36 years have passed since the original Beetlejuice. Over a decade has passed since Tim Burton has made anything worth more than a shrug. Legacy sequels are all the rage after Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box office records back in 2015. The once-beloved Burton returning to the property, utilizing the legacy sequel framework anchored by a fresh face in Jenna Ortega should inspire no confidence of anything other than a quick cash-in. Walking into the lazily titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, I expected nothing more than a shameless trip down memory lane. Folks, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice surprised me.
Filled with practical effects, a mixture of the macabre and the raunchy, and a murderer’s row of character actors having the time of their lives, this film does not lack for effort in retaining the magic of the original film. Furthermore, it does the audience one better, refusing to repeat the original’s same formula, instead serving us up a brand new Beetlejuice adventure that expands the lore and takes us to some very different places than the original. I’ll be frank: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the best film Tim Burton has made since 2003’s Big Fish. A love letter to the spooky-inclined, this sequel might even top the movie that came before.
Tim Burton takes us on a whole new journey with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Ever since they banished the self-proclaimed “bio-exorcist” Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), the Deetz family has undergone some major changes. Delia (Catherine O’Hara) has moved on from performance art, and Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) runs a paranormal talk show of her own. The latter has trouble connecting with her child, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who, beyond still mourning the loss of her father, resents her strange mother. Fate forces the family together when the patriarch of the family/Delia’s husband passes away. Lydia’s attempts to bond with her daughter initially fail, but when Astrid runs into some major supernatural trouble, Lydia is forced to call upon an unlikely ally: the ghost with the most, Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse has some problems of his own, running from a vengeful ex-wife (Monica Bellucci).
It’s easy to appreciate that the screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar has chosen to evolve these characters rather than keep them the same. Except, of course, Betelgeuse. At their core, characters like Lydia and Delia have their same identifiable traits. However, the actors behind them have aged and so have their characters. Their central concerns are different. Lydia’s defining feature, her goth/off-kilter sensibility, now draws a wedge between her and her daughter. Her slimy new boyfriend (Justin Theroux) reveals an ability for the once headstrong Lydia to be taken advantage of. And the once-domineering Delia has settled into her role as the cooky “cool” grandma. Astrid is a great new addition, representing a more “normal” point of view than the first film offered any of its characters.
Now that these character dynamics are set, this film hits the ground running and never stops. Tim Burton expands on the bonkers vision of the afterlife we barely glimpsed in Beetlejuice, building out a whole new sandbox to play around in recklessly. The rules of the afterlife are a consistently inconsistent joy, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice finds multitudes of ways to have its protagonist interact with Burton‘s delightfully dark vision. It’s a delicate balancing act of a movie, where there are no less than 3 major plot threads running at once, all of them interesting. Lydia learning to cope with her knowledge of the afterlife, Astrid coping with her mother’s strangeness, and, of course- the big man himself dealing with a murderous love.
Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder make it feel like no time has passed
As in the original, Betelgeuse is deployed sparingly. Whenever he’s on-screen, though, he’s the regular shot of adrenaline Beetlejuice Beetlejuice needs to keep going. Michael Keaton has never been better. His Betelgeuse is profane, disgusting, and lovable in spite of himself. There were line reads in here that had me covering my mouth to avoid disturbing other moviegoers with my loud guffaws. Crucially, he hasn’t changed a bit, or been toned down in the slightest. It’s the people around him that have changed.
Winona Ryder is the kind of actress that can inhabit any role and make it feel real. Her progression of Lydia into someone who has more uncertainty of the afterlife than she used to morphs her relationship with Betelgeuse into one of fear into more of pitying/annoyed relationship with Betelgeuse, which makes for a more interesting dynamic.
As her ever-popular performance in Schitt’s Creek proved, Catherine O’Hara is a formidable comic talent. Her mix of eccentricity and glam is compulsively watchable stuff, the kind that outright steals the movie from other performers. Newcomer to Beetlejuice Jenna Ortega certainly holds her own as well. Much as Lydia Deetz was a reflection of the lost souls of Gen X youth, Ortega as Astrid is a teen for the modern moment. Her issues with her mother feel real, her relationship with neighbor Jeremy (Arthur Conti) brimming with the awkwardness of young love, and her coming-of-age earned.
In terms of the brand-new supporting cast, three cheers all around. Justin Theroux is born to play a slimy boyfriend. Willem DeFoe earns a hefty amount of laughs as a former B-movie after living out his detective fantasy in the afterlife, bolstered by an obsession with “keeping it real”. Monica Bellucci needs no introduction. Stepping into the role of witch out for blood, she towers above a thinly written role as a classic gothic beauty whose power to suck out souls feels in line with the hearts she’s captured over the years.
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an aesthetic treat
Speaking of Monica Bellucci, there’s a scene early in the film where her character’s dismembered body staples itself back together, set to “Tragedy” by the Bee Gees. Set in stark blue lighting, with lightning flashes, and the messy details in full view, something clicked in my brain that didn’t turn off until the picture’s in. Watching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is like mainlining pure imagination. The aforementioned expansion of the afterlife by Tim Burton is done so exquisitely that it feels like we’re regaining an artist we’d thought we lost.
The amount of practical effect creatures that are on display is mind-boggling. Almost everything here appears to be in-camera. Moreover, it’s gnarly, gross stuff that pushes the boundaries of the PG-13 rating to its very limit. Importantly, it seldom repeats itself. Scene in, scene out, Tim Burton, cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, and an A-team of creative individuals are throwing images on the screen that only exist in your wildest nightmares.
Whether it be a black and white “origin” in the style of Mario Bava, a disco-infused literal “Soul Train”, or Astrid and Lydia running from a stop-motion sand worm, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice oozes pure wonder without sacrificing any of the requisite nasty bits. You can’t forget about Danny Elfman either, whose jaunty score keeps the picture moving.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reminded me of a time when I was young and popped on a mysterious DVD that had been sitting on my parents’ shelf. That DVD, of course, was the original Beetlejuice. Once I had watched it, I felt utterly transported, like I was stepping into an alternate universe, or perhaps someone’s beautifully deranged brain. The sequel gave me the same feeling all over again. The most fun I’ve had at the movies all year, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reigns supreme amongst legacy sequels by refusing to just play the hits, instead taking us further into the strangest recesses of Tim Burton‘s mind.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is in theaters September 6, 2024. Are you excited to see the return of Michael Keaton and the rest of the cast? Let ue know what you think of the movie on social media @mycosmiccircus.
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