Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Stars: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenny Ortega, Catherine O'Hara, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Justin Theroux, Burn Gorman, Danny DeVito, Arthur Conti

Director: Tim Burton

Alas, poor Beetlejuice, I knew him well. For this attempt to breathe new death into the spectral exploits of the' bio-exorciser' only goes to prove that you can't teach an old ghoul new tricks.

The now-veteran Keaton (the original film came out in 1988) is back is the madcap, macabre and vaguely scary 'ghost with the most', in his familiar striped suit and floppy tie. But he's about the only member of the cast (and screenwriters) who doesn't seem to be going through the motions, forcing laughs that are barely there.

Alfred Gough, Seth Grahame-Smith and Miles Millar's witches' brew of a screenplay, risibly thin, takes us back to Winter River, where three generations of the Deetzes return after a family tragedy, comprising Mom (O'Hara), the once Gothic weirdo Lydia (Ryder), now a headline-hitting ghostbuster, and her rebellious teenage daughter Astrid (Ortega, the breakout star of Burton's TV series Wednesday).

Inevitably, Astrid all too soon reopens the door to the Afterlife and, before you can say Jack Skellington, up pops the ghoulishly mischievous Betelgeuse.

Dafoe, DeVito and the glamorous Bellucci crop up in cameo roles, but all are ill-served by their lacklustre material. Though bound, you would think, to make a healthy profit, it's disappointing to say the very least.

David Quinlan

USA 2024. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Colour (unspecified).
105 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 1, Swearing 1.

Review date: 09 Sep 2024