Tim Burton returns to the director chair in the long awaited sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which burst into theaters Sept. 6. With returning cast members and new blood stepping in, the film serves as a modest follow-up to the beloved original that mixes the recognizable mold of the old film with a few new tricks, albeit suffering from some drawbacks.
The original Beetlejuice film from 1988 served as a showcase for the aspiring Burton, with a macabre premise that mixes dark comedy, gothic horror and creatively bizarre visual effects that put Burton’s iconic style front and center, while also being surprisingly accessible. In spite of the oversaturation of movie sequels and reboots from Hollywood, a continuation of a film like “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will, at the very least, bring some new Burton visuals back to the big screen.
Set decades after the first film, Lydia Deetz, played by Winona Ryder, hosts a famous talk show about ghostly encounters. When news is broken to her that her father has passed away in a plane accident at sea, the Deetz family comes together to pay tribute. Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega, is also thrown head first into her family’s antics. Meanwhile, the wise-cracking freelancer and self-proclaimed “bio exorcist” Betelguese, played by Michael Keaton, is laying low in the afterlife when his ex-girlfriend Delores, played by Monica Belluci, breaks free from containment, seeking revenge.
Some of these story beats are just the tip of the iceberg, and the amount of them being juggled at once almost feels like the film crashing through a brick wall with various gags and off-the-wall concepts, but much like how you have to knock three times before opening a chalk door, the film is acutely aware of the rules it set, and will even break them for stylistic, comedic effect.
Burton’s style of directing has always included a strange mix of dry, dark humor and wildly imaginative concepts that are coupled with direct and easy to follow dialogue. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” treats fans to more of this style, as well as many of the colorful creatures from the previous film. However, some of the minor background characters from the first film are given a little too much mainstage attention.
There are also many subtle, humorous details for eagle-eyed viewers to notice even on a rewatch, as the film is dead set on throwing an everything style of humor at you. Much like the original film, however, this may not work for everyone.
Leading up to the film’s release, Burton explained that his vision for the sequel sought to remove focus from the previous main characters, Adam and Barbara Maitland, in order to tell a different kind of story. Some of the original cast have been excluded due to legal controversies outside of the film.
The new cast members in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” are fine additions to original mythos. The inclusion of Ortega as Astrid is not only fitting, but also allows for new ideas to be explored within the simple, chaotic story, echoed in the relationship between Astrid and Lydia. Astrid, unlike how her mother was as a teenager, does not believe in ghosts or the afterlife, which leads to an interesting dilemma.
Other new cast members include Willem Dafoe, who plays a deceased action star turned ghost detective and Belluci as the cutthroat, soul-sucking Delores. Some of these characters, especially Delores, could definitely have had some more screen time, but the end result is still culminates in an entertaining, albeit confuzzling climax that pulls through and showcases the series at its stylistic peak.
While it’s not quite as innovative as the original film, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” serves as a perfectly average sequel, giving more or less what is expected of Burton’s likable, bizarre style while also throwing new ideas into the mix.