Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 2024)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is Tim Burton’s (much) better than expected sequel to the original Beetlejuice from 1988.
It’s a dark comedy brimming with imagination and vitality, as it once again bridges the gap between this life and the afterlife.
It also adds a layer of emotional depth that was missing from the original, as the characters that we knew and loved in their youth have now matured and suffered losses of their own.
This is especially true of Winona Ryder’s character Lydia Deetz, who stole our hearts as a teenager. Lydia has lost her husband, the father of her own teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega, from Wednesday). Since then she hasn’t been quite the same.
As a psychic medium Lydia is now the host of her own occult television show, a shallow but popular affair, and she is managed by boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux), who is - perhaps a little too clearly - absolutely no good for her.
Rory is also dumb enough to say the name of Beetlejuice out loud three times, so the evil madcap, played once again with fiendish glee by the magnificent Michael Keaton, dutifully returns to action to scare us all - in a Ghostbusters kind of way, not in a Terrifier way.
There is a lot of exposition, character building and plot development going on in the first 45 minutes, and I honestly think it’s more fun if you discover it for yourself when you see the movie (and I know you probably will, as the movie is tracking for 150 million dollar domestic opening).
Suffice to say it involves a trip back to the old house in Winter River, and the re-opening of the portal between this life and the next, leading to all sorts of inventive mayhem concerning the future of three generations of the Deetz family.
There are a number of returning cast members, like Catherine O’Hara as Lydia’s (step)mother Delia, while new cast members (apart from Ortega) include Monica Bellucci as devilish Delores and Willem Dafoe as the ghost detective who chases her.
Based on a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Burton draws great performances from his cast and crew, the production design, art direction, make-up and cinematography are all top-notch, while his own direction is pretty flawless.
That the movie is a visual delight from start to finish shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Burton’s work, with a lot of practical effects and even a reference to the work of Italian Giallo master Mario Bava.
There is also a robust score from Danny Elfman, that hits all the right notes, while there are also some fun musical numbers, including an ode to the legendary Soul Train, that now has the Great Beyond as its final destination.
All in all it’s an extremely fun experience, while also being cinematic as hell, getting me to think that sequels (and franchises in general) aren’t necessarily bad as long as you put enough creative energy into them.
Yes, there are call backs to the first movie, and okay, not all the jokes land, but there is more originality here than in a lot of other movies.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a timely reminder that Tim Burton has still got it, and I for one won’t be surprised if a third Beetlejuice movie will be in the works pretty soon.
Note: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was the opening film of the current Venice Film Festival and is released in most of the world this week.