Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Tim Burton’s original 1988 Beetlejuice was something of a pop culture phenomenon in its initial release. Just the second feature film from Burton, Beetlejuice was largely responsible for establishing the filmmaker’s iconic sensibilities. In the years since its release, the film has garnered an even larger fanbase thanks to endless rewatches from the following generations through VHS, yearly runs on cable, mostly in the Halloween season and more recently on streaming platforms. The film, which felt like capturing lighting in a bottle has spawned popular Halloween costumes, an early 90’s animated series and even a Broadway musical. A follow-up has been in the works for decades with a script written in the 90’s titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian failing to come to fruition. After gestating in the studio system for over three decades, we finally get the long-awaited sequel with returning director Tim Burton and stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. While Burton’s track record for the greater part of 20 years would suggest another unnecessary cash-grab, it’s actually refreshing to report the new film is an infectious blast.

Courtesy Warner Bros

In the years since we last met her, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) has become a famous paranormal television host, using her abilities to become something of a hacky ghost hunting figure. After the death of her father, Lydia and her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) reunite with Lydia’s stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) for the funeral in Winter River. Lydia is still haunted by the presence of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), who pops up in her visions more and more frequently. Accompanying Lydia and Astrid is Lydia’s boyfriend and manager Rory (Justin Theroux), an overly emotional, yet manipulative career opportunist. The angsty Astrid continues to grieve over the death of her father some years ago and has grown emotionally distant from her mother. While clearing out her mother’s old family home, Astrid gains access to the attic containing the miniature home set left by Adam and Barbara Maitland where she discovers a pamphlet left by Betelgeuse, himself. Betelgeuse sees an opportunity to finally worm his way in to marrying Lydia after he’s hunted by his ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci), recently resurrected and on a warpath of revenge to find her ex, who killed her centuries ago in his previous life.

For a sequel 36 years in the making, director Tim Burton finds himself seemingly rejuvenated at the idea of harkening back to the days of retro filmmaking. Implementing the best of his gothic whimsy and kooky sense of humor, Burton has made his most refreshing and visually stunning live-action film since Sweeney Todd. Having spent the greater part of the previous decade dolling out flop after flop, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice truly feels like Burton has found his mojo again. Burton retains the anarchic spirit of the original while giving this new film its own infectious energy. There’s playfulness to Burton’s direction that is simply refreshing to witness. The filmmaker uses damn near every trick in his arsenal to make the world of Beetlejuice feel so vibrant. He even gets to use a direct Mario Bava homage during a pivotal flashback.

Similar to last month’s Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice goes out of its way to emphasize old-school practical effects. In this film’s case, this is perhaps the greatest modern showcase for in-camera effects in a studio picture in quite some time. The zany art direction is practically bursting at the seams with imagination. With the added emphasis on practical effects work, that blends perfectly with top-notch vfx, the film really does have a hand-stitched quality to it that replicates the charm of the original. The world-building feels fresh with many clever new ideas and jokes that hit with outrageous laughs. Newly introduced undead characters are greatly aided by some of the best make-up you’ll see all year and animatronics that feel perfectly imperfect. Every time we stop by the DMV-like waiting room for the recently deceased, you could get lost in the countless character designs lurking in the edges of the frame. Stop-motion animation is even implemented nicely, specifically helping the filmmakers creatively address the — let’s just say complicated — situation of original actor Jeffrey Jones.

Courtesy Warner Bros

Like the original, Keaton isn’t consistently front-and-center, but peppered throughout the film before the climax where he gets to completely let loose. In the 36 years since we last saw him, Keaton hasn’t lost a step as everyone’s favorite bio-exorcist. Keaton is magnificent as the brash, manic ghost-with-the-most, who makes his every second of screen-time feel worthy. There’s spontaneity in his performance that so wonderfully captures what made the character so iconic in the first place, despite only appearing in the original for just 17 minutes. When we first reunite with the titular character, he is now working as the manager of a call center for the afterlife, with his staff of shrunken head minions doing the brunt of his heavy workload. Burton and screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar find just enough new directions to take the character in so that he still feels fresh and exciting. Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega are an excellent mother/daughter pairing that give the film its real sense of humanity. Catherine O’Hara, yet again, earns big laughs as the idiosyncratic Delia. Other new standouts in the cast include a hysterical Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, a former actor known for playing corny hard-edged cops, who now serves as a detective for the afterlife and Arthur Conti as Jeremy, a local teen who befriends Astrid.

For as crazed and unique as the original was, it was also narratively simple. The sequel, however, seemingly stuffs in as many plot threads as it can. There’s a lot happening here, and for a film that refuses to take itself seriously, it can occasionally feel choppy. The plot structure often feels cluttered, making the plotting feel episodic. It’s an overly busy film with many, many spinning plates that don’t always coalesce. Some characters and subplots come and go for extended periods of time and don’t serve as large a role as you would expect. Most notably Bellucci’s Delores, who initially appears to be the film’s big baddie, fit with a spectacular introduction, but then disappears for dozens of minutes at a time and ultimately feels like a wasted opportunity.

Courtesy Warner Bros

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is as good a sequel to a 36-year-old film as it likely could have been. Michael Keaton is once again sensational reprising perhaps his most iconic character and it feels like the most fun director Tim Burton has had behind the camera in ages. The cluttered plot structure gets in the way at times, but this is an enormously entertaining, imaginative and funny return to macabre madness.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is now playing in theaters.