Don’t say his name three times or else he will get you! The original “Beetlejuice” film was created in 1988. The main cast was Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland, Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland, Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, and Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz.
In “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Tim Burton fanatics can definitely see elements of his set design in the beginning of the movie. The beginning of the movie shows a long, black and white tiled hallway reminiscent to some of the designs in the beginning of “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” Burton also stuck to his Claymation style of art at times.
Delia Deetz (played by O’Hara) is now the grandmother in the flick. Throughout the movie, Delia Deetz still maintains her aloof and eccentric personality just as she did in the original “Beetlejuice.” The movie did a great job sticking to each of the original character’s identity. Some of the acting felt a little artificial in this modern day and age and strayed from the authenticity of “Beetlejuice.” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has more of a romantic/horror combination to it. Some might call it soft horror.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” starts off simple and unsuspecting, leaving viewers not ready for the plot twist that is to come. This movie can be regarded as a cool, coming of age horror film because it is not too scary, but just the right amount of scary. Also, Burton fans must truly appreciate how literal he is with his film style.
Towards the end of the movie, there is a reference towards the “soul train.” Astrid (played by Jenna Ortega) is taken to the “soul train” which is, in fact, a literal train with soul dancers on it. The end of the movie also brings back the same eerie desert landscape that can be seen in the first “Beetlejuice” with snakes and sandworms.
For people that love an exuberant and funky style, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a great movie to watch. Even though the beginning starts off a little slow, the end is jammed packed with energy and odd curiosities at every turn. Throughout, you can find cheeky, sarcastic comments from Beetlejuice as he is jumping around making chaos happen.
In this film, Lydia Deetz is now all grown up, but she has still maintained her same gothic attire and mysterious aura. Her daughter, Astrid, detests her mysteriousness, but throughout the movie the viewer will soon come to learn that they are not that different.
Ortega also displays her acting style in her brief dancing clip in the last few scenes of the movie. This scene was reminiscent of her character Wednesday from the show “Wednesday.” The dance style was very similar and was very well executed. Ortega was also cast in “Scream” and “Scream VI.” References of “Scream” were also made throughout “Beetlejuice” for those who are fans of the Scream franchise.
Still, nothing can beat the original “Beetlejuice,” especially the “Shake Senora” scene where Lydia was dancing with the Maitlin couple. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a new, modern twist on the original “Beetlejuice.”
Anyone looking for a fun, eccentric thriller to kick off the Halloween season should go watch “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Just don’t say his name three times!
