It’s showtime!
The sequel to the 1988 cult classic premiered in theaters Friday, Sept. 6. 36 years since the first movie came out, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and Michael Keaton return to the big screen, reprising their roles as the Deetzs and the bio-exorcist himself. Not only did we see familiar faces, we were introduced to some new characters, like Lydia’s daughter Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega.
I remember hearing that this movie would be coming out about six months ago, and I have been counting down the days since. I’ve been a fan of the “Beetlejuice” franchise for as long as I can remember. In high school I had a “Beetlejuice” poster, and I was lucky enough to see the Broadway production of the musical back in 2022. So going into this movie, seeing some of my favorite actors like Ryder and Ortega in the sequel gave me high hopes for this film. I did not watch many trailers of this movie so that I’d really be surprised when I saw it in theaters and avoided as many spoilers as I could.
Tim Burton is known for his gothic horror comedies, so when seeing this movie I expected the strange and unusual. In “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice“ (2024), the three generations come home after the tragic death of Charles Deetz. Lydia Deetz has become a famous talk show host who spends her time using her gift of communicating with ghosts to her advantage as a psychic mediator. Her mother Delia now runs an art gallery displaying her sculptures. Unfortunately, not everyone is their biggest fan. Astrid believes her mother would rather spend time with ghosts than her own daughter; she is teased at school for having a mom who talks to people in the afterlife. After running off, Astrid ends up meeting a local boy, and they quickly make plans to hang out on Halloween. They discover a portal to the afterlife, and after getting trapped there, Lydia works with Beetlejuice to save Astrid and bring her home.
I feel like the plot of this was unexpected for myself as a fan of the original. Watching the first “Beetlejuice,” I wouldn’t expect Lydia to have children and be in the spotlight on something like a ghost-hunting tv show. She is engaged to Rory, her manager. They quickly get engaged at her father’s funeral and set the wedding date two days in advance, on Halloween.
New characters came to life, or maybe to die. Monica Bellucci plays Beetlejuice’s ex-wife Delores who has spent most of her afterlife in boxes. She gets loose, staples herself back together and sucks the soul out of anyone trying to get in the way of her finding Beetlejuice. I’m not surprised that Beetlejuice has an ex-wife after trying to marry Lydia in the original, but I didn’t expect this character. She did not have much screen time, and it felt like a random plot point to tie in at the end of the movie.
The juice is loose! Keaton did an impressive job reprising his role as Beetlejuice. He reenacted the charm his character had perfectly. Beetlejuice almost seemed to have “matured” in this sequel compared to the original. Now, he runs a call center with his assistant Bob for ghosts who haven’t accepted their death yet. Of course, he’s still swooning over his runaway bride Lydia and even keeps a photo of her on his desk.
I never expected Lydia to willingly call for Beetlejuice, but after Astrid is tricked into going to the afterlife, they team up to find her before it’s too late. Beetlejuice proposes a deal in exchange for his help and, with no other choice, Lydia agrees. They head to the soul train, which ends up being a reference from the show “Soul Train” (1971). Once Astrid made it on the soul train she would not be able to come home. It was really cool to see so many new areas of the afterlife in this sequel; since the original afterlife only featured a few settings, I expected this one to be the same.
Returning home, Lydia remembers that she is supposed to be walking down the aisle to her future husband when his true intentions surface. Beetlejuice reminds Lydia that they made a deal to save Astrid. Lydia and Beetlejuice will finally get married. The wedding is crashed as Delores and the officers arrive. We see a new rendition of the iconic sandworms appear when Astrid summons them to save her mother.
The ending to “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is bittersweet. I think this was a great sequel to the original; they didn’t change the idea of the afterlife, and it was just as — if not more — fun than the original. This was a great addition to Burton’s quirky movies and it did not disappoint! Being set during Halloween already makes me want to add this to my watchlist for a double feature.
Lauren Flynn-Miller is a fourth-year Interdisciplinary Studies Major with minors in Journalism, Media & Culture, and Professional & Technical Writing. LF954013@wcupa.edu