On Sept. 6, 2024, the long-awaited sequel to the iconic film “Beetlejuice” was released in theaters.

Grossing $110 million in its premiere weekend, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is the second-highest-grossing September film of all time.

On March 30, 1988, “Beetlejuice” was released in theaters. It follows the story of a newly dead couple, Adam and Barbara Maitland. They wish to kick out the people who have just moved into their home and involve Betelgeuse, aka Beetlejuice, a chaotic demon from the afterlife, to help them with their plan. The people who moved in were Lydia, Charles and Delia Deetz. At the end of the film, Beetlejuice goes back to the afterlife, and the Deetzes and Maitlands decide to all live together, sort of like one big family.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” doesn’t just follow the story of one character, but rather three. It follows Lydia, who is now an adult facing her past trauma regarding Beetlejuice. Astrid Deetz, Lydia’s daughter, is slowly coping with the loss of her father and her mother’s new relationship. In this movie, she wishes to be able to see her dad again. Additionally, Beetlejuice begins running away from his ex-wife, Delores, who wishes to suck out his soul. 

As the day to the movie’s release drew near, many fans couldn’t wait to see what the sequel to the original 36-year-old film would have to offer.

When the film started, it was clear it was going to be nothing like the original, despite bringing back a few characters from the original film, such as Beetlejuice, Lydia and Delia, mainly, with only a slight addition of Charles.

As the film progressed, the constant switches between what was happening in the mortal realm, such as Astrid crashing her bike through a fence leading her to meet Jeremy Frazier, one of the antagonists in the film, and the Netherworld, such as every time we see Delores, made the film feel a bit confusing at times. It felt as though the director couldn’t decide what to focus on.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” barely seemed to tie in and touch on the events of the first film and almost felt like a separate story entirely.

This movie did, however, succeed in establishing a relatively interesting plot with memorable characters and moments along with a similar type of comedy and strangeness that the original film had to offer.

In the end, while it felt like “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” told multiple stories all at once, it was still a fun watch to see all that would happen to these characters since the original.