Review: ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is Definitely a Sequel

After 35 years, Tim Burton is back with a sequel to the ’80s hit Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a passable movie, good for nostalgia and not much else.

The original Beetlejuice, released in 1988, was an instant success, becoming the 10th-highest grossing film of the year and holding an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, according to Wikipedia. The Burton-directed film is considered a horror comedy classic and ranks 88 in the American Film Institute’s list of Best Comedies.

When I initially heard there was going to be a sequel, I was hesitant to say the least. The original movie felt very much like lightning in a bottle – a combination of a great cast, a great script, and a great director for a film that fit into the ’80s cultural zeitgeist like it was made for it.

A sequel felt very much like a grab for the ’80s nostalgia train that has been chugging along for a while, especially with Winona Ryder becoming popular again thanks to her role in Stranger Things. But then I remembered there had been an animated series in 1989/90 and the Broadway musical in 2018. So, I became tentatively hopeful.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice starts out with Ryder front and center. Lydia Deetz is now all grown up, and is the host of a supernatural talk show, Ghost House. She’s dating her producer Rory (Justin Theroux) and is having problems with her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who blames Lydia for her father’s death and doesn’t believe her mom sees ghosts. Lydia is also seeing flashes of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) and is worried he’s stalking her.

And speaking of fathers dying, Lydia gets a call from her stepmother Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), now a host of an art show in London. Lydia’s father Charles (originally played by Jeffrey Jones) has died. (I guess that’s one way to get around using Jones, considering his criminal record.) The family go back to the house in Connecticut to clear it out and have the funeral.

The plot then calls in Delores (Monica Bellucci), an ex-wife of Betelgeuse, who wants to become immortal, as well as Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe, who absolutely steals the movie), a B-movie actor who had played a cop in life and so has decided to become one in the afterlife. There’s a boy that captures Astra’s attention and a trip to the afterlife for the characters as well.

The movie is … fine? It’s not horrible (thank God), but neither is it great. It feels like they are all trying too hard to re-capture that original lightning and end up with a ‘cloud flash’ instead. The laughs are few and far between (it says something that the funniest character is Dafoe and none of the actual leads), and the rest of the plot is pretty predictable.

The circles Tim Burton goes through to not actually have Jones in the movie seem a little too obvious, and the practical effects are much better than the CGI ones (the most egregious CGI example is when Delores is stitching herself back together near the beginning). Danny Elfman’s music is pretty much a redo of the original Beetlejuice movie – although the church choir singing Belafonte’s “Banana Boat (Day-O)” at Charles’s funeral is a great bit.

It feels like the edge from the first movie is missing. Keaton’s Betelgeuse seems reined in this time: horribly tame compared to the original. (They even bleep an F-bomb he says. Which … really? Why even have it then?) Maybe it was an attempt to acknowledge that it isn’t actually 1988 anymore but 2024, but it felt more like an attempt to stay in that PG-13 rating.

But in the end, it’s an okay movie that is a good way to kill time. If you’re a fan of the first movie, it’s worth it just for the ‘where are they now?’ feel of the film. But in the end, it just makes you want to re-watch the original.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opened September 6, 2024, and is playing at a screen near you. More about the film can be found on the official website.

Author: Angie Fiedler Sutton

Angie Fiedler Sutton is a writer, podcaster, and all-round fangirl geek. She has been published in Den of Geek, Stage Directions, LA Weekly, The Mary Sue, and others.

She also produces her own podcast, Contents May Vary, where she interviews geeky people about geeky things. You can see all her work (and social media channels) at angiefsutton.com.

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