Unless you are like the person currently scribing these words (i.e. an old fart) and saw “Beetlejuice” during its first release at the cinema in 1988, you probably won’t be able to relate to its sizeable impact at the time. Mind you, you’re also probably a lot fitter and with a better memory, so natural balance is maintained in the universe. But it was big. Like, “Barbenheimer” big. So you’d think there would have been a sequel a lot sooner, and indeed several projects circled the drain before it came to nothing. Instead, it was 36 frickin’ years before Tim Burton finally got around to getting the Beetle gang back together. And here it is. Coming off the back of the success of Netflix’s Wednesday, it seems to have been the kick up the ass that enabled original director and star (Tim Burton and Michael Keaton) to rejuvenate their mojo for the project and finally get the thing in the can. Also rejoining them from the original crew are Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. They’re accompanied by Wednesday herself, as Jenna Ortega is along for the ride as the daughter of Ryder in a canny bit of yeah-I-can-see-that casting that surprised absolutely no one but pleased most people. Not only that but scene stealers Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci make important appearances with the Juice. Having been produced by Brad Pitt's studio Plan B Entertainment and opening the Venice Film Festival, it’s now spooking up screens in the US, UK, and other global theatres.   

 

Taking place after (presumably) the same number of years have passed for them as it has for us, the Deetz family are all far removed from the small town of Winter River and their haunted family house. Lydia Deetz (Ryder) is now (obviously) all grown up and a widow with a high school daughter (Ortega as Astrid), who’s heavily into environmental issues and nothing like her Goth mom. For her part, Lydia has commercialised her ghost-whispering ability and hosts the popular “Ghost House” show on national television (a spot-on piss-take of many such shows currently in circulation). When her stepmother (O'Hara as Delia) informs her that her father has tragically met his end (plane crash followed by shark bite), she must return to the Winter Fall house for the funeral, as three generations of Deetz women are conjoined in (sort of) grief. Meanwhile, in the afterlife, a jobbing Betelgeuse (Keaton, of course, and you’d never know he’s 72 years of age) has spent his time pining for the memory of nearly-wife Lydia, and it looks like he’s going to get the opportunity to do something about it…

 

Apart from Wednesday, Burton hasn’t really hit his full stride, or the heights of his early projects, since Sleepy Hollow in 1999, although that is an entirely subjective opinion and many people won’t agree. But from a genre perspective, the original film was absolutely unique. The lore around the afterlife was like nothing else, what with the “Handbook for the Recently Deceased” and the wonderful administrative nightmare that snuffing it entailed. Add in the stop-motion effects and German expressionism motifs, not to mention Keaton’s growly voiced un-PC character, it became well-reviewed and one of the highest-grossing films in the 80s. The nice thing about this follow-up is that, despite the age advances and character development, it doesn’t “feel” like over 3 decades have passed. Pretty much all the returning actors slip into their old schtick like the roles were uber-comfy slippers and they don’t miss a beat. Keaton especially, is just the same with the quick smart-ass patter and narcissistic behaviour. We even get a brief origin of Betelgeuse, who was apparently a grave robber in plague-stricken ages, which is marvellously depicted as a black-and-white Mario Bava horror film with Italian dialogue and subtitles.

 

If that sounds incredibly random (and we wonder how many people will pick up on the homage, even though the director gets a name-check), then yes, it is. And that’s one of the best aspects of this fun sequel. It takes no prisoners and doesn’t wait for you to keep up. They are plenty of references to the first film, such as; the aforementioned handbook, afterlife waiting rooms, stop-motion sand snakes, the moons of Saturn, shrunken-headed employees, the missing Maitlands, Delia’s crappy artwork, and the model village. It also helps that the new elements are pretty neat and engaging as well. Lydia’s horrible pony-tailed fiancé (Justin Theroux as Rory), Betelgeuse’s estranged wife (the ever-brilliant Bellucci as Delores), and afterlife “Detective” Wolf Jackson (Dafoe) are all great creations. There are also some attempts to trump the “Day-O” sequence from the first movie with the nutty incorporation of the vocals of Richard Harris (Yes, “that” Richard Harris) singing a version of “MacArthur’s Park”, as characters are forced to lip-synch the words. You couldn’t make this stuff up! And wait until you see a tiny Keaton serenade a normal-sized Ryder with “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx. Absolutely bonkers.

 

Somewhat surprising (in a really, really good way) are the constant classic horror references. Along with Bava, we have a Betelgeuse-Baby doing an “It’s Alive” pastiche and bloodily biting people, the end sequence uses the actual score from Brian De Palma’s Carrie, and (although it’s played for laughs) dozens of people with graphic body wounds. Apparently, you can cheat the censors into including a graphic disembowelment in a PG-13/12A movie as long as it has good comic timing, and the intestines are green! Don’t believe us? Well, watch out for the moment where the title character literally spills his guts! Plenty of bad-taste gags like that, which is refreshing in many respects, as is the roasting of Rory and his new-age sensibilities. The best part of the film takes place in the afterlife and includes plenty of quickfire jokes and puns such as the literal “Soul-Train” (next stop the Elysium Fields), which obviously has funky muzak playing at the platform.

 

If there is a serious piece of criticism to lay at the feet of this entertaining sequel, it’s that there’s too much going on. At any one time there at least four or five sub-plots in motion, some of which never get satisfying resolved to any extent. You’ve got the fractured relationships between mother(s) and daughter(s), Delores's dogged but ineffectual pursuit of Betelgeuse, the fate of Betelgeuse’s workforce, Wolf’s pursuit of Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse’s pursuit of Lydia, Astrid’s relationship with the small-town guy, and plenty of incidental stuff on top of that like various adventures in the afterlife (and bull-fighting with sandworms). It’s a lot. Whilst some of it is very funny, some of it gets lost in the mess of the narrative. Despite a brilliant introduction, involving a classic Bee-Gees track, an A-list actor cameo, and a body being stapled back together, the presence of Delores is never fully exploited. Aside from “nepo” accusations (Bellucci has been dating Buron for two years), the actress is in (literal) fine form here, but her role seems wasted, and she barely gets to interact with Keaton. Likewise, Dafoe is game for sending his tough-guy roles up but gets very little to do in the long run.

 

The three female leads rise to the occasion when allowed to. Catherine O’Hara has become an even better comic performer since the original and her comic timing here is just *chef’s kiss*. Ortega also manages to cram a lot of heart into her role, which is pleasingly anti-Wednesday in her attitude. As the original benchmark for Goth girls everywhere and something of an icon to teenagers at the time, it may have been tough for Ryder to return to Lydia, but she pretty much nails it here. However, she does fall into the trap of letting her eyeballs overact and chew the scenery when the rest of her body is concentrating on the performance. Just saying.

 

Otherwise, this is a thoroughly pleasant and engaging experience, if a remarkably random and wacky excursion into the spirit world. It very much captures the zeitgeist of the original, but you have to wonder if that has little relevance to the younger generation of filmgoers, who just may not “get” it in the way that pre-millennial audiences did at the time. However, early reviews and box-office takings would seem to suggest that it may well be a surprising success. It’s certainly not breaking any kind of new ground or attempting anything to advance the franchise in any major way. But the old-school charm (and FX and attitudes) give it a beguiling layer of freshness in today’s PG-horror market, especially those that miss the pre-Dumbo stylings of Mr Burton. Not amazing but very entertaining. This juice is cooked just right.