thegrizzlyben

If you're in for an easy cheesy time with a small portion of gross, this campy horror should be right up your street.

Director Brandon Espy proves to use he has some fairly good taste in horror, taking inspiration from classics such as Nightmare on Elm Street (Dream Warriors and onwards, I'd assume) and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2, with a sprinkle of Candyman, to mash together a familiar yet still original horror experience.

Elvis Norasco brings us Mr Crocket, a candidate for everyone's future nightmares. He delivers the punches with what he was given, and certainly amps up the energy every time he's onscreen. With enough development, he could soon become a horror culture classic (provided we have any sequels on the horizon, of course.)

Jerrika Hilton comes in strong as our leading lady, again giving us the best with what she was given. Her performance is solid from start to finish. Kristolyn Lloyd, in a supporting role, was exceptional, proving that minimal screen time means nothing when you have what it takes.

The practical effects and horror puppetry are both very welcome additions, proving that there's genuine hope for the creative industry, and that CGI doesn't always belong in a horror film. I only wish we'd seen more of it.

The films shortcomings are simple, the writing needed some fine-tuning, some dialogue felt a little basic, and it would have been fun to explore some of the horrors behind the world of Mr Crocket a little better. While I also liked the setting in the early 90s, I could have done with just a tiny bit more 90s nostalgia bait (I'm a sucker for it, what can I say, if you're gonna go 90s, go hard or go home, right?)

Over all, it was a fun experience. I almost wrote it off because of the terrible reviews and I'm glad I didn't. Is it a perfect horror movie? Nope. Will it entertain you if you're bored? Maybe. The only way you'll really know is if you give it a chance, I know I'm glad I did.

⭐⭐⭐(1/2)

I have to admit, despite having been a long-time fan of director Tim Burton's early work, I had fairly low hopes for this new entry on its announcement. But not because I'm overly precious about its predecessor (although it is a classic), but moreso the concern that no one, even Burton himself, could re-capture the same magic and charm of the first Beetlejuice film.

So you can imagine how pleased I was, and how genuinely relieved I am, to be completely wrong.

Beetlejuice 2 has just as much wit as the first, with a bit more blood and guts, and a big fat juicy heart right in the middle. The artistic style and gothic soul of Tim Burton is fully intact in every frame, giving us a stylistically seamless transition from the first.

Also kudos to the writing team for providing a fresh new story, with just the right amount of nostalgia for those of us who needed it. Finally, a modern sequel that feels original, with a purpose beyond cheap throwbacks.

My minor negative points are for purely selfish reasons - I wanted more. The film clocks in at roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes, which is usually perfect, but in this case I'd have liked a little more time to dig into some of the story. Nothing is left unresolved, however some moments are quickly corrected to compromise on pace.

Over all, a marvellously devilish experience from Tim Burton, the cast and crew have excelled and created a spooky, funny, filthy movie that I will more than happily watch over-and-over again in the future. This one will sit neatly in everyone's go-to Halloween film collection for many generations to come.