Content warning/Editor’s Note: This review will contain spoilers for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
“It’s showtime!” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was released in theaters Sept. 6, unraveling a new story featuring trickster demon Beetlejuice and his almost-wed Lydia Deetz with her daughter, Astrid Deetz, returning to Winter River for the funeral of Charles Deetz, Lydia’s father and Astrid’s grandfather. The movie’s reviews on IMDb rate it 7.1/10 which is 0.4 lower than the original “Beetlejuice’s” rating also on IMDb.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a comedy horror that follows psychic mediator Lydia and her daughter Astrid as they go through the troubles of a funeral for Charles, a pressured marriage, a ghost tricking Lydia into almost swapping her soul, finding Astrid’s dead father and Lydia’s dead husband Richard Deetz and having a short lived reunion, and the reunion of Beetlejuice and his first lover.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is sure to make some people laugh and make the viewers feel suspense in each moment where anything could happen. While the storyline was amazing and Jenna Ortega did an excellent job of portraying the character of Astrid, this movie may seem too independent for some of the fans of the original “Beetlejuice” movie released in 1988. The original movie had more innuendos and no swearing, though “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” veered off: there is significantly less innuendos and a decent amount of swearing. The change in times and content makes this movie rated PG-13 while the first movie was rated PG.
The change from Beetlejuice being this ‘grabby’ weird man to a chaotic weird man is making some fans think about the change in what is considered normal between 1988 and 2024.
“I wouldn’t say it makes it less enjoyable,” “Beetlejuice” fan and FHS parent Heather Douglas said, “it just shows a change in times.”
For me, I would say it is one of the best movies I’ve seen in recent years. Potentially even in my top five favorite movies. While I agree it is most certainly not as great as the first, I love the pacing and the storyline. My opinion on the pacing however seems quite on the contrary from others opinions as some reviews on IMDb talk about how some fans of the original may find the sequel worse.
Overall, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” proved to be an amazing movie. If you watched the first “Beetlejuice” before the sequel, you’ll definitely see a difference in quality given the change in times. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” works well as a sequel, not fitting the usual disappointment of the second movie of a series.
