Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is back after 36 years, and while it’s not quite the ghost with the most, it’s definitely the ghost with… some. Tim Burtons’ long-awaited sequel (I guess?) throws a lot of ideas at the wall—some stick, some slip, but hey, at least we’ve got a solid Halloween flick to kick off spooky season. Nostalgic, visually stunning, but a bit overstuffed, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feels like attending a seance you were excited for, only to realize halfway through that the spirits might’ve been better left undisturbed.
“It’s not quite the ghost with the most, it’s definitely the ghost with… some.”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice kicks off with Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), now the host of a supernatural talk show called Ghost House—and wouldn’t you know it, Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) is still lurking, now running the afterlife’s customer service call center (because even the afterlife won’t let him retire). Things heat up when Lydia starts spotting the mischievous demon in her audience, right as her family grapples with the death of her father, Charles. Enter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), Lydia’s estranged daughter, who finds herself sucked into the underworld’s chaos after a bike accident, a flirtation with a mysterious boy, and, naturally, a one-way ticket on the ‘Soul Train’.
There are some strong ideas here: Betelgeuse has an ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci), who’s out for revenge, and Astrid’s romantic subplot leads her straight into the afterlife’s eerie clutches. The problem? All these threads compete for screen time, leaving none of them fully developed. Astrid’s adventure is a fun setup but gets resolved too fast, and Bellucci’s Delores is an absolute scene-stealer, yet her storyline barely gets the screen time it deserves. Imagine opening all your Halloween candy at once, taking one bite of each, and then tossing the rest. That’s the energy here—sweet ideas, but not enough time to savor any of them.
Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse, though plastered all over the marketing, doesn’t quite hit the same manic stride. The voice is more gravelly, the delivery a little too stiff, and while there are flashes of his old self, it feels like he’s struggling to recapture the chaos that made him so iconic in the first place. Winona Ryder’s Lydia, though far from a background character, feels a bit lost. Her performance is subdued, almost as if she’s floating through the film without fully connecting to it. She’s got the look, the nostalgia, but there’s a spaciness to her portrayal that holds her back from being the Lydia we fell in love with. Catherine O’Hara’s Delia Deetz, though? She’s back in top form. Her performance as the eccentric stepmother gives us all the sass and sharp wit we’ve come to expect. Even though she’s stuck in a grieving widow role for most of the movie, O’Hara still manages to breathe life into every scene she’s in.
Jenna Ortega delivers a strong performance as Astrid, bringing plenty of emotional weight to the story. While the film leans heavily on her well-established “spooky teen” persona, Ortega still manages to inject some fresh energy into the role. Astrid is clearly being positioned as the next-gen Deetz, but despite her solid portrayal, there’s a sense of déjà vu. It feels like the character is a bit too comfortable in Ortega’s usual wheelhouse, making her less distinct than she could be in a world as weird as this one.
Willem Dafoe’s Wolf Jackson, an alive actor turned afterlife detective, is a lively and welcomed addition to the chaos. He fits perfectly into this world of dead bureaucrats and ghostly oddballs, bringing his signature intensity with just the right touch of humor. His scenes are some of the most engaging, and he helps expand the film’s lore in interesting ways without overexplaining the afterlife’s strange rules.
But seriously—where are the Maitlands? The absence of Adam and Barbara is felt deeply, and while it’s understandable that the characters can’t return in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (being ghosts, they really shouldn’t age), their omission leaves a significant void. Even a small homage—a photo, a gravestone—could’ve gone a long way in reminding us of their impact on this world. Instead, we get a strange amount of focus on Charles Deetz, despite his original actor’s very deserved absence.
Visually though, the film is a triumph. The sets look as if they’ve been pulled straight from 1988, with Winter River, the afterlife offices, and even Charles’ old taxidermy-stuffed study feeling like familiar haunts. The special effects, a blend of practical and some CGI enhancements, deliver the ghoulish charm that fans will appreciate. But for all the nostalgia it tries to cash in on, the heart of the movie struggles to keep pace with its frantic plot.
“…a nostalgic ride that has its moments but falters under the weight of too many subplots and an aging cast.”
At its core, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a nostalgic ride that has its moments but falters under the weight of too many subplots and an aging cast. It’s worth a watch for fans of the original and anyone who loves a good Halloween vibe, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that this film could’ve been so much more if it had just slowed down and let its characters—and its audience—breathe. Then again, considering most of these characters are dead… maybe breathing’s not their strong suit.
