‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ has Been Wrongly Summoned

Tim Burton’s latest onscreen endeavor brings some fun but is complicated with opaque storylines and underdeveloped characters.

By: Kaia Mann, Editor-in-chief

Director Tim Burton and Michael Keaton stand on the set of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” The film was released on Sept. 6 and made $111 million in ticket sales in its opening week. (Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh)

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” aimed for nostalgia but is plagued by plot holes and an overcrowded cast, losing the original spirit of Tim Burton’s 1988 film.

This newest installment into the world of perverted demons and gothic teenagers follows the now grown up Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) returning to her original home with her wacky stepmother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara), and estranged daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Lydia is troubled by visions of her old foe, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), but it is not until she has to save her daughter from the underworld that she summons him to finish the business they started 30 years prior. 

The plot of “Beetlejuice” defies easy summary. Many of the film’s scenes introduce unexplained characters that obscure the already confusing narrative. 

A seemingly major aspect of the film, Beetlejucie’s ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci) is positioned as a key storyline that falls flat. While it is great to see Delores sensually staple herself back together and steal the souls of evil men, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is simply battling too many storylines. The movie ends as one big mess, albeit a mess that has some creative and stunning art design.

Anytime the film takes a trip down to the bureaucratic yet campy underworld, the true strengths of the movie shine, and so does the colorful lighting, putting an end to the gray and lifeless trend of Hollywood blockbusters. 

The character designs of the “recently deceased,” whether they be half eaten, drowned or blown up, provide the movie with the essence of the original. Danny Elfman’s score adds to this, returning viewers to the world of the strange and unusual.

A cornerstone of the original “Beetlejuice” was its unique visuals that blended stop motion, CGI and practical effects. The haunted suburbian vibe mixed with the off-the-wall and irreverent performance by Keaton turned it into a cult classic.

One particular scene in the 2024 film that stands out as an ode to the original involves a mix of classic animation and claymation to depict an outrageous character death. Although “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” avoids coming across as a mere cash grab, in many ways it feels too modern, missing the charm of the first.

What saves the movie from disaster, meeting the fate many other sequels have before, is the all-star cast. O’Hara is a force of comedic power, coming in swinging and never letting up, and Ryder and Keaton fall right back into what audiences loved about Lydia and Beetlejuice the first go-around. As for the newcomers, Ortega stands out, fitting right into the mix, adding yet another Burton classic to her repertoire. Yet, with too many storylines converging into a lackluster final act, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” ends up underutilizing these great characters. 

While any sequel set three decades later is not free of logistical problems, it seems like someone needed to tell Burton to scale it down. Or rather question if it is a movie that really needed to be made in the first place.