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Stars: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Distributor: Warner Bros. UK

“Little f*cker.”

The “Ghost with the most” is finally back now that Michael Keaton is back in fashion. On-off, on-off, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is such an eagerly awaited sequel, those who have demanded it have transcended generations. Returning as Batman last year in The Flash, Michael Keaton has revisited his other universally popular titular character.

Winona Ryder returns with her best Bill Murray impression from Ghostbusters II – she hosts a tacky TV show; questionably legitimate, most likely fraudulent, but one that refers to her experiences/talents from the previous film. The phrase, “I think I saw a ghost’” is applicable in Lydia’s case as she begins to see Beetlejuice now and again; often triggered by vertically striped outfits.

Returning to her sort of hometown, Lydia not only brings back her past memories, but her TV manager/boyfriend, Rory (Justin Theroux), and misfit daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega) come along for the ride. Rory is a ridiculous sleazeball, hollow as anything, with a mid-2000s Steven Seagal hair inspiration. Astrid on the other hand is on a journey of self-discovery, much like her mother in the original film.

On the other side, however, the Ghost with the Most appears to have taken his bio-exorcism role to the next levels…as a line manager. Whilst at the same time, his ex-wife, Delores – played by Monica Bellucci on minimal screen time – is out for revenge, literally sucking the life out of the afterlife.

Much like the recent Ghostbusters reboots/legacy sequels, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice delves deep in the mythology presented in the original text: in this case the afterlife and the otherside. Whilst the 1988 is a spooky black comedy from Tim Burton’s weird, wonderful and wacky prime, the 2024 sequel exists as more of an out-and-out comedy with increased one-liners. Throughout, every character – bar Astrid – feels like they exist for comedic purposes, and it can often be tiring.

Jenna Ortega’s performance isn’t overacted or overly theatrical – literally the only one. Her existence presents a well-needed realism and purity to counter the ever recycled theatrics. Her struggle and ordeal with family relationships works well as the backbone of this spooky sequel.

As expected, Keaton absolutely nails his ghostly return with grotesque gruesomeness and rapid one-liners. He’s not lost his touch. Willem Dafoe, however, absolutely steals the comedic elements of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Starring as a dead actor who died in the role of a cop, Dafoe shines with his exaggerated performance of a 70s era police detective. Burton absolutely nailed it with his usage of Dafoe.

Like many sequels, and not just legacy sequels/reboots, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has an insane amount of pressure and expectation to contend with. Does Tim Burton repeat his 1988 classic beat-by-beat, go with a completely new direction, or a bit of both with heavy throwbacks to the original? Burton has clearly attempted a different-ish direction in that this new installment is more of an outright comedy, explores the mythology further, and showcases a handful of throwback elements. The issue is that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice just does not live up to the quality of the original. A harsh expectation, perhaps, but Top Gun: Maverick managed to obliterate all low expectations and set a new bar and ambition for legacy sequels.

Ultimately, are we happy that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice exists? Of course, the cast and crew looked to have a great time, and this film is genuinely funny. It just didn’t need to exist, and the end result shows that we could have lived happily without a sequel…as we had done for over 30 years. Still, Keaton’s execution as the titular character remains a victory and worthy of one’s admission fee. Jenna Ortega deserves a spin-off series if Warner Bros. decided to go in that direction with this franchise. Other than being stupidly funny at times, perhaps, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s greatest aspect is that it isn’t a copy & paste job of the original, and there is an attempt at something new, even with reliance from the old faithful in the name of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetle…