After a summer of sequels (and threequels) storming the box office, there was some trepidation around whether Beetlejuice Beetlejuice would live up to Tim Burton’s 1988 horror-comedy, Beetlejuice.

The original is deemed by many to be a cult classic, but it’s very much a product of its time. Upskirting, non-consensual kissing and a middle-aged demon (Betelgeuse, pronounced Beetlejuice) lusting over a school-aged goth girl in the name of comedy are just a handful of the reasons why it’s aged so poorly. In this light, the sequel could only be an improvement.

While Michael Keaton returns as the titular malevolent ghost, Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones, who played the character in the original film, is now a registered sex offender) dies in a stop-motion sequence at the start of the film after a plane crash leads to a deadly shark attack.

Left to lead the sequel is Charles’s newly bereft widow Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara). When she hosts an elaborate funeral, it draws her stepdaughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) away from hosting her popular psychic TV series Ghost House and back to where it all began in Winter River. 

There has also been major buzz about two generations of Burton’s gothic teen icons uniting on screen for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Not only is Ryder returning as Lydia (still as chic and as goth as ever), this time her character has her own estranged adolescent daughter in tow (Astrid, played by Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega). 

The film reveals long-standing tensions between the mother-daughter duo, who are distanced by grief after Astrid’s dad (Lydia’s ex) died in a freak boat accident on the Amazon. New issues are introduced too, thanks to the presence of Lydia’s producer-turned-boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux). 

As in the original Beetlejuice, grief opens the gates to deliciously dark humour. As they navigate challenges in both life and the afterlife, the Deetz women once again find themselves entangled with the corny, stripe-suited ‘bio-exorcist’ Betelgeuse. For his part, Betelgeuse is still simply set on marrying Lydia, his afterlife-long crush.

Even with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s swift run time of an hour and 45 minutes, a lot happens. Willem Dafoe serves up dad humour as a deceased actor who lands the role of a lifetime as a detective in the Afterlife Crime Unit, with a captive audience of a zombie SWAT team at his disposal. 

Betelgeuse’s ex-wife Dolores (Monica Bellucci) pulls herself together (quite literally, limb by limb) to resume her undead mission to suck Betelgeuse’s soul. All while Astrid finds herself hustled by a local ghost murderer, who needs a human to ride the soul train to the great beyond on his behalf so he can return to the land of the living.

The stakes are high, but thankfully, Lydia has connections in the afterlife and calls upon her old frenemy Betelgeuse to help her get her daughter out of the first date from hell. 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has enough of a new story to entice the next generation of comedy-horror aficionados, all while satisfying the fervent fans of Burton’s original with jump scares, a chemical-guzzling zombie Danny Devito and the inappropriate behaviour of both living and dead men (see: Rory’s ill-timed wedding proposal at Lydia’s dad’s funeral).

These threads culminate in a wonderfully wacky, though slightly rushed, final act at the altar. But it’s O’Hara’s performance as eccentric artist and grieving widow Delia that leaves a lasting impression.

As the less seasoned family member when it comes to encounters with gruesome spirits, Delia offers the film a fresh slice of honesty and hysterical living energy. And O’Hara lands laugh after laugh along the way (which isn’t surprising if you’re familiar with her dryly hilarious performance as a woman in a near-permanent state of despair on Schitt’s Creek).  

From shrouding the family home in a black veil of mourning to inviting her family to participate in a visual exploration of grief through guttural screams and performing rituals at Charles’ graveside, Delia’s dramatics are endearingly self-indulgent. 

She has moved beyond the traumatic events of the first film to sustain an energetic spirit that lightens the load of the heavier aspects of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as Lydia remains haunted by her psychic abilities and the predatory demon that defined her teen years. 

A humorous twist of fate lands Delia in the great beyond too, which is only the more delightful as she protests to anyone who will listen: “I’m not supposed to be here!” 

In the end, the Deetz women are the true heart of this film, as they navigate the nuances of two generations of mother-daughter dynamics, all while tackling paranormal predators and a gaslighting new boyfriend – yes, we’re looking at you, Rory. 

This juice won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it’s worth a watch for these three women alone.

Beetlejuice is in cinemas from 6 September 

Images: Warner Brothers