Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) Review: Tim Burton Returns with a Vengeance — His Best Since Big Eyes with a Morbidly Funny, Inventive and Even Moving Sequel

It took Tim Burton thirty-six years to finally fulfil Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-gestating sequel to his 1988 beloved hit Beetlejuice. Of course, it wasn’t initially known as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with an earlier attempt at the sequel coming in the early ’90s.

Back when it was called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, where the idea would involve the Deetz family moving to Hawaii and building a resort on top of a sacred ground, angering the spirit and Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse returns for the sequel. Both Keaton and Winona Ryder were okay with the idea as long as Burton directed the sequel. And then, Batman Returns happened and the delay continued to the point the elusive Beetlejuice sequel stuck in development hell. Just like how some of the deceased is seen stuck in the Neitherworld Waiting Room for God-knows-how-long in the first movie.

So, in this sequel, a lot of things have changed since we last saw the Deetz family thirty-six years ago. Sulky, teenage goth Lydia (Winona Ryder) is now in her middle age turning into a psychic and a celebrity host for the Ghost House paranormal reality show. She has an estranged teenage daughter named Astrid (Jenna Ortega, reuniting with Tim Burton after their successful collaboration in Netflix’s Wednesday series) and she’s a widow after her husband Richard (Santiago Cabrera) died in an accident. Lydia has since moved on with her TV producer-fiance, Rory (Justin Theroux).

Lydia’s sculpture-artist stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) also returns but her biological father, Charles has ended in a tragedy. Jeffrey Jones, who played the character in the first movie, isn’t brought back to reprise his role after being convicted as a sex offender. So, killing off his character is obviously the best way and Burton cheekily depicted his death in a violent, claymation-style sequence.

Charles’ death, of course, brings the Deetz family back to Winter River for his funeral — the sleepy town where they used to live in the haunted house uphill. The house that Barbara and Adam Maitland (both Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin from the first movie didn’t return for the sequel but Lydia somehow manages to justify their absence with just a few words) were the previous occupants before their unfortunate death.

From there, Astrid falls for a cute-looking tall boy named Jeremy (Arthur Conti). The sequel also introduces new characters including Delores (Monica Bellucci), who happens to be Betelgeuse’s soul-sucking ex-wife and Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), who used to be a B-movie actor when he was still alive and now working as a ghost detective in the afterlife.

Of course, this sequel wouldn’t be complete without the main man himself, Betelgeuse and anyone figures Michael Keaton is too old (he’s 72 already!) to play such a wacky trickster of a ghost and a bio-exorcist — well — he nails it. Age is just a number for Keaton, who still has the same go-for-broke comic energy as he first did in the 1988 original. It’s nice to see Keaton and Burton team up again after their successful collaboration in Beetlejuice and the first two Batman movies but the less said, the better for the dismal live-action Dumbo. Willem Dafoe, in the meantime, has a field day hamming up his supporting role as a B-movie actor-turned-ghost detective, Wolf Jackson.

Written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, where Burton previously collaborated with them in Wednesday (co-writers Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren from the 1988 original had passed away in 1999 and 1990, respectively), I initially worried about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice being mere nostalgia bait.

Fortunately, from the moment Danny Elfman’s familiar spookily eccentric score plays in the opening credits followed by Haris Zambarloukos’ aerial cinematography gliding over the idyllic (fictional) Winter River town, Burton gets off to a promising start getting up to speed with the returning characters’ current lives. Winona Ryder’s Lydia may look older but still has the same kooky charm that defined the early stage of her acting career. Then, there’s Catherine O’Hara’s Delia, whose oddball personality remains intact after over three decades since we last saw her role.

The first half of the movie is dedicated to introducing multiple story threads — Lydia’s past somewhat catches up on her with Betelgeuse haunted in her memory; Delia’s grief over her husband, Charles’ tragic death; Astrid’s resentment towards her “alleged mum”; and Delores’ quest for vengeance to track down her ex-husband, Betelgeuse, just to name a few. At the hands of a lesser director, too many side stories in a single movie would likely collapse under its own weight.

But Burton somehow manages to tie everything together, alternating between his signature macabre-comedy style and even surprisingly tender moments. The latter is especially true with Astrid’s meet-cute chance encounter with Jeremy, where they share the same interests and even enjoy each other’s company. Having Jenna Ortega onboard is a nice addition not only because her screen presence appeals to today’s generation but also a perfect fit that contrasts against Winona Ryder’s Lydia in her teenage years. Astrid has a more cynical, matter-of-fact personality who doesn’t believe in ghosts, even though she possesses some of her mother’s teen angst.

Burton also explored the strained mother-daughter angle between Lydia and Astrid, giving the sequel an added emotional heft. How their lack of communication and understanding drifts them apart before the eventual stakes offer Lydia a chance of redemption to make up for her daughter.

Credits are equally given to Burton and his team for favouring more practical effects over CGI and not to forget, the stop-motion animation seen during the sandworm attack sequence. Gruesomely funny moments like the bizarre introduction of Monica Bellucci’s Astrid scored to Bee Gees’ “Tragedy” deserve special mention here. At one point, Burton goes full-blown musical in an elaborate sequence revolving around some of the characters lip-synching Richard Harris’ beautifully poignant “MacArthur Park”.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice does something unexpected that never crossed my mind upon watching the sequel. And that is, Burton comes out of left field emulating the visual and narrative angles of Brian De Palma’s signature directorial style in one scene. It may seem random but come to think of it, a movie like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is reminiscent of a can of worms awaiting you throughout its rollercoasting 105-minute length.

The nostalgia factor may have been strong in this sequel but Burton never let it overwhelm the story to the point it feels like a lazy rehash. Given his wildly erratic outputs these days, Burton’s latest directorial effort in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feels like he’s back from the dead and what we have here is his best movie in a decade since Big Eyes.