The movie Beetlejuice came out on March 30th, 1988. For those who’ve never seen it, it’s about a ghost named Beetlejuice (played by Michael Keaton) who is actively trying to ruin the lives of the Deetz family, including 15-year-old Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Ryder). In the movie, the Deetz family has just moved into a home that is inhabited by a ghost couple who had died in the home and now live in the attic. Lydia finds a flier in the attic while she is exploring their new house, and she accidentally summons Beetlejuice by saying his name three times. While the premise might sound pretty out there, the movie was actually a commercial hit, pulling in almost $75 million on a $10 million budget, making it the 10th-highest-grossing film of 1988.
Now, you might be wondering why I’m explaining a movie from the 80s?
Well, the sequel to the movie just came out this past weekend – a whole 36 years after its original release. In this sequel, Winona Ryder and Micheal Keaton both resume their same roles. Catherine O’Hara also resumes her role as Delia Deetz. This sequel adds a new character, Jenna Ortega, who plays Lydia’s daughter Astrid Deetz. Ortega, who has been a child actor for a while, became an even bigger star last year when she starred in the Netflix series Wednesday. I think having her in the sequel to Beetlejuice will bring in younger viewers who might not be very familiar with the original movie, but who are certainly familiar with Ortega.
As for me, though, being familiar with the original isn’t an issue. Even though the first Beetlejuice came out many years before I was born, I grew up watching it with my dad. One thing I love about the movie is how unusual it is. From a huge snake with the head of Beetlejuice attacking the Deetz family to the whole family becoming possessed and then singing and dancing at the dinner table, I always thought it was strange that no one in the Deetz family was more creeped out by the fact that ghosts lived in their attic. Although at first, I was a little frightened by the movie when I first saw it when I was 7 or 8, I grew to love it, and now it’s a regular movie for my family.
When my dad and I heard about the sequel, we knew we wanted to see it opening weekend. I was nervous that it wasn’t going to keep the same vibe.
Yet, after seeing the new movie last weekend, I’m happy to say that it lived up to its predecessor. I still think the original is the stronger of the two. I find that the originals are almost always better than their sequel, but this one was actually very good.
The sequel kept the same dark and whimsical feel to it which I was very happy about. I will say it was a lot scarier than the original. I think it’s because all of the special effects that feel a lot more realistic. In the original, you can tell that it’s all fake but in this one, I wasn’t so sure. If I had seen this one as a 7-year-old, I definitely would have been a little traumatized.
Another thing that stayed the same was Winona Rider. Not only does she not age, but they had her wear the same hairstyle, makeup, and outfit from when she was a teenager. Micheal Keaton also looked very similar. With all the makeup he has to wear for his role, I honestly couldn’t tell the difference from the first movie. Catherine O’Hara looks different but her character acted the exact same. I think it was good that they had Ortega in the movie because it added something fresh and current, it wasn’t just the same actors as before.
I was disappointed at first when I found out that Jeffrey Jones wasn’t in the sequel. Jones played the character Charles Deetz in the original. He was Delia’s wife and Lydia’s father. He was one of my favorite characters in the original. I liked how he was the most normal, and he wanted to keep the house how it was but Delia had other plans. But, after I learned why he wasn’t in the movie, I am glad he wasn’t. Apparently, Jones was arrested twice for failing to update his sex offender status, first in Florida in 2004, and then in California in 2010. To avoid any conflict, those in charge of the sequel simply killed off his character. To show the way he died, filmmakers showed it in cartoon and then later showed his body but his head had been chomped off by a shark. They used someone else’s voice to make his half-bitten body talk in the afterlife. This is a really great example of how dark this movie can be but also quite silly.
Overall, it was a great movie and a fantastic addition to the classic. I highly recommend if you’re going to see this movie in theaters please watch the original first. It will make a lot more sense and you might enjoy it more. The original is available for streaming on MAX and Prime Video.
