Review – ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is a Reunion that Doesn’t Miss a Beat

Nostalgia is back with a vengeance this year, tapping into our collective childhoods. With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton and Tim Burton join in on the retro fun with the long-awaited and seemingly impossible sequel to the iconic film that was first released in 1988.

The original Beetlejuice is the kind of film that is both a filmmaker’s and film fan’s dream, but would not likely get made today. It’s a film that is incredibly unique in its bizarreness, incredibly inappropriate and surprisingly restrained in its use of its star talent. While Beetlejuice was a financial success, making over $75 million in the box office worldwide, its cultural impact far surpassed its theatrical performance, becoming one of the most beloved horror comedies in film history.

Beetlejuice firmly established both Keaton and Burton as two of the most uniquely gifted talents in their respective areas, with the dynamic duo teaming up again just a year later for Batman. It seems impossible that such a successful film would not have demanded a sequel, if not multiple sequels, but aside from a successful Broadway musical production and an animated series, the Beetlejuice franchise has been surprisingly dormant for much of the last 36 years.

Finally, Keaton and Burton are reunited once again, and they’re not alone, bringing back stars like Winona Rider and Catherine O’Hara, and legendary composer Danny Elfman, while adding new friends Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci.

The result is a hilariously weird sequel that feels like a reunion with wacky family members. With Burton back at the helm, it’s no surprise that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has the same dark humor and heart of the original, and the all-star cast is incredible. Like any reunion, those missing were noticed, and it was disappointing that Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are not among those returning. Overall, the sequel fits so seamlessly into the world that fans of the original will be transported back to 1988, and will find themselves, once again, asking for more.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice premieres September 6, 2024 in theaters.

Official Synopsis

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt$ Creek, The Nightmare Before Christmas) as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux (Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre, The Matrix films), Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, At Eternity’s Gate).

After an unexpected 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 rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Burton, a genre unto himself, directs from a screenplay by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Wednesday), story by Gough & Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith (The LEGO® Batman Movie), based on characters created by Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson. The film’s producers are Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper and Burton, with Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gough, Millar, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick and Brad Pitt executive producing.

Burton’s creatives behind the scenes includes director of photography Haris Zambarloukos (Meg 2: The Trench, Murder on the Orient Express); such previous and frequent collaborators as production designer Mark Scruton (Wednesday), editor Jay Prychidny (Wednesday), Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sleepy Hollow), Oscar-winning creature effects and special makeup FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory); BAFTA-winning Visual Effects Supervisor Angus Bickerton (“House of the Dragon,” “Dark Shadows”); and Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman (Big Fish, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman); as well as Oscar-winning hair and makeup designer Christine Blundell (Topsy-Turvy).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A Tim Burton/Tommy Harper/Plan B Entertainment Production, A Film by Tim Burton, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which will be released only in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2024 in North America, and internationally beginning 4 September 2024. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

REVIEW – Heart, Humor and Horror are Back

The original Beetlejuice is such a strange film. The premise is simply enough, a dead couple haunts the living in their former house, but Tim Burton’s stunning vision of a truly wacky underworld of demons is unparalleled. Combine that with a story that is an expectedly heartwarming family story and the surprisingly restrained use of its star, Michael Keaton, and you have a film that truly stands on its own. With that context, it makes sense that it took 36 years for a sequel film that was almost never made (Burton shared with Variety that he nearly quit filmmaking after Dumbo in 2019).

Thankfully, Burton didn’t quit, revitalized by working on Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega, who joins the stellar cast in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Ortega is joined by newcomers Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti and Willem Dafoe, who add to returning stars Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. Together, the new and original cast members pick up right where the original left off in a film that feels like it was made the day after the first one wrapped.

What many audiences might forget about the original Beetlejuice is how sparingly Michael Keaton was utilized. Keaton’s Beetlejuice doesn’t show up until well into the film, and isn’t really unleashed until the third act. Until then, he’s more of a looming presence that hints at the chaos to come. The easy thing to do after Beetlejuice became a pop culture legend would have been to simply let the sequel be a vehicle for his zaniness. Most films today err on the side of indulgence, and would have sought to please fans with as much Keaton as they could handle. Fortunately, while Beetlejuice is more of a presence in the sequel, he’s still used with laudable restraint that genuinely serves the story that Keaton, Burton and writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar want to tell (We do get more of another iconic character who was sparingly used in the original – Bob).

It’s a credit to Keaton that he’s willing to take such a subtle approach with his character, which allows the spotlight to shine on Ortega (Astrid Deetz), Ryder (Lydia Deetz) and O’Hara (Delia Deetz) and the Deetz family dynamic. The original Beetlejuice is ultimately a family film with a lot of heart, and thankfully, that core element returns with the sequel.

Lydia, whom we met as the unbothered teen in Beetlejuice, has grown up and is now a widowed paranormal expert with a teenage daughter of her own. Astrid isn’t quite the dark moody teen that her mother was, but deals with more typical teen challenges, especially ones that those with famous parents might face. Ortega’s role is a refreshing departure from her beloved performance in Wednesday. While fans might expect a Wednesday Addams inspired character, Ortega here is much more of a relatable teen who is struggling to avoid her parents’ shadow and the baggage that comes with it. It’s another example of the subversive approach that Burton has taken with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Ryder and O’Hara are a delight to see back in their respective roles, and it’s nice to see the ways their on-screen relationship has evolved since the first film. Lydia has gone from angsty teen to anxious mom, while Delia has settled (slightly) into a less obnoxious phase. More notably, the two clearly have more affection for each other than we saw previously, making Beetlejuice Beetlejuice a story that centers on three generations of Deetz women.

The new cast members fit in well around the Deetz women, with Theroux bringing a new level of annoying to the family and Conti and Bellucci representing novel threats to their safety.

What’s missing is who’s missing, with Alec Baldwin’s Adam and Geena Davis’ Barbara nowhere to be seen. Beetlejuice was a found family story, which gave Lydia the parents she always wanted in Adam and Barbara. The film’s ending gave the impression that Lydia would thrive with her new undead parents in place of the hilariously selfish Delia and Charles (Jeffrey Jones). Of course, life doesn’t always go happily ever after, so it’s understandable to see a grown up Lydia having issues of her own, but it’s disappointing that the fates of Adam and Barbara are given so little elaboration outside of a throw-away explanation that they found a “loophole.” The way their characters are addressed is extremely unsatisfying and raises numerous questions.

One of the joys (or pains) of a sequel story is finding out what happened to the characters we loved, and having so little information about Adam, Barbara, and what happened to that family dynamic since the events of the first film is a disservice to the characters and the fans. In contrast, far too much time is spent on the fate of Charles, which isn’t nearly as integral to the overarching story. One can only hope that the story is ripe for some kind of spin-off film or series that fills in that time period.

Outside of the absence of the paranormal parents, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice provides everything that Beetlejuice fans could ask for. The humor, heart and horror that made the first film so beloved are all back in a nostalgia infused film that will make fans happily revisit the undead world.

RATING – 4/5 Pocky