This 2024 sequel may interest those of you who are a fan of the classic Beetlejuice movie from 1988. I found it to be a great film, since the first one had some horror and great acting by none other than Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. The new movie is worth watching, especially on Halloween weekend. The sequel follows the Deetz Family returning home to their ghost house, along with a new family member, Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, who is played by Jenna Ortega.
This film fits in the Halloween season because it has elements of dark fantasy, horror, and comedy. Speaking of horror, there is only a little scariness and some disturbing scenes, but personally, it didn’t scare me much. As far as the film goes, director Tim Burton shows his creativity to the audience during the imagination journey, along with the gothic atmosphere of the film. Beetlejuice and Astrid navigate conflict in opposite worlds. The audience sees how each character fulfills their path of discovering what is foreign to them.
Dark comedy can also offer a lightness while watching the movie. At times, the film would make the audience laugh, while sometimes offering us a scare. Keaton’s reprising role as Beetlejuice brings the beloved character into the sequel, along with the return of Winona Ryder as Lydia and Catherine O’Hara as Delia, as well as the addition of Monica Bellucci as Delores.
After the funeral of Lydia’s father, she and her daughter discover each other’s battles with grief and tragedy. Astrid talks to Lydia about death, saying, “Death is hard…sometimes I think life is harder.” In her words, she spoke the truth: that life, in general, can be challenging for us, and that we face a lot of hardships in our realities. Something I did not enjoy was when Lydia got engaged during her father’s funeral. Before becoming engaged, she was dating her boyfriend, Rory (Justin Theroux), who is also the producer of her “Ghost Talk Show.” I would’ve been disappointed like Astrid was, but I wouldn’t storm off like she did. The chemistry between Astrid and Jeremy (Arthur Conti) when they met was intriguing. She soon found out that he was a ghost, and was the one who murdered his parents. I was surprised that he was the ghost the whole time!
Now, we also see the backstory of how Beetlejuice met his ex-wife, Delores. Beetlejuice’s relationship turned out to be a toxic case of love at first sight. On their wedding night, he realized that she was a witch who poisoned him, so he killed her. After she pieced her body back together, she got her revenge on him. She also had been obsessed with everything about him since she came back to life, and personally, I thought the scene when she was tracking him down by sucking out souls was a little disturbing. My favorite part of the film was when they played a song from the 1970s. Astrid was being taken away to the Great Beyond while ensembles danced to the beat of the 1970s dance song “Soul Train.” She and Lydia reunited again in the Afterlife and escaped the soul train to the Great Beyond. Overall, I found the film to be good, and would give it a seven out of 10. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a great movie to watch during the Halloween season!