Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Actually Managed to Surprise Me
Beetlejuice Revives Tim Burton's Corpse
Exciting Sequel Revived My Faith In Director
Approaching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may have felt like entering a spooky attic for the first time. The original movie is now 36 years old and is considered a classic, although some may argue it's not a masterpiece. Tim Burton's first film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, is seen as more consistent and cohesive. However, Beetlejuice showcased Burton's unique style with its gothic fashion, dark humor, and artistic production design. These elements were fresh and original back in 1988.
Tim Burton's comedy-horror movie showed the afterlife as a disorganized bureaucracy filled with creepy characters like zombies, mummies, decaying corpses, and victims of gruesome accidents. The main demon character, played by Michael Keaton, brought a wild energy to the film. The rules of this underworld were not clearly explained, but the visual and audio effects, created with puppetry, prosthetics, and practical effects from the late 1980s, provided a unique Tim Burton experience.
In the thirty-five years since then, the Burton brand has grown (and even become a popular attraction at Disney theme parks)—though not always a guarantee of high quality. Despite some great movies in the 1990s (such as Batman and Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, and Ed Wood), Burton has since focused on CGI-heavy films with mixed reviews. Some have even criticized him for jumping on the IP-mining bandwagon with movies like Planet of the Apes, Alice in Wonderland, and Dumbo. There have been a few exceptions, like his 2012 remake of his own early short film Frankenweenie, but many of his recent films have lacked the passion and excitement of his earlier work.
That's why it was really nice to go into Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and have a great time, laugh, and, even though it wasn't exactly scary, be totally grossed out by the crazy creativity of its spooky world. The screenplay, written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith, seems to have gone through many revisions over the past 30 years since a sequel was first suggested: It includes at least four different storylines and introduces characters (like a deceased actor now working as a cop in the afterlife, portrayed wonderfully by Willem Dafoe) that could have been removed without affecting the plot—but then we wouldn't have Willem Dafoe with half of his skull missing leading a team of zombie SWAT members in a graveyard raid.
Even though the sequel has a lot of different things happening in the story, it still feels simple and satisfying. It's not as fast-paced as the original, which was only 92 minutes long, but Beetlejuice Beetlejuice still flows well in its 104-minute runtime. Tim Burton knows what fans of Beetlejuice are looking for (Michael Keaton causing supernatural trouble, Winona Ryder looking dark and mysterious, scary moments with eyeballs popping out) and gives plenty of it without bogging us down with long explanations or backstory from the previous films.
The movie includes some short flashbacks to show how certain characters died, starting with a creative claymation scene that reveals the sad fate of Charles Deetz (portrayed by Jeffrey Jones, who is now a convicted criminal and is one of the few main actors not returning). Catherine O'Hara returns as Charles' widow Delia Deetz, who used to be the disliked stepmother of Lydia, played by Winona Ryder. Years later, the two women have learned to tolerate each other for the sake of Lydia's daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Lydia, who could see ghosts when she was younger, now works as a "psychic mediator" on a TV show about haunted houses. Despite her past trauma, Lydia is engaged to her manipulative producer Rory (Justin Theroux) and is seen as a fraud by her daughter. Fans of Lydia Deetz and Winona Ryder will be happy to see that Lydia still has her signature style and personality. It is clear that Rory is not the right partner for Lydia, as she deserves better.
The Beetlejuice universe has expanded with some new characters, including Delores (portrayed by Monica Bellucci, an international star who is also Burton's girlfriend). Delores is a former Italian aristocrat who has been dismembered and stored in separate wooden crates in the afterlife. In a standout scene, her body parts reunite one by one as she reassembles herself with great care. The movie features plenty of gross and shocking moments, such as the waiting rooms in the afterlife filled with recent corpses that reveal how they met their end, like a man who died during a hot dog eating contest.
Despite its title, Beetlejuice the character isn't as important in the sequel as Lydia, who is anxious but well-meaning. At the start of the film, Lydia can't understand why her life feels out of control. Beetlejuice is really about a woman in her middle age dealing with grief, with a mother-daughter story that doesn't feel too sappy. When Lydia's daughter gets involved in some supernatural trouble, Lydia must go to the underworld to save her. This leads to a thrilling chase and a variety of unique afterlife landscapes, from a desert with sandworms to a disco full of dancers.
I don't want to praise Beetlejuice Beetlejuice too much, but it's actually a sequel that surpasses expectations and has a lot of heart. The work of previous collaborators like costume designer Colleen Atwood and production designer Mark Scruton, along with the energetic score by Danny Elfman, who has scored almost all of Burton's films, adds to the film's quality. Burton seems to be genuinely enjoying himself while filming for the first time in a while. The performances of actors like Keaton and O'Hara are also crucial to the film's success. Young fans dressed up in Beetlejuice costumes at a recent screening, showing the lasting impact of the film on audiences. It's moments like these that make you believe in sequels again, especially when they bring back the good side of Tim Burton just in time for Halloween.
