Another year, another spooky season and Tim Burton is back at it again. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” premiered in theaters on Sept. 6, bringing back beloved characters like Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara’s Delia Deetz.

The opening credits brought back memories of the first film, with the credits rolling as the camera panned over Winter River, Connecticut.

The story begins in New York, where Lydia Deetz, now an adult, is shooting an episode of her show, “Ghost Houses.” However, this recording session is suddenly interrupted by a haunting vision of Beetlejuice, which startles Lydia, forcing her to take a quick break.

The first few minutes of the film help explain what viewers missed over the course of the film’s 30-year time jump. Lydia has a daughter named Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega; she no longer lives in her Winter River house and she is in a relationship with her manager, Rory.

The movie does an excellent job at establishing so much in a short amount of time. It’s clear that Lydia was deeply affected by her previous encounter with Beetlejuice; she seems on edge and more anxiety-ridden than she did as a teenager. There are mentions of her going to therapy and taking medication for her anxiety as well. Her relationship with her stepmother, Delia, has also gone through a significant change since viewers last saw them. The film brings this point up in several of their scenes together.

The film did a fantastic job at demonstrating how the passage of time brings about change while maintaining the franchise’s humor. The film is full of icky effects, leaving the audience laughing at Beetlejuice’s repulsive nature and absurdity.

Astrid was another lovely addition to the franchise, with her storyline sometimes paralleling her mother’s. Both suffer several losses throughout the course of the film, and Astrid demonstrates resentment towards her mother as Lydia did towards Delia. There’s even a scene where Astrid rides down Winter River on her bicycle, passing by places seen in the first movie like the school Lydia attended, Miss Shannon’s School for Girls and the bridge the Maitland’s swerved off.

There are many callbacks the audience had fun identifying, some of which further strengthen the character’s relationships with one another.

Even so, for everything the film did well, there were a few places where it fell short. There was a storyline including a new character, Delores, that didn’t fit very well into the movie’s narrative.
Beetlejuice revealed, in a very dramatic but comical sequence, that he met Delores while they both were still alive. They got married, and their relationship was blissful except for the fact that Delores wanted to kill him and consume his soul to gain immortality.

She poisoned him, but before she could do anything else Beetlejuice killed her. Delores was never given the opportunity to be anything more than a looming shadow over Beetlejuice. Delores could have been removed altogether without affecting much of the storyline. Though Delores didn’t live up to the potential the film set up for her, Monica Bellucci did a terrific job playing her.

With Lydia, Delores and Astrid, there seemed to be too many storylines happening all at once. Luckily, the film ties them all together and resolves them by the end, making up for the story’s chaos.

“Beetlejuice” is a fan favorite, from its cartoon, its 1988 film, the Broadway musical and the most recent film, fans old and new have a lot of material to enjoy. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was whacky, hilarious and overall unforgettable.