Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice (2024) – A Horror Movie Review a Day Halloween 2025 - October 11th
Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s day 11 of our 31 days of Halloween 2025 movie-review-a-day feature. Back in 2023, we covered the 1988 Tim Burton classic Beetlejuice. It seems only right that, today, we take a look at the sequel that released over 35 years later in 2024 – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
The Long Road from the Afterlife
This is a sequel 35 plus years in the making. With that in mind, we absolutely have to talk about its production for a second. The immense success of Beetlejuice lead to rumours of a sequel almost immediately.
In fact, two scripts were commissioned just a couple of years after the first film’s release. Unfortunately, nothing ever came of them. It wasn’t until 2011 that Warner Bros actually hired writer Seth Grahame-Smith to pitch a story. The intention being to produce a sequel as soon as possible. After numerous rewrites and almost a decade, the project was shelved, yet again.
In 2022, Plan B Productions (owned by Brad Pitt) picked the ball up and ran with it. After initially denying any involvement, Tim Burton signed on to direct and the rest is history. Burton wanted Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to not only fit with the style of the original, but also to stay true to the first movie’s spirit. Not just with the characters and visuals but with the practical effects, too.
It goes without saying that a lot of fans were just a little bit concerned about how a follow up to the beloved Beetlejuice would be handled. Particularly after so many years had passed since its release.
CGI had become the dominant medium for visual effects. Outside of Michael Keaton, the stars of the original film had somewhat faded from relevance. One of the most important cast members had been caught doing something horrifying. And Burton was far from the exciting visionary director he once was. There were a lot of questions around this film’s development and a lot of concerns.
Welcome Back to Winter River
The story picks up in the modern era. Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is now the host of a paranormal talk show and has a teenage daughter called Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Astrid and Lydia have a strained relationship due to Astrid’s embarassment at her mother’s supposed abilities and apparent kookiness.
The pair return to Lydia’s old home in Winter River with Lydia’s step mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) after a family tragedy leaves her a widow. Struggling to adapt to life in a quiet area, Astrid soon finds herself occupying her time by swooning over a local boy.
What initially starts as an unwanted return to a house that holds a lot of memories. Quickly turns disastrous as Astrid opens a gateway to the afterlife, meaning Lydia is forced to enlist the help of everyone’s favourite bio-exorcist Beetlejuice in order to rescue her. What follows is a journey into the netherworld complete with sand worms, legions of the recently deceased, a funky trip on the “soul train”, and even a grandiose wedding.
A Familiar Journey
Burton has managed to achieve a lot of what he set out to accomplish here. This movie feels true to the original in many ways. There’s limited CGI, loads of hokey looking practical effects, the wacky humour from the first film is there in spades, and the character of Beetlejuice is, once again, offered up in measured doses to keep his presence enjoyable rather than annoying.
Visually, it’s a perfect ode to what made the original great. As a piece of nostalgic comfort food, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice works very well. The setup for the movie is, actually, fairly similar to that of the original. There’s far more of a focus on the afterlife itself, however, and the colourful characters that inhabit it.
We don’t just spend a few scenes there, we spend over half the movie there and it looks fantastic. Beetlejuice has his own ghoul to contend with, as well, in the form of an ex-lover called Delores (Monica Bellucci).
Delores isn’t just mischievous and cartoonish, though. She is entirely capable of perma-killing the residents of the afterlife and does so with gusto. She is looking for Beetlejuice and has every intention of putting an end to him for good.
This is where the problems really begin We have three competing story-lines that eventually merge together towards the end. Part of the film focuses on Astrid’s journey into the afterlife, part focuses on Lydia’s journey to find her, and part focuses on Delores running rampant ending people for good. There’s even a detective side story thrown in for good measure.
Nostalgia Over Substance
If that doesn’t sound messy and convoluted enough, there are a number of additional story threads all taking place at the same time, as well. I probably don’t have to say it but, at times, it really doesn’t work. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice can be difficult to follow, a bit hyperactive, and the flow of the film suffers for it.
In an attempt to tap back into that controlled chaos of the first film, Burton has created actual chaos. The juggling of all of these different plot points leaves practically every character feeling underdeveloped. There’s nowhere near enough Delia and Lydia feels massively dialed back.
The addition of Astrid feels utterly pointless, too. Whereas teen Lydia was likeable and relatable, Astrid is obnoxious and self important. She’s an annoying character that feels shoe-horned in so that Burton could cast one of his favourite actors and simplify the story’s setup a little.
Just leaving her out of the film would have tightened things up dramatically. It would have forced Burton to find a better way of reintroducing Beetlejuice himself, as well. There’s a distinct sense of nostalgia for the first movie taking precedent over the actual solid foundation needed to make this sequel work. Something that is a bit of a shame because there are parts I really enjoyed.
Some of the afterlife stuff is really fun thanks to the characters that inhabit it. Beetlejuice is still charismatic and and a big highlight; he is even afforded a bit more depth here to flesh out his backstory. The later parts of the movie are a lot of fun, even though some of them drag on too long, and there are plenty of laughs. There’s an entire song during the final act that some are going to love and others will absolutely hate.
A Problematic Cameo
Something that absolutely needs to be mentioned is the focus placed on the character of Delia’s husband Charles Deetz. For those who don’t know, Charles’s actor, Jeffrey Jones, was caught doing some utterly heinous shit. With this in mind, he shouldn’t have even been more than a passing mention in this film.
Instead, he is a repeated focus and appears, complete with Jones’s likeness, repeatedly. It’s hard not to see it as a sympathetic depiction of an actor that should be completely forgotten about for the crimes he committed.
Acting is pretty decent throughout. Keaton seems more reserved here in the titular role which actually works a lot better. Winona Ryder is also a bit more reserved but still excellent. I really enjoyed Catherine O’Hara returning as Delia. She is delightfully over the top. Bellucci is perfectly cast as Delores, too.
I really didn’t enjoy Jenna Ortega’s performance as Astrid. I thought she was fantastic as Wednesday Addams but the more I see of her the more I think that she is a one note actor that just happens to be flavour of the month.
Should You Watch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?
This is a tough one because, generally speaking, I actually enjoyed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and my score will reflect that. With that being said, it’s a chaotic movie that tries to do too much and doesn’t always stick the landing. The vibe fits perfectly with the original and, at least visually, it is extremely true to what made the first movie great.
Some fans are going to be very disappointed, though, and feel like this was too little too late. This makes it hard to recommend to devoted Beetlejuice Stans. There’s too much going on, too many different story threads, a few unnecessary characters, a troubling devotion to reminding everyone about an actor we all likely want to forget, and a distinct feeling that it was all a bit rushed. If you look at it as another chance to spend some time with everyone’s favourite bio-exorcist rather than an unwanted sequel, you may just have a good time.
Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight
Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
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