Director Tim Burton released Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice on Sept. 6. The PG-13 movie is a sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) that takes place 36 years after the events of the original.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a blend of comedy, fantasy, and horror. It begins with the passing of Charles Deetz (Jeffery Jones). Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) returns to the original house in Winter River with Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), and Lydia’s rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid Deetz (Jenna Ortega). They return Charles’ funeral and to retrieve his belongings, and Lydia reveals that she is still being haunted by Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton). Then the life of the Deetz family takes a turn for the worse when Astrid accidentally opens a portal to the afterlife. It’s only a matter of time before someone says his name three times, attempting to fix the chaos.
Even though this new movie includes a lot of bad CGI, which ties it to the original Beetlejuice movie. This obviously was a purposeful design choice because some parts had very advanced CGI. The plot was easy to follow, and in the few times when it was confusing, it seems purposeful — it was meant to be a mystery. All the returning characters had the same actors as the original movie, which felt perfect. It was a funny, strange movie.
On the other hand, other aspects of the production of this movie were done poorly. A lot of parts and characters felt unnecessary and uncomfortable. The plot felt as though it was rushed while being written, and it could have been done so much better. It doesn’t meet the expectations of a Tim Burton movie. Sequels are infamously hard to do and usually don’t come out great, especially when the first movie doesn’t leave a good, solid direction for the next one to go. This is important to keep in mind while watching this film. However, the “all sequels are bad” excuse cannot distract from the terrible writing.
This movie earns a 2 / 5 because the plot was weird, but it was hilarious overall and everyone should watch it if they enjoyed the original. It’s the perfect bad movie you can just laugh about and enjoy for how stupid it is.
