Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

The sequel brings back familiar faces, but struggles to justify their reunion

Tim Burton was lost in the studio system in the last decade, delivering duds such as the Dumbo (2019) remake, Dark Shadows (2012) and his Alice in Wonderland (2010) reimagining. There had been signs of his deft creative hand in moments of Big Eyes (2014) and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016), but it wasn’t until the popular Netflix Addams Family spinoff Wednesday (2022-) that the American auteur rediscovered an echo of his gothic style. He’s channeled this newfound energy to a sequel of one of his 1980s classics in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice revisits the Deetz family from Beetlejuice (1988). The original gothic child from the first film, Lydia (Winona Ryder), is now a paranormal TV show host, hounded by her pestering producer boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux). She’s brought back to her family house from the original film, alongside her estranged daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), and her haughty stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) after a family tragedy. Once back, the undead world begins to meddle in the Deetz’s affairs again, and scheming demon Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) stands at the middle of it all.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is penned by some of the same writers as Wednesday, and one can see the glossy Netflix and legacy sequel sheen within the narrative. A tired trope of mirroring the original plot is once again followed, much as the likes of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), Creed (2015), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022) did. However, those sequels channeled their nostalgia with a balance, whereas Beetlejuice Beetlejuice struggles to justify its existence, distracted by so many plot threads and paralyzed by the original’s shadow.

Perhaps coming from the TV landscape, writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar took to crafting an overstuffed narrative. In this sequel, entire character journeys and plot points could be edited out without the central storyline changing in any way. The resulting crowding, bringing in an undead bride (Monica Belucci), a deceased actor convinced he’s a detective (Willem Dafoe), a suspicious love interest for Astrid (Arthur Conti), and more, dilute the central narrative and characters. However, when one strips away all the side-plots and useless supporting characters, it is apparent that there isn’t much of a story to tell in the first place. Beats from the first film are repeated with a different coat of paint, hoping viewers won’t notice.

Burton’s direction recaptures some of the gothic and dark humor from his earlier work. A gracious commitment to practical effects and stop-motion is welcome, delivering the aesthetic from the first film, and giving viewers a fresh alternative to Hollywood special effects. Likewise, Burton maximizes his veteran cast members. Keaton and O’Hara are given free rein in their scenes as they enrapture viewers with the comedic prowess. The likes of Ryder and Ortega, meanwhile, are irrationally left by the wayside. Gothic, cynical teens are Burton’s stand-ins, one expects them to have the decisiveness of that perspective. However, Ryder is abandoned to capturing the tone her arc, whilst Ortega is stuck playing the same Wednesday Adams beat that she’s dangerously being typecast in. The surrounding cast, Belucci, Dafoe, and Theroux have standout moments, yet tonally clash. Belucci is in a serious drama, Dafoe is plays a satire, and Theroux is performing pure slapstick. The result is a flurry of tones and work that can shine individually at moments, but make a rather discordant quilt when put together.

In the end, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice struggles to justify a return to these characters and world. The narrative is overstuffed, serving only to cover up a spindly central storyline. Burton’s stylistic flourishes retain the visual appeal of the original, thanks in part to committing to practical effects over CGI. There are certain performance standouts, but most of the actors are abandoned to tonally differing arcs. The result is a legacy sequel that fans of the original will at best react with a shrug after watching.

5.9/10