Tim Burton directs Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega in this legacy sequel to the afterlife scumbag special FX comedy from the Eighties.

The most surprising aspect about Beetlejuice 2 is how often it hits the mark without you noticing everyone subconsciously counting their paychecks. It takes a lot of manoeuvring to get this soul train in motion after nearly forty years but all involved seemingly have fun even with with the laborious set-up. Much dead weight needs to be lifted to get the gang back in position and to explain absences. Not once did I notice any returning player go dead behind the eyes. Even if this is one of those rare IPs where that might be wholly appropriate. There even are genuinely promising spikes in the first act that suggest we might be in for something special. Monica Bellucci’s underused villain has a fabulous goth girl sexy introduction where her chopped body parts reunite and she then sucks souls until ghosts become flappy hollow husks. There is the revived stop motion, foamy production design and Ryder gets to be her kooky fragile best. Keaton is used sparingly but daringly until he needs to be involved in “the plot”. Much like the first movie he is rationed out to deranged perfection. The movie truly recaptures the old juju in the last twenty minutes when all sense and sensibility goes out the window. It might not be blockbuster Burton but it reminds of his quirky mid tier delights in it unpredictability (Pee Wee, Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow). Better than it needed to be, nonsensical in a good way, only a few decrepit Boomer references held over from ancient early drafts really stop this from being a 2024 Hollywood highlight. Go on then… Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice.

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Perfect Double Bill: Beetlejuice (1988)

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