Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review says nostalgic viewers will enjoy it, but it may be tough on newbies.

The first few minutes of the film set us up for something freakily familiar and fun. We get a drone’s eye view of a quaint, colorful New England town in autumn, accompanied by a Danny Elfman whimsical scary movie theme, as usual, dominated by a jolly tuba.

It feels like the ideal setup to take us back to Winter River and the “Murder House,” the setting of the original Beetlejuice. But it quickly becomes confusing and frantic, and you begin to wonder if it’s you or the movie that’s a little off-kilter.

Just know that all the characters you may not remember have either died, grown up, passed on or are still wrecking raucous havoc in the underworld.

Lydia (Winona Ryder), for example, is now a widow, a mom, and a reality host with her own show that explores the supernatural. She has a high school aged daughter named Astrid (Jenna Ortega) who is also drawn to the dark side, and her step mother-in-law, (Catherine O’Hara) is still flitting about doing otherworldly performance art.

A death in the family brings them all back together in Winter River, which is a direct conduit through death’s door. Beyond and below it, Beetlejuice and his ghoulish companions bide their time until it becomes evident what comes next.

When the green haired shows up in the real world after being summoned by his true love Lydia, who, in desperate need calls his name three times, all hell breaks loose and mayhem ensues. Rescues are in order as people pass back and forth from one world to the ghostly other.

Beetlejuice gets a little crazy

The pace ramps up quickly, building to a crescendo and staying there for the entirety of the film. Much is lost in the chaos, including interesting plot points that would help the film make more sense. Promising characters played by the talented likes of Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci are sketchily drawn and pointlessly tossed aside.

There’s a bit of a burden placed on the audience, as director Tim Burton seemingly assumes that we’ll remember every gag, gimmick and ghost from the original, and revel in them all. C’mon Tim! Beetlejuice came out in 1988, almost 36 years ago. We’ve seen a few movies since then!

Some of those old  contrivances really don’t age well, especially if we can’t recall how fond we were of them in the past. A fresher take would have been welcome, instead of leaning on decades old laughs.

One thing that did age well, or not at all, is Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice. He’s still as funny and feisty and odd and inappropriate as ever, and like last time, we were left wanting more.

My best advice to you, if you’d like maximum enjoyment from the long awaited sequel, is to watch the original shortly before you see it in theaters. I’m thinking the fond nostalgia might overwhelm the frenzy and feeling of trying just a little too hard.

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 44 minutes

If this review scares up a desire to see the film, get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review says nostalgic viewers will enjoy it, but it may be tough on newbies.