Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe

Directed by Tim Burton

Warner Bros., out now

After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. 

Tim Burton’s sequel to his 1988 sophomore feature could never be accused of being a quick cash-in after such a long wait, but is it worth the wait? Yes. Kind of.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sort of sequel that is not needed, and doesn’t particularly drive the story forward, but comes with so much good will that it’s just fun to be back in the company of these wacky characters. The screenplay is by Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and its genius casting having that popular show’s star Jenna Ortega on board as Winona Ryder’s daughter.

Ryder’s Lydia is hosting a ‘Most Haunted’-style reality ghost show, but starts spotting Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice in the audience. This is a harbinger of things going wrong in the afterlife, as Beetlejuice’s dismembered ex-wife Monica Bellucci (a soul-sucker) is accidentally resurrected by Danny DeVito’s janitor, setting her off on a trail of vengeance. In the real world, Catherine O’Hara’s Delia is mourning the recent loss of her husband, the late Jeffrey Jones, while Justin Theroux as a slimy TV producer makes his move on the vulnerable Lydia.

Add to this a supernatural TV detective (Willem Dafoe having a whale of a time), a suspicious love interest for Ortega, and you realise that there’s an awful lot going on. And if I’m honest, it’s a bit scrappy and all over the place. Some of the jokes exist purely for the punchlines, but there are throwbacks to both the original movie and Tim Burton’s oeuvre, and even references to Mario Bava and Brian De Palma. One audio cue towards the end had me laughing out loud – I wonder how many people will get it?

Verdict: The ’Juice is back, and if you’re prepared for a daft and relentless time, there’s much to enjoy among the messy chaos. 7/10

Nick Joy