The juice is loose and we’re not talking about O.J. Decades after her first run in with the demon Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton)—colloquially known as “Beetlejuice,”— Lydia (Winona Ryder) has moved on with her life, finding success as host of the popular show “Ghost House” with her producer boyfriend, Rory (Justin Theroux), yet is beginning to experience flashbacks of the chaos agent. The death of her father brings her and her stepmother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara) back to her hometown of Winter River. Before the funeral proceedings, they pick up Lydia’s daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who has harbored a dislike for her mother since her dad’s passing.

Longing hearts lead to susceptibility, and by chance, Astrid is shown a way to reconnect with her father. Unfortunately, this puts her into the afterlife with no real route for escaping her new fate. Desperate for help after finding this realization, Lydia calls out the name she hoped she’d never have to again three times in Betelgeuse in order to save her daughter.

With 36 years between releases, it is easy to envision all the ways that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice could go bad following its well-liked predecessor. So the simple fact that the final product turns out so relatively well is a welcomed surprise. Make no mistake, there is a lot going on, but the trifecta presence of Keaton, O’Hara, and director Tim Burton helps to mitigate some of the script chaos so that it ends up more of a nuisance than a noose.

Stepping back into such a zany character nearly half his lifetime ago without missing a beat is an impressive feat Keaton pulls off. Sometimes when individuals return to eccentric roles that were a big part of who they are, there’s a resistance for one reason or another (see: Eddie Murphy not totally rediscovering the pitch in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, and Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber To) to immerse themselves once again. Beginning with “go,” Keaton is having a blast, with a manic aura that once again does a lot in relatively limited screen time. Another returnee in O’Hara also slides right back into the universe like she’s always been in it, and she has some of the movie’s most humorous lines and moments. May feel like I’m glossing over Ryder who is also a returnee, but this version of Lydia is sadly one of the forgettable aspects of the film.

The last of the meaningful returning trifecta is Burton. One of the most uniquely stylistic auteurs of all time, his Gothic, unorthodox flourishes are found throughout whether it be homages to Italian cinema, the balance of color within dark aesthetics, and a creative claymation sequence. All in all, it’s a welcomed back-to-basics presentation that leans much more on practical effects and costume design than computer-generated imagery. In spots though, his direction feels as frenzied as the plot (more on that soon), but one expects a Beetlejuice movie to be a bit helter-skelter-ly

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is crammed to the gills with scattershot story threads. By the end, I suppose they all converge—if haphazardly with a heavy dose of callbacks—to get wrapped up enough, but for the bulk of the runtime, the script written by the trio of Seth Gramane-Smith, Alfred Gough, and Miles Millar are all doing their own thing with little that binds them together. There’s Betelgeuse’s scorn-seeking ex-wife Dolores (Monica Bellucci’s character introduction is exceptional, but quickly becomes the least impactful plot line of the movie), Astrid in her own romantic subplot, and Rory looking to take things to the next level with Lydia. On their own they are all funny, and the writers know how to create suggestive subtle slices of dialogue that adults will get and the little ones will chuckle with. Just dong expect them to amalgamate for a while.

While the plotting can be considered ghoulish, on pure, frenetic, give-no-f**ks fun, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an exuberant nightmare. After 36 years, showtime in the afterlife is still a good time.

B-

Photo credits go to variety.com, geekculture.co, and deadline.com.