Was a Beetlejuice sequel on your 2024 bingo card? Did anyone honestly expect it to manifest some 36 years later out of the blue? The original grossed only $74 million in 1988, though it immediately established Tim Burton as a visionary filmmaker and set the stage for his teaming with Michael Keaton in not just one, but two massively successful Batman movies. Keaton has recently reprised both these iconic roles in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Batgirl, but to radically different fates. Thus, it’s no surprise that a soulless corporate entity like Warner Brothers Discovery would be inclined to milk every ounce of IP in its portfolio for all it’s worth, especially if you’ll recall Lana Wachowski’s subversive involvement in The Matrix Resurrections. Still, this same company also deleted the completed Batgirl movie as a tax write-off.

If you are a fan of the original Beetlejuice, I’ve got good news. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is actually a continuation of the first film, both stylistically and storywise. Burton’s vision from 1988 remains fully intact. If anything, he has expanded on world-building. It’s the best possible outcome from the studio’s blatant cash grab as a singular vision is rigorously and thoughtfully preserved in the storytelling.

What Is ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ About?

Well, the Maitlands (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) from the original have moved on. The Deetzs, who bought the house haunted by them decades ago, though, are still around. Lydia (Winona Ryder), whom we last saw as a sulky goth teen, has parlayed her abilities as a medium into a hosting gig on a show vaguely recalling Travel Channel’s The Dead Files, complete with night vision camera footage of her investigating paranormal activities.

Meanwhile, little has changed in the afterlife. I mean this quite literally as even sets from the first film have been replicated. The hallway and waiting area are the same as you remember, albeit with different dead people passing through. Self-proclaimed “Bio-Exorcist” Betelgeuse (Keaton) is still up to no good, scheming for a way to return to life by marrying Lydia.

Things Have Changed With ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,’ but They Also Stayed the Same

Lydia now has her own petulant teen, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who is temperamentally her mother’s daughter but exhibits zero interest in the paranormal. The youngster is weary of her mother’s celebrity and also skeptical of her abilities due to the matriarch’s lack of contact with her late husband, Richard (Santiago Cabrera). In this way, Astrid’s trajectory mirrors Lydia’s in the original and casting Ortega is pretty on the nose. Like Ryder and Christina Ricci before her, she fits perfectly in Burton’s universe.

The franchise hasn’t been living under a rock. Just as becoming a professional medium is a natural progression for Lydia, her stepmother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara), has transformed from a sculptor into a multimedia artist. Screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have done a sensible job getting the returning characters up to date. When a choir performs Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat (Day-O)” at a funeral, you sense the deep respect the writers have for the original and its fans.

That said, some of the other subplots feel arbitrary. Betelgeuse’s ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci), makes a big entrance early on, stapling her various dismembered body parts together and foreshadowing her epic villainy, but she’s barely around for most of the film. The plot doesn’t really kick into gear until late, when Astrid bonds with neighborhood boy Jeremy (Arthur Conti). The finale tries to tie all the loose ends together, but it becomes apparent then which of the subplots don’t have as much juice.

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Stays True to Burton’s Vision
Image via Warner Bros

While the original Beetlejuice featured its share of special effects, they were achieved without the use of CGI, which was not widely adopted by filmmakers until 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Discerning viewers may spot the stop-motion animation and blue screen. For the sequel, Burton has actually dug into his old bag of tricks. CGI use here has been minimal and the film hews closely to the aesthetics of the predecessor. The visuals have definitely gotten an upgrade from the ’80s MTV look, yet somehow remain consistent. It would be absolutely seamless watching both films back to back.

If anything, Burton has gone for even more retro. In a flashback of the history of Delores and Betelgeuse, the filmmaker has opted for black-and-whitegiallo style, complete with Italian voiceover narration. One thing that’s noticeably dialed down is Betelgeuse’s inappropriate behavior. Indeed, some stuff he said in 1988 is now considered sexual harassment. That’s certainly a change for the better, but perhaps a clever mea culpa would have been preferable to an erasure.

Rife with nostalgia, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is intended for ’80s babies. It’s truly exciting to see Burton’s return to form, making something both grotesque and funny after struggling to connect with some ambitious projects without Johnny Depp. He appears to be energized and having fun, something we haven’t seen in quite a while.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had its World Premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and comes to theaters in the U.S. starting September 6. Click below for showtimes near you.

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