Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.

My Take – Never a masterpiece or anything of that sort, the 1988 released Tim Burton directed morbidly eccentric original film “Beetlejuice” worked well enough as a high-camp horror comedy that delivered enough macabre fun to be commercially successful and gain a cult status over time.

With Michael Keaton’s titular manic prankster demon “bio-exorcist” being a highlight. And since anything and everything in Hollywood has franchise potential, a proposed sequel has been in development hell for decades.

Now 36 years later, a sequel has finally arrived with most of the cast and crew intact. More surprisingly, the film is outrageous good in the right ways. Marking a return to form for Tim Burton following a string of underwhelming and under-performing features.

Sure, there’s a certain randomness to the plot and it doesn’t necessarily have you rolling around laughing at every scene, yet it manages to keep you with a smile throughout. Realistically, the sequel was never going to match the instant appeal of the original, but it has a lot of fun trying through its onslaught of musical numbers, stunts, dream sequences, and absolutely bonkers choices.

Ultimately, the film is pure Burton, passionate, untethered, and indulgent. Indeed, fans of the original film will have plenty of reason to cheer.

The story follows the now adult Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), who has achieved a degree of celebrity status as the host of a real-life hauntings show titled Ghost House. But she’s a shadow of her spiky former self. She’s brittle and vulnerable, browbeaten by her boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) who isn’t exactly helping. Though she now shares a good relationship with her stepmom Delia (Catherine O’Hara), things are strained with her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega).

But a family tragedy brings everyone back to the house where it all started, offering an opportunity for the persistent Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) to inveigle his way out of the underworld and finally claim Lydia as his reluctant spouse. Especially, as his spurned and dissected ex-wife (Monica Bellucci) has returned and wants to reclaim her man.

Here, Tim Burton brings his unique style, and this certainly feels like a Tim Burton film in every sense of the word. Through this premise, he is able to bring back all kinds of Beetlejuice iconography and catchphrases without much strain. The visual effects and production design are beautifully crafted, with that classic feeling of Burton films from the ’80s and ’90s, but enhanced with today’s technologies and more extensive options.

Beyond that, with the help of screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, creators of the sensational Netflix series “Wednesday“, the sequel expands the realm of the dead, offering up creepy and comical new characters as well as darkly hysterical gags.

Yes, devotees of the original might have quibbles over some tweaks to character and plot, like a quick line of dialogue that explains the Maitlands’ absence, or a revised motivation for why Beetlejuice wants to reconnect with Lydia. My only problem was that the screenplay is so jam-packed with characters, threads, and set pieces, that it feels more like a jumble of several could-be sequels combined.

The side plot with Jeremy (Arthur Conti), was a twist that caught me off guard, but ends abruptly. Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe) is a great addition to the sequel for comedic effect but he is mostly stripped down to a catchphrase. This make for a climax that is as confounding as it is chaotic.

Performance wise, Michael Keaton’s ability to maniacally jump from unhinged ramblings to deadpan delivery remains unparalleled. It’s been three and a half decades since he donned that iconic striped suit, yet his performance is so on point it’s as if he never took it off. Winona Ryder, who has become a much more experienced actress since the original film, leads the film proudly, and Justin Theroux is hilariously funny in his unique way.

Jenna Ortega proves that she is a perfect fit for the franchise. Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara are simply magnificent. On the whole, ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is a fun, lighthearted sequel with enough charm and fan service.