WORTH THE WAIT.

36 years after the events in Beetlejuice (1988), Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) tries to reconnect with her teenage daughter (Jenna Ortega); when the latter finds herself in danger, Lydia will need help from the ghost with the most.

Sometimes, churning out a sequel to an old hit is a step backwards for a filmmaker, but in this case it’s a shot in the arm for Tim Burton. Several actors from the first film are back, and a pleasure to watch; Michael Keaton, Ryder and Catherine O’Hara make the most of the fact that decades have changed their relationships.

It’s a horror-comedy bursting with a grotesque playfulness, especially as we enter the Netherworld.

2024-U.S. 104 min. Color. Directed by Tim Burton. Screenplay: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar. Music: Danny Elfman. Cast: Michael Keaton (Betelgeuse), Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz), Catherine O’Hara (Delia Deetz), Jenna Ortega (Astrid Deetz), Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci… Danny DeVito. 

Trivia: Co-produced by Burton; co-executive produced by Brad Pitt. 

Last word: “I tried to treat this movie like the spirit of the first movie, where we had a script, but there was a lot of improv that went on. I’m very lucky to work with people like Michael and Catherine that are very good at improv, so we just tried to do it in the spirit of that. We’d shoot quickly, and all the actors contributed – Justin and Will and everybody contributed to their character. They really took it from the page and made it something else.” (Burton, Screen Rant)