The movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” serves as an excellent sequel to the original movie, “Beetlejuice”, and follows an older Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) with her daughter Astrid Deetz (Jenna Ortega) as they meet to attend a funeral for Lydia’s father. It follows Lydia and her rocky relationship with Astrid as an increasingly desperate Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) attempts to reenter the mortal world, eventually succeeding when a distraught Lydia makes an agreement to marry him in order to enter the land of the dead. This is because Astrid met and was tricked by a boy named Jeremy, who turns out to be a ghost who murdered his parents and is trying to reenter the living realm. In the end, Lydia is able to successfully bring Astrid back to the land of the living and banish Beetlejuice for a second time.
Despite being wary of a sequel to a movie that seemed very complete, it turned out to be an excellent watch. Tim Burton brings back the morbid mood and creepiness of the original film, and shows a very realistic outcome of what Lydia faced in the first film. The characters were phenomenal, each one holding a surprising amount of depth and charm that again mirrored the first film. Astrid’s character development in particular shines through, as she quickly realizes that her skepticism of the spirit world is misplaced and her relationship with Lydia heals.
Lydia in particular was a character that was revitalized by the sequel. The first film followed her navigating a tough world in which she’s desperate to talk to her dead mother again, with Beetlejuice haunting her the entire way through. The second film reveals what this tumultuous period of her life did to her, turning her into an incredibly codependent, paranoid woman still afraid of Beetlejuice coming back to haunt her. As the movie progresses, we see Lydia grow as a person, realizing that she needs to let go of her nervous tendencies if she wants to repair her relationship with Astrid.
Overall, this movie was an incredible watch, serving as an excellent sequel to the first film we all know and love. This movie has earned a rating of 5/5.
