On September 5, a fantasy horror comedy was released in cinemas «Beetlejuice Beetlejuice», which is a sequel to Tim Burton’s cult film «Beetlejuice», released back in 1988. Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara return to their roles, and the project also features newcomers Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and Jenna Ortega, who has already gained experience working with the director on the hit show «Wednesday». In the review below, we analyze whether it was worth Burton’s while to dig up his already somewhat forgotten film rarity from the grave.
Genre dark fantasy, black horror comedy
Director Tim Burton
Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, Bern Gorman, Danny DeVito
Premiere movie theaters
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb, official website
The Dietz family received sad news: the head of the family, Charles Dietz, was involved in a plane crash and died. Although the plane crash into the ocean did not kill him, he had no chance of surviving the attack of the treacherous shark. So the whole family gathers in Winter River to send the deceased to his last journey. The inconsolable widow Delia and her stepdaughter Lydia, who has become the host of the supernatural show Ghost House, are joined by the latter’s slightly dorky boyfriend Rory and her gloomy daughter Astrid.
Meanwhile, the still catastrophically untidy bio-exorcist Beetlejuice still hopes to marry Lydia, but now he has a more serious problem. The extravagant merry man from the other side is being hunted by his vengeful ex Delores, who has the ability to suck out souls. At some point, life will force Lydia to say the hated name three times in a row, and the two old friends will have to make a mutually beneficial deal. Whether this is a good idea is a rhetorical question.
After many years of hesitation, the sequel was announced in 2022 jointly by Warner Bros. and Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B Entertainment, and after that, things got off the ground. How appropriate does it look to revive the dead «Beetlejuice» 36 years after the original film’s premiere? Quite well.
After corporate slavery at Disney, Tim Burton seems to have blossomed. In 2022, he had a hand in the super-successful «Wednesday», if you’ll pardon the pun. And with the release of his second «Beetlejuice», written by Netflix’s Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, he proved that he is still in good shape. And this is not to mention the fact that the director’s new passion is the Italian beauty Monica Bellucci.
In the case of the second part, everything is quite simple: if you liked the first movie and generally like Tim Burton’s macabre style, the sequel is a must-see. If not — at least give the project a chance, because it involves a lot of fun and mischief, even if it has a bitter taste of death.
Burton stays true to himself and offers a moderately fascinating journey through the afterlife, several frightening images (one of which evokes a strong association with the sinister Chucky doll, and another can be tried on at a special thematic site), a sufficient amount of absurd but inventive humor, and bright musical numbers.
Some findings of the previous site, in particular, the sandy Dune a worm and a little more xenomorph and funny men with orange-sized heads. The boring bureaucratic afterlife hasn’t disappeared either, and in comparison to it, staying in the Time Variance Authority from the TV series «Loki» will seem like a cakewalk. All of this is backed up by a stellar cast, and each of the performers seemed to have a great time on the set.
But the one who has the most courage of all, for a moment, is 73-year-old Michael Keaton, who seems to have even more enthusiasm and energy than three and a half decades ago (the moment with Richard Marx’s iconic Right Here Waiting is truly unforgettable, and I wish we had more of that).
After watching «Beetlejuice Beetlejuice», it’s hard to get rid of the idea that the story proposed by the creators could have looked even more exciting, and the humor — more concentrated and killer. But there’s still enough powder in the barrels to make it interesting and relaxing to watch. And a movie in which Tim Burton uses a stapler to assemble an entire Monica Bellucci for our enjoyment cannot be a failure.
