After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.

A sequel to Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice’ is near enough 40 years in the making and in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, Burton is back along with most of the primary cast, to tell a new story surrounding the ‘bio-exorcist’ and the Deetz family who got caught up in his orbit. It had been so long since I’ve seen the first one (and I didn’t revisit in advance) that I was worried I might be a little lost, but this sequel works surprisingly well in its own right, and while it’s never going to be your new favourite movie, it is a lot of fun and was more enjoyable than I expected it to be.

Taking place 36 years after the events of the first movie, we join the Deetz family as they are going through a challenging time after the death of Lydia’s ex-husband (Santiago Cabrera) and her father (Jeffrey Jones, who does not reprise his role for reasons that a Google search will make clear). Lydia (Winona Ryder) is now the host of a paranormal talk show and is engaged to be married to her producer Rory (Justin Theroux), which doesn’t help her relationship with her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Catherine O’Hara as the matriarch of the Deetz family, Delia, also returns. While preparing for her wedding to Rory, there are some strange goings on in the Afterlife, where Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton, brilliant again) is informed by a detective (Willem Dafoe), that his cultist ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci) is back on the scene and causing havoc. As you may expect both storylines will converge and Lydia will once again find herself spending time with Betelgeuse, with his help needed to save her family.

As I mentioned at the outset, ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is a lot of fun, with entertaining performances, a good use of practical effects and a typically perky Danny Elfman score, that drive the movie along. The storyline doesn’t do anything too unexpected and it isn’t quite as edgy second time round as the original movie was, but I had a blast with ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ and now that it’s available at home, you can too if you’ve not had a chance to check it out yet!

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Tim Burton

Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Burn Gorman and Santiago Cabrera

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2049403/