Well, hi there.
And here comes your latest feel good Halloween treat. 👻

After a family tragedy, three generation's of the Deetz' reunite in Winter River. Lydia is still haunted by her past when it catches up to her in an unexpected way.

So.. I like the idea of Beetlejuice but upon my last rewatch I kind of realized that the brand of humour isn't really my thing outside of Catherine O'Hara who is a queen and the Maitlands provided some levity which is why I was mostly more .. cautiously excited for this. Nevertheless, the cast was too great for this film to be a complete flop - or at least that's what I hoped.
And yeah, it's kind of a mixed bag. When it's funny, it's hilarious but there's a few moments where the film is slowing down a bit.
Let's talk positives elements first.
The Kill Baby Kill/Mario Bava scene almost had me yelling, I was SOOO excited when it happened and it was such a sweet scene.
I loved that they brought back Day-O and thought it was incorporated into the film in a nice way.
The cast is great. Michael Keaton is hilarious and the makeup looks so good. The Mario Bava spoof is my absolute favorite scene with him.
Winona Ryder still dresses the same as she did in her teens and uh. It wasn't a phase, mom!
It was sad to see her now being more a shell of her former self (although it made sense) but enjoyed her development in the film.
Catherine O'Hara is the MOMENT. Gosh, she is just so funny and every second spent with her is great. I was initially unhappy with the direction her character was going to but the ending was so sweet.
Jenna Ortega plays the angsty teen this time but different than her mom, however it made complete sense within her character. She was great and the ending caught me off guard, ngl. That was weird.
Anyways, her character is named Astrid which is such a cute name.
Justin Theroux plays Rory and he was annoying as he was entertaining.
Now, Monica Bellucci. A Goddess. Everything that she did was iconic and I love her background story. She looks absolutely stunning and I loved every second that she was on screen. Was her character necessary? Not really. Do I give a shit about that because if you're going to get Monica Bellucci in your film, you absolutely put her in it for no reason! I-mean-it-would-have-been-nice-if-she-got-more-to-do-than-be-hot-TBH.
I was really excited for Willem Dafoe and he delivered with what he was given. Everytime he is on screen, he's so freaking funny.
I also enjoyed going back to Winter River and the new setpices were pretty cool.

On the negative side, I have to say that I felt there was way too much going on plotwise. The emotional beats are fine albeit rather basic and could've been better written.
Willem Dafoe is underutilized as is Monica Bellucci unfortunately.
And I did enjoy the callbacks to the original but by the end I thought.. it was a bit much.

With a great cast, nice music and a convoluted plot this is a fun popcorn flick. And I appreciate the homage to Italian cinema. Oh and the Halloween vibes are awesome! 🎃

Fall Fatalities 🍂: Ranked
2024 Releases Ranked