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!
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