New Perspectives: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice – Can a sequel almost 40 years later really improve a cult classic?

Hi Readers,

It has been a while since my New Perspectives series. When I started posting again on my blog over a year ago, my first post was a review of the Little Mermaid after attending a cast and crew screening. Now the first film project I worked on is in the cinemas and I attended a cast and crew screening again for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Despite working on the film almost 18 months ago, it was amazing to see some of the scenes in their complete form and what had changed in the final cut. I only did three short scenes so I felt that I didn’t really have much inside knowledge of the film as a whole or even any special plot details. When working on the film, I didn’t really know much about Beetlejuice and the following it has gained since its release in 1988.

I saw the original film a few days before the sequel and I was pleasantly surprised. In my head, I had built it up to be a gruesome tale with lots of goo and bugs combined with 80s practical effects and outdated plots. However, I discovered this was not the case and I can see why many people cite it as a childhood or adulthood favourite.

I had no idea that Alec Baldwin and Geena Davies were basically the leads of the film or that they played ghosts, I barely knew who or what Beetlejuice was. The effects used were a little dated especially the visual effects in the afterlife scenes but all the practical stuff held up well and was not too gooey or gory. Beetlejuice himself was a bit of a garish character but didn’t appear for the 1st third and was much more palatable. The only slight dated things were the fact that he wanted to marry Lydia played by a 15-year-old Winona Ryder but as she strongly objected and it ended up not happening, I don’t think this was too strong an issue.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

The sequel to Beetlejuice has been very hyped up with the cast going on a press tour and the film opening the Venice Film Festival. I think part of the reason is that Tim Burton rarely revisits his projects and so many of the original cast were really keen to make the film happen. I read that it has been an idea since 1990 so I am sure that they are all pleased it has finally happened. Winona Ryder had a Beetlejuice clause in her Stranger Things contract that if the sequel ever happened that she would be allowed to go and film it. Luckily, it was filmed when Stranger Things was on a break.

Jenna Ortega is the new star of the film having previously collaborated with Tim Burton on Wednesday, Series 2 is now in production. She has gained a reputation in the industry for loving all things horror just like Winona Ryder back in the 1980s and 90s. Her outfits on the press tour have even echoed some of Ryder’s from films or real life together with nods to Beetlejuice.

One of my qualms with the first Beetlejuice was that it took place mostly in the house, now referred to as the Ghost House because the ghosts couldn’t leave otherwise, they would end up in the afterlife. With the main characters – Lydia, Astrid and Delia, all still alive we get to see more of the world of Winter River and their lives further afield.

The film starts with showing an overview of the town as in the first film. We get to see a grown-up Lydia (Ryder) in her TV studio making her show about ghosts. It seems she has used her ability from the first film to make a career for herself. She is also dating her producer, Rory (Justin Theroux) who exhibits some controlling tendencies. Her daughter, Astrid (Ortega) is at a boarding school outside New York and having trouble fitting in. Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) is a famous artist with an exhibition in the city including some of her interesting sculptures from the first film. We see one outside Astrid’s school along with the Deetz Center for Art.

The three are pulled together after the death of Charles, their husband/father/grandfather. They gather at the Ghost House in Winter River for the funeral, during which Rory proposes to Lydia, setting the date for 2 days time – Halloween, her favourite holiday but also traditionally spooky.

Astrid meets Jeremy, a lonely teen in his tree house who shows her a way to access the afterlife and see her father, who died on a trip to the Amazon. Lydia meanwhile is doing everything in her powers to keep Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice – Michael Keaton) at bay, knowing the trouble he caused for her and the family before. A well-meaning Rory summons him for some closure but this only intensifies Betelgeuse’s obsession with Lydia, of whom he has a framed photo.

His life in the underworld has expanded with a whole office of shrunken-headed Bobs working on typewriters for him. Unfortunately, a cleaner (Danny Devito) manages to disturb some storage and his undead ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci) reforms and begins her search for him. She is not pleased to see his desires for Lydia.

Delia tries to commune with her dead husband after seeing how his death has affected her ability to produce her art. We also see Charles’ journey in the underworld trying to find Delia. A former actor playing cop (Willem Dafoe) is also on the hunt for Betelgeuse, believing him to be linked to Delores’ trail of murders.

Many elements of the first film have been expanded upon including the afterlife with a similar look but with more elaborate sets and new dead people, all having transformed into unique creatures after their deaths. We also see the desert place complete with sandworms. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davies were not in this film and I think that was a good decision as it would have tied it to the house too much. Geena Davies explained the absence recently by saying that ghosts stay the same age so they wouldn’t look the part anymore. Apparently, Tim Burton was keen for Baldwin to make a comeback but ultimately, I think the focus on the women of the family was a good plot point.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Lydia, Astrid and Delia. They didn’t try to make them band together in the face of adversity but I think by the end of the film some of their rifts had been healed after their brush with the underworld again.

Working on the project, I knew some scenes and plot points but there was still a lot I didn’t know and I felt I could still enjoy the film and be surprised by parts. The cast and crew have talked about the practical sets but VFX was used to enhance these and I think made the film better. The invisible effects used sometimes get overlooked by audiences as they tend to focus on CGI characters but even lightening a scene, adding extras or touching up the actor’s appearance is visual effects.

Overall, I really enjoyed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and I think it was even better than the first film using modern technology and an expanded cast to explore more of the universe and gave us a female powered story.

Happy Watching,

Robyn