Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
2024
*½
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, Arthur Conti, Burn Gorman, Danny DeVito, Santiago Cabrera, Filipe Cates
After a family tragedy, Lydia Deetz returns to Winter River with her daughter Astrid and stepmother Delia. When Astrid accidentally opens a portal to the Afterlife, the mischievous Beetlejuice returns. The original Beetlejuice was a popular but ultimately forgettable horror comedy, and I do not understand why we needed this utterly pointless sequel 36 later. The central couple, played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, do not return, while Jeffrey Jones, a controversial actor who has been in the doghouse for more than 20 years, is replaced by a brief animated sequence. Meanwhile, Monica Bellucci, Tim Burton's partner during production, plays a creepy soul-sucking villain, but after her introduction she disappears for roughly an hour.
