“The afterlife is so random,” Jenna Ortega’s stroppy teen Astrid sighs midway through Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel. She could say the same about the movie she’s in.
This 36-years-in-the-making follow-up – which is premiering out of competition at the Venice Film Festival – is scattershot work. There are wonderful gags and some enjoyably grotesque clowning from star Michael Keaton, while Burton’s visual inventiveness hasn’t deserted him. But his ability to tell a coherent story is very much in doubt.
Several different storylines overlap here. The Deetz family, haunted by ghosts in the first film after they move into an enormous home in Connecticut, have reunited for the funeral of their patriarch, who’s apparently been eaten by a shark while on a birdwatching expedition.
This story is from the August 29, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the August 29, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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