IT Chapter Two age rating: How old do you have to be to watch Stephen King horror movie?

IT Chapter Two has been in cinemas for a couple of weeks, and fans have flocked to the cinema to watch it. The film follows the Losers Club’s return to Derry, after the evil monster Pennywise awoke from its slumber. But for many, they may be concerned their young children will want to see the scary movie.

**WARNING IT CHAPTER TWO SPOILERS**

How old do you have to be to watch IT Chapter Two?

According to the British Board of Film Classification (BFFC), the film is classed as a 15, meaning anyone under the age of 15 can not see the film in cinemas.

In the ratings info, the film is listed as having strong gory violence, horror, bad language and discrimination.

IT Chapter Two also has flashing lights, so it may affect those with photosensitive epilepsy or other such conditions.

At the start of the film, there is what the BBFC calls ‘prolonged beating of a man’ when a gang of youths beat up a gay couple in a brutal way.

Later in the film, the adult bully Henry Bowers tracks down the Losers Club and stabs Eddie in the face with his knife, at which point Eddie quickly hides in the shower.

As Bowers goes towards him, Eddie thrusts the knife in his chest, leaving him heavily bloodied.

And, of course, Pennywise bites into bodies when he attacks his prey – both children and adults – which is naturally accompanied by bloodshed.

The BBFC also comments on the amount of threat from Pennywise, as the main characters spend “much of the film being stalked and hunted by the demon, which has the ability to transform itself into a myriad of horrific forms, shapes and sizes, and is able to induce life threatening situations and hallucinations”.

Finally, the discrimination comes in the form of homophobia, with the couple who are beaten at the beginning also abused with homophobic slurs.

The character of Richie is also forced to deal with similar language later in the film, when a flashback sees him playing video games in an arcade and being bullied by older boys.

IT Chapter Two is also a long film, clocking in at just less than three hours, meaning the sheer volume of scares may be a little bit too much for some teenagers.

As with many films, it is always a good idea for parents to consider watching IT Chapter Two first, so they can gauge just how scary it is and whether their children will be able to sit through the violence, gore and blood.

Is IT Chapter Two scarier than IT?

The 2017 IT sees the Losers Club as children, fighting off Pennywise.

There are incredibly scary moments in IT, with the best remembered being when Pennywise jumps out of a projector to scare the kids as they are looking through images of their past.

However, IT and IT Chapter Two has the same BBFC age rating, meaning technically, the two films are similar in terms of their scare factor.

On the BBFC website, there are fewer specific warnings about IT than there are about IT Chapter Two, suggesting the sequel may have more scarier and harder moments to watch for teenagers.

IT Chapter Two is in cinemas now