Olivia Heilemann
Editor in Chief
Content Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
It’s showtime! Everyone’s favorite demon is back for another wild adventure in the Afterlife. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hit theaters everywhere on Sept. 6 and has not failed to entertain fans of all ages.
A sequel to the classic 1988 film directed by Tim Burton, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” takes place in 2024 with some old and new faces. Catherine O’Hara returns as Delia Deetz, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, and Michael Keaton as the “ghost with the most,” Beetlejuice. Jenna Ortega, a new member of the famous cast, plays Astrid Deetz, the distant daughter of ghost medium Lydia.
After a horrendous plane crash and shark attack kill her father, famous psychic Lydia Deetz returns to her childhood home in Winter River, Connecticut with her eccentric stepmother Delia, and her teenage daughter Astrid. When Astrid falls for a ghost who promises to reunite her with her late father in the Afterlife, she falls for his trap and unknowingly exchanges her life for death, leaving Lydia no choice but to consult the help of Beetlejuice, the bio-exorcist who tried to marry her in her teenage years.
I was somewhat weary when I heard that a sequel to “Beetlejuice” was in production because it seems to be a common theme that sequels to popular films and TV shows usually tend to come out pretty bad. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the cinematography of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Tim Burton came back to direct the film sequel starring the goofy demon and managed to maintain the ‘80s feel of some of the stop-motion graphics while introducing a present-day plot.
I was, however, disappointed to find that Barbara and Adam Maitland, characters from the 1988 film, were not included in the sequel. Both characters set the plot for the original, and it would have been really fun to see how they could be incorporated almost 40 years later. As these characters were ghosts in “Beetlejuice,” they were written off as having “moved on” due to a loophole in their haunting contract. Burton has publicly spoken about wanting to switch the focus to the women of the Deetz family, but I still believe the Maitlands should have held even a small part in the plot of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
There were also some side plots that seemed to drag the movie along a bit, but I appreciated each one because they covered a lot of expectations that many lifelong “Beetlejuice” lovers have had.
Overall, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was a rollercoaster of comedy, disgust, family, and adventure, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who was a fan of the original. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is still in theaters now.
Rating: 4.5/5