A Plot Synopsis of The Movie ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’
Written by Michael Lee
*All Media used in this article is courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
It is thirty six years after the events of Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz, now a grown woman, hosts Ghost House, a paranormal talk show produced by her television producer boyfriend, Rory. While the two are tapping a segment of Ghost House, Lydia is still haunted by Betelgeuse, seeing visions of him within the talk show audience.
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Delia, Lydia’s stepmother, arrives to inform Lydia about the sudden death of her father, Charles. The two women head to Winter River, to arrange the funeral, but stop by a boarding school to pick up Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, to whom she is estranged.
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We learn that Lydia and Astrid’s father, Richard, had gotten a divorce, only for him to disappear in South America somewhere two years later. Astrid resents Lydia for this and the two’s relationship is strained because of it. After the funeral procession of Charles, Rory finds the time to propose to Lydia, which she delightfully accepts.
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Astrid, clearly upset, flees, only to meet a boy named Jeremy, to whom she is smitten with. But, on Halloween night, Astrid discovers that Jeremy is indeed a ghost, who needs Astrid’s help to restore his own life. Jeremy also reveals that he can help her reunite with Richard, her father, to which Astrid agrees. The two find a copy of Handbook For The Recently Deceased and recite an incantation from within it, allowing the two to enter the afterlife.
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Lydia manages to discover Jeremy and Astrid’s plan and decides to call upon Betelgeuse for help in rescuing Astrid from the afterlife. Betelgeuse agrees, but on the condition that Lydia and him marry. His intention is to inhabit the mortal world and escape his ex-wife named Delores, who is hell-bent on hunting him throughout the afterlife. Lydia agrees, although reluctantly.
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Lydia and Betelgeuse enter the afterlife through the train station to attempt to stop Astrid and Jeremy from taking the Soul Train, which transports souls into the Beyond. But while reading the incantation from the Handbook For The Recently Deceased, Jeremy had tricked Astrid into switching places with Jeremey so he is able to reclaim his human self, while Astrid would end up in the Beyond, never to return. Jereemy escorts Astrid to the platform and Astrid notices that one of the employees looks like her father, Richard.
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Lydia and Betelgeuse manage to rescue Astrid, but taking the train’s emergency exits has the three exported to one of Saturn’s moons. They encounter a sand worm but are then rescued by Richhard, Astrid’s father and Lydia’s ex-husband. Richard escorts Lydia and Astrid back to Winter River.
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Jeremy, now attempting to cross over into the world of the living on his own, is apprehended by Betelgeuse and is banished to Hell. Delia, after being bitten by a snake, is sent to the afterlife. Betelgeuse enlists Delia’s help to return back to the mortal world.
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At the Winter River church, Rory awaits Lydia at the altar, ready to wed. Betelgeuse, along with Delia, hijacks the wedding and manages to inject Rory with a truth serum, which has Rory confessing that he is only in it for Lydia’s money and nothing else. This understandably angers Lydia, and she proceeds to punch Rory, knocking him out. Betelgeuse prepares to wed Lydia instead but before this can happen, Delores, Betelgeuse’s ex-wife, interjects.
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Astrid summons a sand worm into the church, using the Handbook for the Recently Deceased as her guide to do so. Betelgeuse deflects the sandworm and instead it eats Rory and Delores whole. The entire ceremony is deemed inadmissible as Lydia and Astrid reveal that Betelgeuse violated both his own contract and the rules of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased. Upon hearing this, Betelgeuse inflates and pops like a balloon.
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Delia, now preparing to cross over, is comforted by Lydia and Astrid as the two say goodbye. Delia then reunites with the remains of her husband Charles on the platform of the Soul Train as the two head off into the Beyond.
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Later, Lydia is back filing Ghost House with Astrid by her side. The two vacation to Dracula’s Castle to film an episode and Astrid meets Vlad, an employee to whom she is smitten. Vlad and Astrid later wed, with Lydia to bear witness. Lydia, still shaken from encountering Betelgeuse, has a nightmare in which Astrid bears Betelgeuse’s child. Lydia awakens, terrified as the screen fades to black.
