The long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s classic 1988 dark comedy has risen from the grave. I was expecting a freshly dug shallow grave of a movie, but the movie is deeper than a six-foot grave.
It starts with Lydia Deetz (played by the heart-stealing Winona Ryder), the now grown-up goth mommy, having flashbacks of her childhood trauma-causing demon. Lydia’s stepmother, Delia Deetz, is played by Catherine O’Hara.
At the start of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” it is clear that the conflict between the daughter and stepmother of the first movie has been resolved, as the pair have grown emotionally closer. Instead, the parent-child conflict is now placed on Lydia and her daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega. Early in the movie, Astrid meets a cute boy, but the relationship soon takes a turn for the sinister when the older boy takes advantage of Astrid’s innocence and the legacy of her mother. This results in a trip to the underworld and Lydia confronting her childhood trauma. Or in this case, the demon called Beetlejuice, played by Michael Keaton.
The movie is about the emotional and spiritual transitions we all go through in life or death, but told through the eyes of Delia, Lydia and Astrid Deetz. Delia’s transition happens when she meets an angel of death on the dark night of her soul. Lydia’s journey is caused by embracing her shadow child, represented by the zany antics of Beetlejuice. And Astrid has the tragic, but unfortunately all too familiar, tale of being taken advantage of by a predator.
The most Deetz-lightful and poltergeist-possessing parts of this movie are the antics of Beetlejuice; when you have to go through an unexpected trip to the underworld, you might as well have one hell of a time with a well-placed musical number. This movie rises from the dead where the first one lacked, and we see more from the ringmaster host of this creepy circus.
Where this movie lacks flesh (like Willem Dafoe’s character, Wolf Jackson), is with Beetlejuice’s ex-wife plot point. It felt forced in, like the 13th body stuffed in a crypt built for a dozen bodies. I thought it was unneeded as the motive behind why she needs to return is lost in the fog of death, in which Beetlejuice is the lighthouse.
Overall, I think this movie has the potential to be a cult classic like “Batman,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” all movies famously directed by Tim Burton in the 80s and 90s. It’s worth a trip to the underworld once to watch, but remember: do not let thy name Beetlejuice be spoken, not once, nor twice but thrice unbroken.
