Director: Tim Burton
Writer: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Seth Grahame-Smith
Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Santiago Cabrera, Burn Gorman, Danny DeVito

1988’s Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, and its popularity has never waned, becoming something of a cult classic. Not to mention its continuous appearances on Halloween playlists. A sequel is something that has always been called for, by the studios, filmmakers and fans alike, but it apparently took 36 years to finally bring one to the big screen (with a short-lived animated show and a musical landing in between). The aptly named Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (the probable title for a potential third movie might prove difficult) arrives with plenty of time before the Halloween season, setting itself up for once again being commercially successful, but does it live up to everything fans enjoyed about the original?

In 2024, Lydia Deetz (Ryder) is now a mother to her estranged 16-year-old daughter Astrid (Ortega), separated from Astrid’s missing-presumed-dead father, Richard (Cabrera), and dating Rory (Theroux), the producer of her TV show. On the death of her father Charles, Lydia returns to their old house with Astrid and Lydia’s stepmother, Delia (O’Hara). On returning to the town of Winter River, Astrid goes about exploring, and eventually finds herself in danger of being stuck in the afterlife. In order to help her, Lydia reluctantly calls upon Betelgeuse (Keaton) to help her get her daughter back to the land of the living, but Betelgeuse is also in some trouble of his own, as he is being hunted down by his ex-wife, Delores (Bellucci).

It wasn’t until recently that I understood the allure that Beetlejuice had on people. As a kid it didn’t really tickle my fancy, but after watching it again recently, I had a different view on it. Perhaps it was the eyes of an adult that changed my perception, but the adult humour hit so much better, and I appreciated the work that went into the visual effects much more. I am pleased to say that Burton stays true to his original work and keeps what was so enjoyed about the first alive in the second. The plot holds up and doesn’t feel weak for a sequel (unusual), and although only one character has really evolved in any way since the first movie (Lydia), it’s enough development to let us enjoy other characters for the same reasons they were enjoyed in the first place, e.g. Betelgeuse and his political incorrectness and general lack of fucks given, and Delia’s wacky yet wonderful ways. Newer characters that were introduced went a long way to boost Lydia’s character arc, particularly Rory, who is really a two-dimensional character, and Astrid being the antithesis of her mother. It worked well and provided some good conflict for Lydia, and putting her in the shoes of the parent of a teenager made for a good role reversal from what we saw in Beetlejuice.

As mentioned, the visual effects were clearly made to be as practical as possible, and it’s something that is sorely missing from films these days. Burton’s use of stop-motion, animatronics and prosthetics/make-up give Beetlejuice Beetlejuice its familiarity and nostalgic appeal. It is also set in the lead-up to and on Halloween, which is just the perfect setting to give the scenes in the living world that dark and spooky feeling. The film also retains the opening crawl in a similar vein to the first film, and there’s even a nod to the first film’s most famous scene featuring ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ by Harry Belafonte, as well as a different song taking a scene where the characters lip sync (it’s not as iconic as the Day-O scene, unfortunately, but at least it’s there). The soundtrack for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is quite an interesting one itself, and it does feel a little too juxtaposed sometimes, but what is a Beetlejuice film if not uniquely weird?

Ryder looks to hardly have aged a day in this film, and she slips back into the shoes of Lydia so seamlessly it’s like the character never went away. Lydia has definitely matured in many ways, and so she has become more likeable, and Ryder gives everything one would expect from a grown-up Lydia. O’Hara too still completely embodies Delia in her hilarious ways and is no less funny or hate-to-love than her first incarnation. To repeat myself a third time, Keaton’s performance as Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice is exactly as one would expect, he also returning to the character as if he’d been playing him every day since. Funny, love-to-hate and unabashedly disgusting, the Juice truly was loose in Keaton. Ortega gives a good performance as Astrid, her scenes with Ryder particularly strong in the mother-daughter relationship portrayal, though she could have done with slowing down her dialogue at times. (I’m also starting to wonder if Ortega is this generation’s Helena Bonham Carter/Winona Ryder/Christina Ricci, the gothic-girl of Gen X? If she does another project with Burton within the next five years, I’m going to go with a resounding ‘yes’.) Theroux’s performance as Rory is just fine, a character who you just don’t like from the beginning and is just there to serve Lydia’s character arc, and Dafoe is quite enjoyable in his hammy show of a dead actor posing as a detective in the afterlife. Bellucci’s performance is also good for what it is, but her character and storyline felt rather unnecessary to the plot as a whole. Shout-out to DeVito’s cameo, and the return of Bob with the shrunken head, what a scene-stealer he is.

Dare I say it, but I would rank Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as just as good as its predecessor, if not slightly better. I’m not a die-hard fan, but I would hazard a guess that fans who have long-awaited this sequel will be quite satisfied. It’s not merely a regurgitation of the first film but has its own story with some fresh characters that bolster the original characters, or at least allow them to shine as well as they did the first time around. The antagonists were perhaps a little weak, particularly considering Betelgeuse was the antagonist, and a strong one at that, in the first film, but it allowed Betelgeuse to be an anti-hero of sorts. Overall a good follow-up that continues the legacy of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse Betelge-