Juice still fresh 36 years on
It is the age of remakes and reboots, and while there have been varying degrees of success with this (I'm over Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) I was still a bit sceptical as the 1988 smash hit, Beetlejuice (Betelgeuse), returned after nearly 40 years.
However with Tim Burton at the helm, what followed was a weird, wicked and wonderful tale as the afterlife anti-hero returns to help and torment both the living and the dead.
Michael Keaton reprises the titular role, this time pursued by soul-sucking ex-wife, Delores, (played by a somewhat underused Monica Belluci) who is determined to have her vengeance on her estranged husband, who is now running a call centre for disgruntled afterlifers who are in need of his expertise.
Also returning is Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara as Lydia and Delia Deetz, respectively, with both characters reluctantly reuniting to mourn the death of Lydia's father and subsequently sort his financial affairs and spooky residence.
New to the cast is Wednesday's Jenna Ortega, who doesn't stray too far from her persona depicted in the Netflix hit as the lonely Astrid.
Lydia is now a host of her own spooky show, but it is really her manager-cum-fiancé, Rory, (played by Justin Theroux) who is haunting her mind with his controlling, manipulative ways.
Keaton's unashamedly politically incorrect performance keeps the laughs going, while Ryder, O'Hara and Ortega gel well as three generations of family struggling to understand each other while trying to fathom their own paths.
But it is Willem Dafoe's portrayal of Wolf Jackson, a ghost detective who, in life, was a B movie action star, that is the real treat with his endless cups of coffee supplied by his glamourous assistant and cliched traits as he tries, in vain, to maintain order between the two worlds as Bettlejuice runs amok.
So why does Lydia summon the ghoul who remains obsessed by her? That would be due to Astrid's romantic interest in a young, enigmatic male, Jeremy Frazier, (Arthur Conti) whose interest isn't in her is not all it seems.
Now the odd couple are reunited, Lydia reluctantly agrees to marry Beetlejuice as long as he returns her daughter to the live world, an adventure which leads both Astrid and Lydia to the former's father, Richard (Santiago Cabrera), an encounter that draws mother and daughter closer together.
And the ending is Burton at his weirdly wonderful best!
John's Judgement - 8/10
A director in his comfort zone, an all-star cast, and enough freshness to keep newer audiences interested while staying true to its predecessor's originality, this excellent offering should not be missed by fans of the original, nor those first-time enthusiasts old enough to appreciate the tale.
However, with an ending offering one or two unanswered questions, much like not saying that name three times, I would keep this as a glorious two-film conclusion to this spookily satirical story.
Horribly hilarious!
