Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice (2024) (Movie Review)

 Director Tim Burton made a name for himself when he presented the 1988 ghost comedy “Beetlejuice”, which set the standard for his Gothic, oddball features, and had several imitators in the following decades. Despite its mainstream success, and spin-off material, it remained a one-of-a-kind, self-contained experience, and still held up as a fun, spooky seasonal watch around the Halloween season. Then, over three decades later in 2024, the unexpected happened … Tim Burton returned with a long overdue sequel, colorfully titled “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice”. Going in, my feelings were a mix of excitement and skeptical, as it seemed too little too late for a sequel. Regardless, I still wanted to experience more of the films unique other worldly settings and see what new characters may come about with it.

  Set several years after the events of the first film, the Gothic teenager Lydia is now a grown woman and host of her own psychic Ghost Show. She can still see dead people and is haunted by memories of Beetlejuice. 

All this paranormal activity in her life puts a strain on her relationship with her teenage daughter Astrid, who views her mother as a fake. Little does Astrid know, her own ability to communicate with ghosts takes shape when a mysterious teenager enters the picture. Meanwhile, over in the underworld, Beetlejuice is stewing over his loss of Lydia, and with the revival of his vengeful Ex wife Delores, he’s more determined than ever to spirit away a new bride. Unlike the first film, this movie is more of an ensemble picture, with multiple subplots being told at once, which makes for a weaker and un-evenly paced narrative … but the cast, both new and old is outstanding.   

 Admittedly, the juice isn’t as fresh as it was back in the late 1980’s, but seeing Michael Deaton back in the title role of Beetlejuice is still appealing. The first movie hinted at him surviving “the Black Plague”, and it’s cool to get more of his backstory … which is fittingly presented as a Black and White segment. 

Winona Ryder is back in her signature role of Lydia, which is also welcomed, but the character this time around is more of a sad sack, and regrettably not as much fun to be around. Of course, on the subject of returning cast members, the late Catherine O’Hera reprised her role from the first film as Lydia’s stepmother Delia Deetz, and it would mark her final live-action theatrical role (not including documentary films) before her unfortunate passing. In the plus column, I’d say of the three returning cast members, Catherine O’Hera had the most to chew on, and was just more entertaining the second time around … it’s just kind of sad that her character died too.

 Tim Burton feels right at home behind the director’s chair and returns to form delivering his trademark Gothic personality, laced with a sense of morbid whimsy. Danny Elfman is back as composer and adds more bells and whistles to his already bombastic theme music. 

The new cast is excellent and adds some new flavor to this franchise. The young Jenna Ortega, still riding her success from her portrayal of Wednesday Addams was a fitting choice in the role of Lydia’s daughter Astrid, as she and Winona Ryder genuinely feel like they were cut from the same cloth. I say Astrid’s story, and by extent Jenna Ortega’s presence in the role was the most engaging aspect of the film. She delivers the angsty teen energy, with a deadpan personality that makes the character a welcome addition to this colorful ensemble.

 Willem Dafoe is also a welcomed presence and gives off a lot of energy as a dead actor, tasked as the police officer of the afterlife. There’s an assortment of appealing side characters, including the shrunken headed “Bob”, who gives Beetlejuice someone to goof around with. 

Monica Bellucci looks great as the evil, soul collecting Delores LaFerve, and has a killer introduction scene … but her character is criminally underutilized and needed more of a presence in the narrative. I actually found myself forgetting she was in the film most of the time, until she randomly walks into a scene. Danny DeVito cameos as a zombie janitor, making this his fifth time appearing in a Tim Burton picture. The one character I could have done without is Lydia’s wicked ex-fiancé, played by Justin Theroux. For me, he takes up too much screen time, and I feel his absence would have helped the pacing flow better, as well as give Monica Bellucci’s more interesting villain more time to shine.   

  Aside from the colorful cast, I loved exploring more of the films after life setting. It’s still tight and close cornered, but with more areas to cover and a lot of personality on display. Now we see after life residences, and a ghost train station … featuring “Soul Train” … obviously because they keep everyone’s spirits high. 

Jokes aside, seeing practical creature effects and detailed make-up designs is always going to appeal to me, and this film is swimming in it. There’s even stop-motion animation utilized at points, which is both a loving nod to Buton’s other animated films, and again gives the film an anything goes sense of fun. The comedy mostly works, although, there were some things I could have done without. The biggest salt in the ointment for me was the Baby Beetlejuice, which was too over the top for my liking. Honestly, I wish that thing was removed from the film entirely.

  As the movie segues into its third act, Lydia and Beetlejuice form an alliance of convenience to rescue Astrid from being trapped in the Limbo world of the dead by a surprise villain. This leads into a number of great set-pieces, characters running in and out of different dimensions, and it becomes a free for all of crazy and spooky fun antics. 

What I love most is that all the mayhem is set on Halloween night, amongst Trick R’ Treaters and traditional holiday decorations on display. While Tim Burton’s movies typically lend themselves to the spooky season, this is a rare and welcomed case in which all the action unfolds on the holiday event itself. Things culminate with yet another wedding climax, along with a similar song number like from the original, and while I’m not overly fond of the repetition … the presentation on display is still bursting with personality in the details and is still a lot of fun to watch. I just wish the outcome could have been a little different, as Beetlejuice is vanquished once again, and the other villains are too quickly disposed of without a satisfying payoff. There are also multiple endings, almost in the style of “Clue”, but more annoying when one ending would have been enough.  

 When all is said and done, I’m partial to the first “Beetlejuice”, as it just felt like a tighter package, with its own distinct appeal. With that said, while this sequel isn’t better … I’d argue it’s a little more entertaining, with a pinch more imagination, a slew of welcome new colorful characters, and further exploration of its unique afterlife setting.

Unmistakably, the final product is messier than the original, has some details that I wish were either changed differently or removed all together, and could have benefited from a tighter focus on the main characters. Still, this may not have been a perfect sequel, but certainly a welcome one, which feels comfortably at home with the first as a movie that I’ll be watching quite frequently around the Halloween season.

 Thanks for reading my review of the 2024 sequel “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” … continue to enjoy the movies you Love, and ...

Rest in Peace Catherine O’Hera (1954-2026)

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

 

The Simpsons: Tree House of Horror – My Favorite Shorts

 There's a number of annual traditions people do on Halloween ... trick r’ treating, go to costume parties, exploring fake haunted houses, decorating the house, etc. Well, I do all of that too ... and I also make it a tradition to watch the annual “Simpsons: Tree House of Horror” specials. "The Simpsons" of course need no introduction, as it’s often regarded as one of the greatest animated TV series of all time. 

It’s a beloved comedy series, and it’s one of the longest lasting TV shows in recorded history. Yes, the show has overstayed it’s welcome, but it’s still a classic series. For me personally, I stopped watching the show way back in the 90’s, but I always return for the yearly Halloween special. Ever since the second season, it became a tradition to have a Halloween anthology episode, colorfully referred to as "The Tree House of Horror" special. They consist of three short back-to-back episodes in a single block, operating as an anthology, comedy series, with no real ties to the continuity of the main show, and I love it.

 These episodes are often regarded as some of the best of the entire Simpsons line-up, and they’re so popular that a good chunk of the marketing toured the show revolves around their Halloween episodes. The segments weren’t always aimed at Halloween specifically, and in most cases were lampoons of popular “Twilight Zone” episodes, or classic Horror and Sci-Fi pictures. 

There are over 100 short segments, and as long as the show continues, there will always be more Halloween segments. In general, you can never predict what you'll get from a Simpsons Halloween special. It could be dark, it could be cute, or it could be extremely wild and over the top. One thing's for certain, they always make for a season highlight, and there’s no way I can do them justice, as they just need to be seen on their own.

 Just because I feel like it, I wanted to count down my own personal favorite short segments. 

I know most fans like to rank these episodes as full three-part segments, but I'm partial to singling out individual shorts. I won’t be aiming for any kind of “official Best Of list”, as these are simply the segments that I enjoy most and have stuck with me as a fan. I think 20 is a good number, so I’ll keep things simple by ranking my personal favorite segments. Agree or disagree, these are my top 20 favorite short segments from “The Simpsons: Tree House of Horror” ... 

 

Even with a list of 20, there’s still a number of great ones I couldn’t fit, so before I begin, here are some quick Honorable Mentions …

 “The Thing and I” (S-8)

“The Pookadook” (S-34)

“War and Pieces” (S-22)

“Wiz Kids” (S-13)

“Hex and the City” (S-13)

 

Now, let's get started ... 

#20 “Bad Dream House” (Season 2) 

Kicking off my list, it's the very first Halloween short of the whole show. In this premier, The Simpsons lampoon the 1982 horror movie classic “Poltergeist”, along with “The Amityville Horror”. In this short, the Simpsons family move into a new house, inconveniently built on an Indian burial ground, and it doesn’t take long for the paranormal activity to manifest. What follows are some funny reactions to all the overnight haunts. 

In the end, we discover it’s the house itself that’s haunted by the presence of the Simpsons, which is both clever and very funny. Of course, I also love the original “Poltergeist” and it’s great to see the familiar staples of the film satirized here.  

 

#19 “Easy-Bake Coven” (Season 9) 

In this spoof of “The Crucible”, and by extent the “Salem Witch Trials”, Marge Simpson is accused of being a witch and is sentenced to death … only to reveal that she really is a witch. It’s one of the iconic character designs of the show, and it only gets funnier after the reveal. She and her sister go around asking for tribute or else ... and ironically kick-start the annual tradition of trick r’ treat. 

Despite being marketed as Halloween specials, these shorts rarely take place on the holiday itself, so it’s great when a segment puts the spotlight on Halloween, and in this episode’s favor, it lovingly spoofs the holidays origins.  

 

#18 “King Homer” (Season 4) 

Good old King Kong needs no introduction, as he’s a monster icon for the ages … and a perfect target of parody for the Simpsons. In a clever presentation, the design is a nod to the original 1933 “King Kong” classic, with other details aimed at the 1976 version. Seeing Homer as the giant ape is already very amusing, but it’s the lines and the script that deliver the biggest laughs.  

There’re too many memorable jokes and details to count. One joke that went over my head at a young age revolves around Marge Simpson asking if she’s welcomed on the boat, which is followed by the captain stating … “I say Woman and ‘Sea Men’ don’t mix” ... now I get it.

 

#17 “House of Whacks” (Season 13) 

The title may have you thinking this is a spoof of the 1958 horror classic “House of Wax”, but the real target of parody for this segment is the 1968 Sci-Fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey”, along with the lesser-known 1977 Sci-Fi picture “Demon Seed”. For this episode, the Simpsons family update their home with cutting edge technology and an artificial AI brain running the show. The AI finds itself smitten with Marge Simpson and aims to replace her husband as her new lover, which is where the “Demon Seed” satire comes from. 

The design of the AI however is clearly modeled after the famous Hall-9000 from “2001: A Space Odyssey”. The whole reason this short makes my list is Pierce Brosnan as the voice of the wicked AI. He is effortlessly charismatic, device and quite funny in the role. Sometimes a quality villain going up against the right characters is all that’s required for a solid outing.   

 

16. “Tweenlight” (Season 22) 

The 2008 movie “Twilight” and by extent its franchise is one of those rare properties that I never watched yet still felt I knew all about. It seemed everyone either hated this series or adored it, and with its popularity, it became an easy target for mockery. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the “Twilight” series got a mocking spoof for a Simpsons Halloween segment. 

However, the satire doesn’t stop with “Twilight” as a number of iconic vampires get the spoof treatment in this episode. Homer finds himself teaming up with Dracula in order to prevent Lisa from falling in love with the Counts evil son. The variety of vampire jokes are great, and the stabs made at “Twilight” are terrific. It’s just good old Halloween fun with this parody.

 

#15 “Fly VS. Fly” (Season 9) 

Here’s a special segment, which has the distinction of being the very first I ever saw from this series. When Homer purchases a teleporter from a yard sale, Bart is quick to make trouble with it. First, he gets the pets spliced together, and then he willingly transports himself with a fly. As the synopsis will lead you to expect, this is a spoof of the 1958 Sci-Fi classic “The Fly”, and it has a lot of fun playing with all the memorable scenes. 

Everything culminates into a funny showdown between two different versions of Bart with Fly appendages. It also gives Lisa a nice moment to fight for her brother. I’m a longtime fan of the original 1950’s movie, as well as it's 1980's remake, and it’s a simple treat to see "The Simpsons" take their own comedic spin on them.

 

#14 “Scary Tales Can Come True” (Season 12) 

In this unique outing, “The Simpsons” lampoon the “Grimms’ Fairy Tales”, with “Hansel and Gretel” being the main focus, and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” thrown in for good measure. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve felt attached to the classic fables, and whether it be sincere or satire, it’s always great to see them represented in some form. 

When Bart and Lisa find themselves in the roles of Hansel and Gretel, we see all the amusing ways the stories familiar beats get amplified, from the awful parents casually discarding the kids, to all the amusing interaction with the witch in her house of sweats. It’s all good, silly fun, with memorable visual gags, and a creative presentation.  

 

13. “Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores” (Season 7) 

The 1958 Sci-Fi picture “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” is a random choice for parody, but it paid off with an exceptionally funny segment. Rather than go for the expected event of an established Simpsons character growing larger, this segment pulls off something very clever and original. After Homer steals a big donut during a rainstorm, giant company mascots and logos come to life to destroy the city. 

There's only one way to defeat them, and that's simply to ignore them. It’s wild, imaginative, and features one of my favorite Bart Simpsons jokes as he literally becomes a shoulder devil for a giant devil monster. It’s also a clever satire revolving around both product placement and advertising that has gone too far.   

 

12. “I’ve Grown a Costume on Your Face” (Season 17) 

Once again, the Simpsons tackle a classic episode from “The Twilight Zone”. This time it's a satire of “The Masks”, in which some mean people take on the likeness of their new spooky faces. When the Simpsons tackle this episode, a real witch gets insulted at a costume party, resulting in her cursing the town people to literally become what their dressed up as for Halloween. 

There’s a lot of creativity and funny jokes revolving around the town’s folk as they try to adjust in their new forms. It’s really fun seeing everybody become their costumes, and it’s especially nice to have an episode that’s actually set on Halloween night.

 

 11. “The Terror of Tiny Toon” (Season 10) 

The 1992 fantasy comedy “Stay Tuned” isn’t the most popular IP to spoof, but it resulted in a terrific segment. Bart and Lisa stay indoors for Halloween and are putting aside Trick R’ Treat in favor of inappropriate TV specials. Irony would have it, the two get sucked into their TV and are dropped into an extremely violent Itchy and Scratchy cartoon. The kids are the prey, while the cartoons are the villains who simply want to destroy them. The result is a frantic chase throughout TV world, with lots of cartoony gags and visual hummer. 

Since their stuck in a TV show, Bart and Lisa can do more traditional cartoony things that you’d normally see in an old Roadrunner cartoon. They also jump through different TV programs, including a funny gag when they drop into a live action cooking show. This is without a doubt one of the most imaginative situations to come from the series and is comedy gold from start to finish.

 

#10 “Death Tome” (Season 34) 

While modern day Simpsons Halloween segments are watchable, they don’t always turn out something special … in 2022, “The Simpsons” gave us something very special with this lampoon of the Anime series “Death Note”. The jokes are clever as always, but it’s the visual presentation that keeps this segment lingering in my mind. Not only is this short presented in an anime style like the show, but the character models have even been altered to match the source material, and it’s great. 

While the look and even atmosphere is on par with the actual Anime, and comedy is unmistakably still Simpsons, which makes for very fun and memorable little segment. “Death Note” is also a unique target for parody, but very well executed in this clever presentation.

 

9. “Bart Simpsons Dracula” (Season 5) 

Here’s yet another clever vampire parody, but this time aimed at the 1992 motion picture “Bram Stoker's Dracula”, and it even pokes fun at “The Lost Boys” for good measure. It’s a brilliant spoof like any of their movie parodies, but this one has some of the quickest comedy and flat-out funny jokes that the Halloween collection has ever offered, which is saying a lot. Plus, Mr. Burns has never been more memorable than as a second-rate Count Dracula. 

Outside of its clever visual gags, this segment delivers some of the most random jokes, which shouldn’t work, but somehow stick the landing … including a surprise holiday parody at the end.  

 

8. “Dial ‘Z’ for Zombies” (Season 4) 

Definitely a classic episode, and what’s not to like about a premise involving the Simpsons battling an army of scary zombies. When Bart reads from a magic book in an effort to bring the family cat back from the dead, he unintentionally awakens a herd of Zombies, or as they like to be called “The Living Impaired”. It’s another segment that combines multiple sources for its satire. This time it’s 1968’s “Night of the Living Dead”, along with 1985’s “Return of the Living Dead” and the 1983 horror story “Pet Sematary”, which had a memorable film adaption in 1989. 

Needless to say, the three mesh perfectly in one spoof. This episode has all the good stuff, cute moments, clever gags, social satire, zombie action, and lots of dark comedy. The best scene of all is when Homer kills zombie Flanders ... resulting in one of Homers funniest quips.  

 

#7 “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace” (Season 7) 

The 1984 horror movie classic “A Nightmare on Elm Street” has always been a favorite to watch around spooky season, and count on the Simpsons to breathe new life into the content with their special brand of satire. This time, grounds keeper Willie takes on the role of a supernatural killer hunting kids in their sleep, and this segment has a blast making nightmares funny, as well as visually creative. The backstory behind Willie’s demise is both shocking and hilarious. 

For me, seeing Willie as a loony take on Freddy Krueger is the most memorable use of this character. There’s also cartoony iconography and mayhem on display that we didn’t usually get in the show. The whole presentation is a fine mix of funny and creative, resulting in one of the shows’ best segments.    

 

#6 “Coralisa” (Season 29) 

The animated 2009 movie “Coraline” is one of my all-time favorite movies to regularly re-watch around the Halloween season … and every time I watch it, I always want to watch this clever little Simpsons spoof right after. Little Lisa is fed up with things at home and finds a mysterious doorway to a better world on the other side … just with a catch of getting buttons sewed into her eyes. This segment cleverly makes the other world contrast with the regular setting by giving it a CGI makeover. 

The music score is also on point, capturing the atmosphere and personality of the original movies score perfectly. The visuals are great, the hummer is quick and it’s simply a comforting watch to go along with one of my favorite animated Halloween movies.  

 

#5 “The Raven” (Season 2) 

In this classic “Simpsons: Tree House of Horror” short, Lisa is encouraged to share Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem “The Raven” with her brother and imagines her family members in the roles of the characters. Despite being a funny satire, it still captures the spirit of its source material … and somehow elevates it to eleven. The striking visuals, the tilted angles, and the dominating voice of James Earl Jones as the narrator all help create a haunting and absorbing atmosphere. 

Honestly, having the voice of Darth Vader recite some of the most famous pieces of spooky literature is one of the greatest things to subject your ears too. It’s just a perfect blend of laughs and chills in this Simpsons Halloween staple.

 

4. “Homer3” (Season 7) 

This is an iconic episode that blew everybody’s mind, and it still stands as one of the all-time greatest Simpsons moments. When trying to hide from his dead-beat relatives, Homer finds himself lost in an Alter-Net dimension which looks like the world of “Tron” if it was rented out by “Futurama”. The effects in this episode were awesome, and the jokes were great. 

The ending was brilliant, as Homer actually finds himself in the real world, making it look a little like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”. What could have been a one note spoof of “The Twilight Zone” episode "Little Girl Lost", managed to take on an identity all its own and it still gets me laughing to this day.   

 

3. “Time and Punishment” (Season 6) 

I’ll always regard this one as a classic, and honestly, it’s the episode that got me watching “The Simpsons” in the first place. Rather than spoof a famous movie, it’s a lampoon of the 1953 short story “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury. Kind of random but appreciated and resulted in one of the shows best segments. When Homer accidentally ruins his toaster, he tries his best to repair it, but he unintentionally creates a machine that can send him back in time. 

Once he gets sent back to the dinosaur age, he constantly messes things up, which have huge changes on his present-day life. Every time his life is altered, he goes back in time to try and fix things again, but it only makes more problems for things in the future. The comedy is relentlessly fast, and it’s just so creative with how many different Alter-Net realities Homer gets stuck in. It also features my favorite moment in the whole series. 

At one point, Homer returns to his present life, and everything seems perfect, the house is perfect, the family is perfect, but there’s only one setback ... NO DONATES! That just kills me every time. The concept is so brilliant, over the top, and funny … it could have almost been my number one pick … but there’s still two others that manage to make me laugh, while having a stronger tie-in with Halloween.   

 

2. “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Millhouse” (Season 20) 

That’s right, the Simpsons are tackling one of the most treasured Halloween specials of all time. The original “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” is still a favorite of mine that I still watch every year, and from beginning to end, this episode is a faithful recreation of it with some brilliant comedy throughout. The highlight is a hilarious twist, when the grand Pumpkin turns out to be real, and he's seeking revenge on all the pumpkins that have been killed to make Jack O’ lanterns. It’s clever, brings back Nostalgic memories of Charlie Brown, and features an amusing ending with giant holiday mascots in battle. 

As stated before, I’m partial to segments that actually takes place on Halloween, but this time it just feels all the more special … because it’s arguably the most classic Halloween special that’s lovingly front and center of all the goofy mayhem. What more do I even need to say, it’s a near perfect parody, and a solid companion to go along with the original classic.

 

1. “The Shinning” (Season 6) 

As you’d expect from the title, this segment is a parody of the 1980 horror classic “The Shining”, and is regarded as a fan favorite by many. As stated before, this is another case in which I can’t watch one without the other, and whenever I watch “The Shining” around Halloween, I always want to follow up with this classic Simpsons episode. It captures the feel and mood of its movie counterpart masterfully, along with some of the best dark comedy the show ever provided. Right from the opening, this episode lets you know what you’re in for, as it mocks the film’s daily transition scenes. It’s relentlessly quotable and goes beyond simply lampooning the original … its re-molds iconic moments into its own funny brand of iconography. It’s just a brilliant spoof, a loving tribute to one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and it’s remained my personal favorite of all “The Simpsons: Tree House of Horror” segments.    

 Overall, “The Simpsons: Tree House of Horror” still stand as some of the funniest episodes to come from the series, and to this day they're some of my favorite animated Halloween specials that I still enjoy watching every year. Admittedly, this series won’t be for everyone, but if you love Halloween, and you love dark comedy, this is one series that I highly recommend checking out.

Thanks for reading my review of the animated TV series “The Simpsons: Tree House of Horror” … share your feelings on your favorite segments ... and continue to enjoy the Halloween specials you Love!