trip into the sewers to battle a monster by the end. It's funny in places, yes, but certainly nothing you'd ever call anything but a horror film. Well, brace yourselves, because according to writer Gary Dauberman, Chapter Two takes this even further.
"I think it's darker in a lot of ways than the first one," he said. "The two movies feel like a complete whole to me."
One reason for this darkness, according to Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgård, is the villain's new mindset. He wasn't killed by the Losers in their last battle, but he was wounded to the point that he actually felt fear for the first time in his long life, and that's going to make him even scarier.
"His last line, 'Fear,' is him experiencing it for the first time, and he's sort of shocked and perplexed and surprised. Like, what is this? That leads to a shift in the evil character — like a cornered animal, fear only makes him more dangerous," he said. "It fuels hatred and anger towards the kids, who will be adults in this one, so I think there might be an even more vicious Pennywise."
