14. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, 2024

It’s been over 30 years since Tim Burton’s creepy-crawly yet hysterical Beetlejuice turned haunted house tropes on its head, and now we have a sequel that revisits the beloved characters from the original film and their New England house on the hill. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a lot more girl power, which is great to see: Winona Ryder’s Lydia, who has evolved from a gloomy teenager into a psychic TV star struggling with anxiety and pill-popping; Catherine O’Hara’s melodramatic artist, who has transitioned from sculpture to multimedia art; and Jenna Ortega, who is just as glum as Lydia was at that age, resenting her mother’s fame and ability to talk to every other ghost except for her father. It’s a riot to see Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse again, of course, but the modernization of his humor makes it feel less lacerating and sharp as the original, and the whole subplot about his ex-wife Delores feels shoehorned in.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice attempts to explore deeper themes of toxic relationships, but it never stops rushing through different storylines, comedic gags or nostalgic callbacks to allow room to emotionally connect with the characters. Some winks to the first movie are great, such as Delia’s old sculptures now residing at Astrid’s private school, thanks to her funding the arts center, and the return of the stop-motion sandworms. But others, like “Day-O” being sung at Charles’ funeral, make zero sense. It’s great fun to be back in this macabre netherworld, but Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ultimately feels like an empty echo chamber of a better past.