“Legacy sequels,” stories that occur decades after the original, can be unnecessarily meta, like The Matrix: Resurrections. They can merely allude to the original, like 2022’s Scream. Or they can be disconnected entirely, like Mad Max: Fury Road. I’m not quite sure what Tim Burton was aiming for here, but the oddball director is returning to his goofy roots and clearly having a ball. (He’s had a couple of missteps in Dumbo and Dark Shadows.)

A generation after the haunting events or the 1998 film, the Deetz family returns to their creepy house in Winter River for a funeral. Lydia (Winona Ryder, enjoying a bit of a career resurgence) has become a cheesy TV ghosthunter, much to the dismay of her oh so cool daughter (Jenna Ortega). Accompanying them is her mom (no movie with Catharine O’Hara in it can be bad), and Rory (a scene-stealing Justin Theroux), smarm incarnate, who hopes to marry Lydia for ulterior motives. Smaller undead parts go to Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci. The whole cast appears to be having fun, and it’s contagious. 

It starts out fairly chaotically, frantically juggling new plot lines, characters and villains. A Burton buffet. But the incoherence is peppered with numerous sight gags, throw-away jokes and celebrity cameos to keep the chuckles coming. The timing remains zippy throughout, and the SFX are top-notch. Michael Keaton’s belated title appearance halfway through doesn’t ease the chaos, but turns it up to 11, and by the closing wedding sequence, brilliantly set to “MacArthur’s Park,” you’ll be rolling in the aisles. 

Some people are calling this a cash grab. Geez, all sequels are cash grabs. But some are better than others. Go see this one; you’ll have freakishly good fun. And just in time for Halloween! (105 min)