Review: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Don’t say it again

Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara 

5.5/10

More than three decades later, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is once more forced through the doors of Winter River to deal with her haunted past. With the death of her father, the remaining Deetz family gathers to remember and mourn, but friction between Lydia and her disbelieving daughter (Jenna Ortega) threatens to unleash Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) once more.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice manages to faithfully recreate the expressionist-inspired visuals of the first, rebuilding a twisted funhouse version of the underworld. At its best, the sequel manages to recapture something of that maniacally macabre magic and bring some laughs.

To their credit, that’s often brought about by the returning cast. They slot back into their roles well, despite the decades gap. Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek) is in fine form, reprising the self-obsessed artistic stepmother Delia Deetz with aplomb. Ryder and Ortega are a good match for each other, with the ingénue previously channelling more than a little Lydia for her Wednesday. Hence there’s a believable maternal friction in their interaction and more than a little rye satisfaction from Delia.

However, visuals have always been Burton’s strength as a director. It’s just plot and characterisation that trip him up, and here’s no exception. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice lacks the spark of the original, often becoming a hollow retelling of the first tale. The numerous new elements it does introduce are carelessly bolted on, underused, and underdeveloped. The effect is to somehow leave the film doing too much and too little simultaneously. It’s a jumbled mess with multiple plot elements just adding to the sense of chaos until they are quickly wrapped up with a couple of words for resolution. Here Elfman’s unhinged score is a substitute for pacing rather than a percussive beat keeping pace with a manic plot.

Even the star-studded cast is unable to entirely provide the spark it requires. Keaton is a welcome return as the ghoulish grifter, but seems more staged than truly inspired. Dafoe is certainly having fun as an action star turned hard-boiled afterlife detective, but it’s a rare cartoonish performance from the talented actor. As for Monica Bellucci, her character is completely wasted, often wandering through the background till she eventually meets up with the main plot at the end.

This is a lacklustre sequel that seems to have come a little too late to revive the franchise. It does recapture a couple of moments of that old magic, but they’re few and far between.

DAVID O’CONNELL