Thirty-six years ago in 1988, Tim Burton released his infamous, Beetlejuice, a dark fantasy comedy horror film with a cast that drew in millions of fans.

Starring the beloved Michael Keaton, this film received an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and has left the fans begging for more. Well, if you’re an original fan, you’re in luck because the juice is loose in the newly released, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice brings back some 80s nostalgia with Tim Burton as the director and of course the face of the franchise, Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice.

Right off the bat, the film receives kudos for including the original cast members like Winona Ryder back as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara back as Delia Deetz. We’re also introduced to new, but familiar to us, faces like Jenna Ortega who plays Astrid Deetz, Lydia’s daughter.

The movie follows the present-day life of a grown-up Lydia battling through PTSD and relationship issues with her daughter. With her daughter already not speaking to her, Lydia must bring Astrid to her childhood home due to a family tragedy where things take a turn for the worse.

As someone who is frequently disappointed with sequels released ten plus years after the original, I went into this movie very closed minded. I expected it to have cringy dialogue to try to relate to Gen-Z or mention things like social media to get some viewer credit, but I was happily mistaken.

The movie effectively modernized the humor from the original without making the characters seem completely new and out of place in the franchise. Lydia grew into a gothic, ghost-seeing television host who remains awkward and firm in her opinions.

Her daughter, of course, takes after Lydia in hating “the man in charge” and being true to her angsty, loner teen-self. Beetlejuice himself will likely remain a fan favorite since he hasn’t changed a wink. He’s still hopelessly longing for his Lydia and frustrating every being that has the displeasure of speaking with his witty charm.

One of my favorite details of the movie- which is usually my problem with long year gap sequels- is that they kept the outdated CGI on the sandworm. It brought in that classic movie feel without giving off a “try hard” impression. It was such a fun easter egg to switch from high quality, 2024 camera work to perfectly clear characters running from a pixilated, clay looking worm.

I found one flaw in this movie, that being the subplot. I understand why directors chose to include a subplot, but this one truly added nothing to the main plot. It felt squeezed in and unnecessary. It brought in a new character who was only relevant in the storyline prior to the original Beetlejuice so her story just came off as a last minute thought. There was no growth to her as a character and she didn’t have much personality (or screen time) to save it.  The movie could’ve ended pretty much exactly the same with the character fully removed.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a general positive response from the audience and long time fans. When talking about the film with peers I heard all good things with minor critiques,

“I was really focused on the movie the whole time- it kept my interest, I just wish we got some more back story of the newly introduced characters.” Commented Faith Tesoro, a 10^th grader at  PMHS.

I truly do recommend this movie to watch bundled up with family or friends. Burton held the original movie close to heart while constructing this film and it shows. It’s the perfect light and comedic movie to waste some time with during this Halloween/autumn season.