“The juice is loose.”
Michael Keaton is on quite the reunion tour of reprising his old roles, and for most actors, stepping back into the role isn’t always easy. However, for Keaton, it is as if no time has passed whatsoever. Over thirty years since portraying this iconic role, Keaton returns as Beetlejuice, the trickster spirit who attempted to manipulate a marriage to Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz in order to gain a permanent foothold in the living world. Keaton isn’t the only one who returns in this well-done addition to the ongoing trend of continuation series; Ryder returns as Lydia Deetz, Catherine O’Hara is back as Delia Deetz, Lydia’s stepmom, and most notably Tim Burton is back in the director’s seat for the sequel. Burton’s return is most pivotal addition in my opinion, as the first film was full of his unique style that would be impossible for another director to emulate. Also joining the franchise are Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Danny DeVito, albeit too briefly, and most appreciatively, Jenna Ortega, who previously and actively collaborates with Burton on the Netflix Series Wednesday, whose upcoming season I am anxiously awaiting.
As it has been over thirty years since the first film, allow me to provide you a brief recap. The Deetz family moves into a home in the cozy little town of Winter River. Unbeknownst to them, the home is haunted by its previous occupants, married couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, who do not return in this installment, as Lydia explains that they have moved on to the afterlife). Lydia is an isolated goth teenager who, unlike her parents, is able to see the Maitlands. When the Maitlands efforts to scare the Deetz family out of the house, against of the advice of their death caseworker, they seek the help of a Beetlejuice to scare the Deetz family out of the home. Beetlejuice wreaks his kind of havoc while attempting to work his own agenda to ensure that he can return to the living world. Only by banding together with the Deetz family are the Maitlands able to send Beetlejuice back to the Afterlife.
Picking up 36 years after the events of the first film, the Deetz family returns to Winter River, Connecticut following the death of the family patriarch. Lydia, now a famous television medium, and Delia, along with Rory (Theroux), Lydia’s boyfriend/producer, as well as Lydia’s estranged teenage daughter, Astrid (Ortega), intend to pack up the family home. Despite the years passed, Lydia remains haunted by Beetlejuice, who still carries a flame for her and sees her return as a second bite at the apple. Meanwhile, Beetlejuice is being hunted by his ex-wife, a succubus-like spirit seeking revenge on everyone’s favorite trickster, heightening Beetlejuice’s desire to escape to the living world.
Seeing the film was a nice little dose of nostalgia, as both Keaton and Burton expressed their desire to keep the film from becoming too technology-heavy, preferring to rely on the same practical effects of the original. This of course meant the addition of the stop-motion animation style used in the first film. It was a bit old-school, but I can’t imagine the sandworm appearing any other way. Then there is Keaton, who was the main reason that I wanted to see the movie. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to see if there would be any rust as a result of the years that passed, and to my examination there was not. Keaton stepped back into the role with ease and just had fun with it, which you don’t have to take my word for, as the actor was quoted as saying that making the sequel was more fun than the original.
While I imagine nearly everything about the film, there were a couple of portions that were either underutilized or unnecessary, such as the addition of Delores (Beetlejuice’s ex-wife character). In theory the idea was very intriguing, a woman scorned on a revenge campaign against the character. I liked the idea, and it should have been a fun addition. However, this storyline is never focused on properly, in my opinion. The character just comes in and out, leaving a trail in her wake, but she is hardly the big threat that she is hyped up to be. I would have liked to see more dedication to this subplot, at least one or two near misses where Beetlejuice barely escapes would have really bolstered the story line as well as the character overall. As is, she is just a character with a destination but no map. Connected to this story line is Willem Dafoe’s character, Wolf Jackson, a ghost detective, who in life was a B-movie action star. Now, I love Willem Dafoe, but similar to Bellucci’s character, there is no real purpose for the character’s inclusion outside of some mild comic relief. The character is supposed to be on a manhunt for the Delores character, so the same principle applies here; a couple of near misses would have made a real difference.
I could have done with a little more Jenna Ortega, too. Not to come off as a fanboy, but Ortega feels like the perfect person to carry the torch of the franchise. Not taking away anything away from Ryder who is also integral to the franchise, especially after hearing about the arrangement she made with the Stranger Things creators regarding the Beetlejuice sequel (before signing on for Stranger Things, one of Ryder’s conditions for joining the series was that if a sequel to Beetlejuice was ever greenlit, they would have to allow her time to reprise her role, which they did). That said, I can see the franchise continuing with Ortega moving into the starring role. As is, she makes the most of her time on screen, verbally sparring with the likes of her mom and her boyfriend while also brooding due to the loss of an important figure in her life and her doubt of everything supernatural. The character of Astrid is intended to the be the film’s logical anchor, as she doubts her mother’s gifts and the supernatural, electing to only believe in what can be proven scientifically. But we are never really able to get into the weeds of any of the characters.
It’s rare that I suggest that a film should have had a longer running time, but if there was ever a movie that I would encourage to have more screen time, this would be that film. There were so many interesting things going on, such as the Delores subplot, and the dynamic between Astrid and the local kid (newcomer Arthur Conti), who is more than meets the eye. These subplots were really intriguing, but unfortunately rushed, as a lot of the nuances of these elements were quickly addressed via a quick dialog explanation or cutaway. I would have liked to have drawn these pieces out so that they were more complete and didn’t pull focus from one another.
Video
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The ultra-high-definition 2160p image is arrived at by an HEVC codec with an average bitrate of 75 mbps. We see a lot of 90’s here. The ultra high definition gets most of its bump from textures in the details. This is a very textured world, and the UHD release is far more accurate in those fine details. I was disappointed that Burton decided to go digital here. He took advantage of an experimental process that can reproduce various film stock grain. The results are mixed. The film isn’t quite as organic as the first, and Burton makes up for that with his use of almost completely practical f/x. Burton’s films have a life of their own that screams for actual film. The stop-motion is flawlessly blended, and I was honestly expecting it to look rather dated. It’s a credit to the original production and the care that went into the modeling process as well as some animation. The f/x are practical, and that’s another huge bonus all the way around. Black levels might not be as deep and inky as you would like them to be, but there’s plenty of shadow definition to go around. The makeup f/x hold up just as strongly. This is a film I was always fond of, but this presentation has earned it a notch higher level of respect from these often jaded eyes.
Audio
The Atmos track defaults to a pretty solid 7.1 mix. There’s a temptation in a film like this to go crazy with the surrounds. I’m happy to report that while this is certainly a wild audio presentation, nothing appears out of place or, more importantly, out of time. Elfman’s score is another of his many classics, and it leaps from the screen at just the right creepy moments. There are some clever elements to the sound design that really add the comedic beats and just the right amount of atmosphere. The dialog cuts through just fine with everything perfectly placed and crystal clear perfection.
Special Features
There is only the UHD disc, so the extras are all here. They are not extensive, which is a good news / bad news kind of thing. They leave plenty of the disc’s bandwidth to the film but don’t give us as much bonus material.
The Juice Is Loose – The Making Of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: (27:37) This is the bulk of the behind-the-scenes stuff. The focus is on why it took so long to happen and the elements they needed to do it. Apparently they all kept in touch, and every five years or so noise would be made on the subject. There’s a lot of footage and even behind-the-scenes material from both the original film and this one. We get to visit several of the big set pieces and the process to bring back iconic sets from the archived blueprints. We also get to revisit the Vermont locations used once again for the movie.
The Ghost With The Most Returns: (8:34) This feature does a good deal of looking back, and seeing Keaton at both ages is a bit jarring at times. The feature is focused on Burton and Keaton.
Meet The Deetzes: (6:52) A look at the three generations of Deetz women in the movie.
Shrinkers, Shrinkers Everywhere Shrinkers: (6:25) A look at the way they brought Bob and the other shrunken-heads guys to life. They have a much more expanded role in this movie.
The Animated After-Life – The Stop-Motion Of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: (9:14) It was so sweet that Burton stuck to the stop-motion work for parts of the film. This feature looks mostly at the plane crash and the return of the sandworms.
The Handbook For The Recently Deceased: (12:07) A closer look at all of the dead extras and featured characters. There are a lot of them here.
Till Death Do Us Part: (7:54) A Look at the MacArthur’s Park musical scene.
Final Thoughts:
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was a fun experience and very family-friendly. I’d even consider taking my family to see it again. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the film was this weekend’s box office winner, and it would be well deserved.
Parts of this review were written by Gino Sassani
