Let me start out by saying that while I do write a fair number of reviews of movies, I am a mere amateur when it comes to movie viewing, and all the opinions offered up are mine alone--which seems important to point out in a movie like this, which is the sequel to a classic original, albeit 35 years in the making but one that picks up seemingly right where the other left off.
The Maitlands have since departed, and Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) has harnessed her abilities into a blossoming Ghost Hunters-esque reality TV show that comes off as fake, but maybe it is because her manager ramps up the commercial aspects of the enterprise. Her influence has made her something of a town legend, causing a significant rift between Deetz and her teenage daughter, Astrid. She sees her mom as an out and out fake and doesn't much care who knows it. A tragedy sends Lydia, Astrid, and Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) back to their home, where a chance encounter leads them on a twisted path involving rogue demons, demonic possessions, sham marriages, ghost cops, and ultimately into the clutches of the Ghost with the Most, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton)--who is in fine form and every bit as enjoyable as in the original (or annoying, I guess, if you didn't much care for him the first time around).
I’m pretty comfortable saying that this film would not be anywhere near as good if it hadn’t been directed by Tim Burton. Burton is most famous for his gothic horror aesthetic and use of practical effects, which often personify a cartoonishly grotesque world, and while I suspect the whole thing is computer generated effects, it has the feel of old school Tim Burton. If you like that,t hen you should not miss this.
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