Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review: A rambunctious sequel with some delicious moments

Here, Lydia is now the presenter of paranormal show ‘Ghost House’, though her near-estranged teen daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) doesn’t believe in the supernatural.

Already, Lydia’s getting spooked by sightings of Beetlejuice which only intensify when they all return to Winter River. They’re back in the sleepy town for the funeral of Lydia’s father Charles, a sudden loss that has left her mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) distraught.

With Lydia accompanied by her manager-boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux), Astrid also has romance on her mind when she meets Jeremy (Arthur Conti), who isn’t quite the everyday kid he seems.

Of course, the film doesn’t truly come alive until Beetlejuice properly appears – yes, you still have to say his name three times to summon him. Armed with a battery of quips, Keaton relishes the return, not least when he mimes a rendition of Richard Marx’s eternal power ballad ‘Right Here Waiting’.

Premiering as the opening movie of this year’s Venice Film Festival, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a little scattergun, a little throwaway, despite its rambunctious feel. Take Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, an undead actor (with his brain half-exposed on his skull) known for playing a hardboiled cop. Wolf acts as the film’s exposition, but it’s a little too try-hard, wasting Dafoe’s abundant talents.

Still, there are some delicious moments – including a scene where a group of social media influencers get sucked into their phones. The highlight, perhaps, has to be Delores's entrance.

Beetlejuice’s ex-wife, she’s out for revenge on him, but first has to reassemble all of her severed body parts, stapling them together to the sound of the Bee Gees's Tragedy. A soul-sucker, this demon is not to be messed with.

All taking place around Halloween, the script by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar is also filled with New Age speak, which fits nicely as characters all seem to be in perpetual therapy.

Visually, the film pops off the screen, with production designer Mark Scruton’s sets a particular delight. There are stop-motion animated interludes, one demonstrating how Charles lost his life on a trip around the world, and even a subtitled monochrome film-within-a-film.

Much like the original, there are some queasy-looking characters in the afterlife – from men with shrunken heads to a surfer and his board bitten in half by a shark ("dude!" as he so aptly puts it). Giant Sandworms, albeit not quite as terrifying as the ones in Dune, also rule the roost. And there are some truly random scenes, including a groovy Soul Train complete with dancers in 1970s garb who are ushering people towards what’s called The Great Beyond.

In a story about mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is certainly pleasing to the eye, even if the end result can’t exactly be labelled Tim Burton’s finest hour.

Ryder and Ortega, who appeared in the Burton-directed Netflix show Wednesday, are a good screen pairing, however, and it’s this central relationship that drives the film. Perhaps the script could’ve switched focus more onto Beetlejuice, but Keaton’s larger-than-life turn more than makes up for it.

If nothing else, it’ll give you some good ideas for Halloween costumes this October.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is released in UK cinemas on Friday 6th September.

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