After a 26-year absence from the big screen, Michael Keaton returned to the role that helped make him a pop culture superstar as a politically incorrect and meddling “bio-exorcist” named Beetlejuice, a gassy ghoul who rids houses of living people by scaring them away.
Ultra-high definition home theater owners can now enjoy his latest supernatural shenanigans in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, rated PG, PG-13, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 104 minutes, $39.95).
With Tim Burton thrilled to be back in the director’s chair, the movie first focuses on the Deetz family and the loss of the patriarch Jeffery, eaten by a shark after a plane crash.
Wife and SoHo artist Delia (Catherine O’Hara) reconnects with paranormal talk show host daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) and her level-headed teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega). She brings them all back to their haunted house in Winter River, Connecticut, around Halloween for the funeral and some quality time in the abode.
Meanwhile in the netherworld, Beetlejuice is enjoying a relaxing death as the afterlife call center manager when his soul-sucking dismembered ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci) reassembles herself and vows to take revenge on him for killing her.
The plot plays out as the ghoul notices daddy Deetz’s death and again stalks Lydia to marry him to escape from Delores, while Astrid meets a boy who has very bad intentions and only Beetlejuice can help Lydia save her.
Mr. Keaton does not disappoint, given full opportunity to stretch his comedic muscles with even a flashback offering Beetlejuice’s origin set in a chilling black-and-white scene during the Black Plague.
Fans of the original will love seeing the classic characters, callbacks to the original film and the adherence to retro-production values including some cool creature practical effects such as a baby Beetlejuice and stop-motion animation scenes starring those legendary sandworms.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a well-rounded Halloween treat enjoyable all year round.
4K in action: The screen-bursting UHD presentation brings the afterlife to, well, vivid life, further enhancing the neon-green colors of Beetlejuice’s office, or the dead’s neon-blue corridors and surroundings, and applying the same visual magic to the arid, sandy landscape of the sandworms’ home or the quiet streets of Winter River.
Spotlights that shine also include a corpse melting in a hazmat suit, an incinerated Santa Claus, a mummified train ticket agent (rotting away) and the detailed makeup effects that show staples holding Delores together.
Best extras: Warner Bros. does not disappoint with the digital goodies, starting with a solo optional commentary track starring Mr. Burton.
The director does offer a very breezy and conversational track, stunned that audiences wanted a sequel and happy to spend time just talking about the characters, cast, story and importance of practical effects.
He explains his connection to Wednesday Addams (he directed the Netflix series), asking his friend Danny DeVito to play a role and not diving too deep into the technical details but recalling the fun filmmaking process.
Next, revel in a 27-minute overview of the production that features plenty of face time with Mr. Burton as well as words from Mr. Keaton, Ms. Ryder and Ms. O’Hara, as they all were very nervous about how fans would accept the sequel but had a great time making the film.
An additional five featurettes (roughly 50 minutes) cover the creation of Beetlejuice as mainly explained by Mr. Burton and Mr. Keaton; an introduction to three generations of the Deetz women; designing the afterlife; a breakdown of the “MacArthur Park” dance sequence; and a detailed look at the practical character effects and use of stop-motion animation puppets.
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