What grip is tighter than death’s doom upon mortals?
Apparently, film sequels upon movie executives!
In the iconic world of Tim Burton, an early film of his titled Beetlejuice stands out for its intricate, gothic aesthetics and dark humor.
This September, the sequel was released more than 30 years after the original film, unexpected to say the least.
The film has a star-studded cast, even more so than in its 1988 release.
Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, and Katherine O’Hara have each returned to reprise their starring roles.
Joining the cast is Jenna Ortega, Monica Belluchi, Danny Devito, and Willem Dafoe.
Beetlejuice has been considered a cult classic and a Halloween staple ever since its original release.
From the cast to the reputation to the production design of Tim Burton, this sequel was expected to be a huge success and fan favorite.
The sequel jumps forward in time to Lydia’s adulthood, as she coincidentally runs into her old enemy Beetlejuice, and she is once again tormented by his haunting hijinks.
Beetlejuice 2 had been highly anticipated by its large cult following over the past few months, raising expectations for Tim Burton as this film was only his second attempt at a sequel, the first being Batman Returns released back in 1992.
Unfortunately, those hopes were not met.
The film was underwhelming, convoluted, unnecessary, and impedes upon the previously established plot elements.
The recent trend of redundant reboots and sequels amongst large movie corporations are an obvious cash crab that depletes the art of the films until they are futile.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice can be compared to other recent desperate sequels such as Hocus Pocus 2 and Megamind 2, both of which muddled the original stories’ lessons, values, and iconic film expression that made them so loveable.
Beetlejuice 2 had enough room to be different as a more mature horror film, with renowned director Tim Burton standing behind it.
However, the project fell short of fans and movie critics expectations.
If anything, the movie resembles a parody of a Tim Burton film.
Furthermore, Burton is decidedly selective on what projects he takes on, which makes the underwhelming result all that more glaring on his resume.
He even refused to be a part of the sequel to the live action Alice in Wonderland, despite a majority of cast and crew returning to the project.
So, what fell flat with this film?
So much, in fact, that a better question would be what didn’t?
The characterization of Lydia has been completely rewritten in this film, taking her from a confident, truthful, and kind woman to a lost, deceptive, and weak one.Her actions make the character almost unrecognizable from the previous film, and it’s apparent in the actors’ performance.
The dialogue is awkward and rushed, with the characters barely being given enough time to process the death of a loved one.
The serious moments fall short, making the purposeful awkward comedy more difficult to decipher as the audience is laughing at the characters instead of with them.
There are multiple characters and aspects of the film that take up a majority of the movie whilst having no effect on the overall plot, serving mostly for aesthetics and distraction from a lacking storyline.
The character Dolores, for example, is an example of a story element that develops when the story comes across as negligent in the eyes of Burton.
She plays the role of Beetlejuice’s beautiful ex-wife seeking revenge, who was not mentioned or alluded to in the original film at all.
Other than fulfilling the tired role of a walking glorification of female suffering, she served no purpose to move the plot forward.
Other than the inconsequential conflict between her and Beetlejuice’s character, her actions neither obstruct or are conducive to the plot.
Her character is not fleshed out, or even fully explained.
It seems that her existence in the film is to the screen time as a lengthy description in an essay is to a word count.
This approach to the film left a flavorless taste in the audience’s mouths.
This production felt like Burton regretted a handful of elements from the first film, and made the sequel as a personal redemption.
Certain plot elements such as a second coming of Lydia and Beetlejuice’s wedding, the characterization of Delia Deetz, and the new characters of Astrid and Dolores felt like fabric on a clothesline in that they were the only identifiable purposeful plot elements in a barren story.
The movie relied on aesthetics and situational irony to keep attention but failed at creating a more satisfying plot and ending than the first film- which is generally the only case in which sequels are effective.
Overall, the film was disappointing to see as a life-long horror and Tim Burton fan.
Hopefully, this doesn’t mark the decline of his directorial popularity, and Burton can continue to provide new original films that do succeed in presenting a well-developed story.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice came out September 6th, 2024 and is still currently showing in theaters and select streaming services for rent.