One of the most anticipated films of 2024, The Juice was set loose again in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice on September 6th through Warner Bros. Pictures.
Arriving thirty-six years after The Maitlands released him in Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice, the new film comes after years of speculation if it would ever actually happen. Finally a reality, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice stars returning leads, Michael Keaton (Mr. Mom 1983, Batman 1989) as Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice), Winona Ryder (Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1992, Stranger Things series) as Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone 1990, The Wild Robot 2024) as Delia Deetz. Joining them are new additions Jenna Ortega (X 2022, Wednesday series) as Astrid Deetz, and Justin Theroux (American Psycho 2000, The Lefovers series) as Rory, Lydia’s current boyfriend, and a television producer. Rory was inspired by Otho, Delia Deetz’s interior design and wannabe exorcist friend; played by the late Glenn Shadix in the original film.
Looking at Rory a bit closer, Writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar made him a character that everyone wanted to see getting his comeuppance, like Otho, and enjoyed the idea of Lydia being in a weird co-dependent relationship, which everyone sees that way… herself included. Gough and Millar wanted the audience to understand why Rory is with Lydia and that he was a ‘schmuck,’ but they felt that they needed to find Rory’s humanity without him being a mere punchline. Once Theroux was cast and connected with the writers over Zoom, he provided Gough and Millar with ideas they incorporated.
Continuing the newcomers, we have Monica Bellucci (The Apartment 1996, Spectre 2015) as Delores, Beetlejuice’s estranged wife, Willem Dafoe (Platoon 1986, The Boondock Saints 1999) as Wolf Jackson, Arthur Conti in his feature debut as Jeremy Frazier, Santiago Cabrera (The Musketeers series, Star Trek: Picard series) as Richard, Burn Gorman (Pacific Rim 2013, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 2023) as Father Damien, Amy Nuttall (Downtown Abbey series, Liar series) as local real estate agent Jane Butterfield Jr., Danny DeVito (Taxi series, Twins 1988) as an afterlife janitor, as well as Nick Kellington (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016, Star Wars: Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker 2019) as Bob.
The story goes, after a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife. The tragedy in question is the death of the patriarch, Charles; who does make a couple of appearances. The character is depicted in the likeness of original Actor Jeffery Jones through various means, including archival photos, paintings, and an animated stop-motion sequence that describes the character’s death. Ironically, the character’s death was inspired by Burton’s worst-case scenario death dream for himself.
Times have changed since Beetlejuice got loose in 1988. His un-political correctness from yesteryear might rub people the wrong way today, but fear not, gentle reader, Burton and Keaton kept Beetlejuice just as deliciously crass, maybe even more loathsome. It is also safe to say Keaton has not skipped a beat, easily slipping back into the character that he originated when he was thirty-six…now, he is seventy-three.
Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara do not skip a beat as well; slipping back into Lydia and Delia. With that in mind, there is some growth on Lydia’s part now that she is a widowed mom to Ortega’s Astrid, who easily slips into the angsty, cynical daughter Ryder was. This is even more so since her mom’s supposed to be a medium, but cannot get a hold of her dad. Astrid wants to cross over…and she might get her wish on two fronts, one by choice, the other not. Delia is still every bit of a neurotic narcissist as she was thirty-six years ago, even more so as age has set in while being a little more present for Lydia and Astrid when time allows…of course. The other standout is Monica Bellucci’s Delores; who we find out it was her finger that Beetlejuice swiped the wedding band from to give Lydia when he was going to marry her in the original. We learn they have a vendetta against each other, but whereas out of sight, out of mind for him, she will stop at nothing to get revenge, and she kills three souls in her wake to get Beetlejuice.
So, where are the Maitlands (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) you ask? They have crossed over, but you will have to watch to see how it happened. Nonetheless, they are missed since they were the catalyst to Beetlejuice’s intro. Still, it is nice to know they were not completely forgotten after thirty-six years.
Tonally, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice is darker and heavier with the ubiquitous death the franchise is known for, but without the camp for the visual killings. In addition, faith, or the lack thereof, is tackled with one line: “I only believe in things I can see, you know, science and facts.” This otherwise throwaway line says Astrid considers herself an Atheist, which plays into her arc from her beginning to where she ultimately ends. Still, like Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice’s heart comes from the family dynamic and the journey Lydia, Delia, and Astrid on the mortal side, and Charles and Richard, Astrid’s dad in the Afterlife take.
With a budget of $100 million, without advertising, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice has grossed over $402 million worldwide so far since it is still in theaters. Looking to hook in even more viewers, it debuted for Premium Digital Ownership and Rental on October 8th, with the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD set for release on November 19th. Physical formats you may want to consider picking up as a Christmas present, it is fascinating to think that if Tim Burton had not rejuvenated his creative juices with his runaway smash series, Netflix’s Wednesday, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice would have never been made. All matters considered Cryptic Rock gives Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice 5 out of 5 stars.
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