Beetlejuice

The 1988 American fantasy horror comedy, Beetlejuice, still remains a beloved classic for many to this day for its off-beat quirky visual style and tone, delightfully larger than life performances and characters that waver between innocently wholesome and bizarrely crude, and its engaging premise that is both complex and simple in the best way possible. It acted as a launching off point for director Tim Burton, proved to be successful for critics and audiences (even managing to secure an Oscar for Best Makeup) and has still remained relevant in pop culture to this day with an animated series, video games, a very popular 2018 stage musical starring Alex Brightman in the titular role, and even a follow-up sequel starring Jenna Ortega coming in late 2024. Much like a restless spirit, it seems this project had more things to share before passing on and its one that’s still great to look back on all these years later. Barbara and Adam (played by Geena Davis and Alex Baldwin) are the idyllic couple living an idyllic life in a small country home in Connecticut, but that life is literally cut short after a tragic car accident costs them their lives. Learning that they are bond to this house after death, this becomes a problem when a new family, The Deetz’, move in from New York City. This includes former real estate agent, Charles Deetz (played by Jeffrey Jones), his second wife and self-proclaimed sculptor, Delia (played by Catherine O’Hara) and extreme teen goth daughter, Lydia (played by Winona Ryder). Being unable to scare this new family out of their house due to sucking at being scary and with no assistance from the higher ups in the ghost world, the couple are drawn to the attention of a ‘’bio-exorcist’’ named Betelgeuse (played by Michael Keaton), who offers to remove the Deetz’ in a more ‘’permanent’’ manner, but due to his obnoxious and crass demeanor and the couple’s attachment to Lydia, they want nothing to do with this demon, not realizing that he is willing to do anything to get what he wants, which seems to be Lydia. Feeling like classic Tim Burton in the best way possible, this film may not be the most jaw-dropping experience, but with great performances, very impressive production value, and a timeless feel that really takes advantage of its humorously sinister tone, it’s definitely one that will last.

The manner in which this film is handled from a tonal level is pretty perfect for what it’s trying to portray, as it includes enough ghostly imagery and frightening elements to provide enough of a creep factor that would help it stand out, yet the way in which the people interact with these oddities, plus the pace of the film along with the wild yet still inventive visual design makes it delightful in the same sense and sucks its audience in more rather than push them away. The script for this film written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren is pretty good at taking this premise (constructed by McDowell and Larry Wilson) and breathing this likeably chaotic energy into it which results in something wholly different for the genre at the time that wasn’t as commonly seen outside of something like Ghostbusters. The world (both living and dead) can be pretty cartoonish and contains a lot of aspects that at face value can seem a little complicated with how the dead operate and how their world works, yet it never feels hard to digest, the situations are always clear to grasp and are easy to follow thanks to the character-driven nature of the plot, the rules of this world are never too extreme to be confusing but are still cryptic and unique enough to feel inventive and showcased in a way that would make you want to see and learn more, and the film constantly keeps this upbeat and fast-paced mentality against this arguably tragic and somber premise to create something really unique and fun. The original script written by McDowell and Wilson was much harsher, meaner, and more graphic in nature, but it was retooled and softened a bit by Skaaren and Tim Burton to make it more appealing for more audience members and provide a more playful centre to this premise, which has worked out in the long run and is even in the perfect sweet spot for someone like Burton who would grow to thrive on movies of this variety and tone. Despite this only being his second feature-length directing job (his first being Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure), he really does a lot of heavy-lifting in this movie and brings all his usual tricks to the table and add so much to the overall experience and personality of the film, like his obsession with gothic environments and themes, oddball scenarios that can be equally abstract and also universal, bizarre people that often lean on being outsiders, and a tone that can be just as crazy as it can be atmospheric. The film’s minimal running time leaves the movie with little time to drag its feet and really takes advantage of every second, the actors are perfectly delivered and result in some truly memorable performances, the visual design ranges from practical genius to computer-generated awkwardness, and its delightfully macabre in both a comedic and a creepy manner. This acted as a very good first presentation for what Burton could do if left to his own devices.

The cast for this film is packed with a ton of character actors who bring so much to these roles that are already written quite effectively in terms of personality and purpose, yet the way they’re performed make them all the more engaging. Alec Baldwin and Genna Davis act as the perfect stabilizing element in this film as their rosy-cheeked and picturesque demeanor make their dive into the crazy realm of the afterlife with its variety of disturbed and aggressive creations all the more fun, provides fantastic contrast, and it makes you very easily root for this wholesome couple to get some semblance of peace without having to resort to typical ghostly means (and even lose their common decency). The Deetz family are wonderfully performed and each actor gets a moment to really show themselves off; Jeffrey Jones’ almost forceful insistence on being positive and content away from his past lifestyle and work is fun to watch, Catherine O’Hara is fantastic as the high-strung mother-in-law so obsessed with self-image and her ‘’questionable’’ artwork that she feels like she’ll go insane with just a slight push, Glenn Shadix as an interior designer who helps inspect as well as remodel the house has this great patronizing and sardonic tone that makes for a lot of good lines, and Winona Ryder’s Lydia is so enjoyable moody with her extreme wardrobe attire and delightfully morbid attitude makes her a fun role to watch but also carries that child-like naivete which still makes her likeable. Clearly the most important character to get right was the character of Betelgeuse (weirdly misspelled in the title of the film) and Michael Keaton was given a lot of attention for his performance in this film, and it makes sense. This kind of fast-talking supernatural entity was something that wasn’t really done previous to this film, and you can feel how he inspired several other similar characters and performers later on down the line, so that is an accomplishment in itself, but overall, his performance can be a little messy at times. He’s clearly giving it his all and his dedication and energy in this role is pretty engaging to watch and does result in a pretty well defined character, but the crassness of his character mixed with not a lot of his jokes really landing outside of a few (mostly anything visual is pretty great) keeps him feeling solid but nothing outstanding.

Much like any other Tim Burton project, this film is simply a marvel to look at and its nice that whether in the living world or in the afterlife realm, both environments are wonderfully designed, constructed, and realized to result in some very inviting locations. The production design by Bo Welch really leans into the bizarre and uncertain, creating sets that leap off the screen with how intricate they are, how wild their tones of color can be and how even a basic looking environment is made just that bit more engaging from a unique angle presented by cinematographer Thomas E. Ackerman, who provides for some simple but fun shots that truly feel like they use the gothic tone to its advantage with the use of shadows, lighting and sometimes just even its environment. The costume design by Aggie Guerard Rodgers and especially the make-up on all these deceased people provided by Ve Neil, Steve La Porte and Robert Short is very impressive and makes each new person look original and fun, with the added element of each individual looking a specifically grotesque manner due to mirroring how they died leads to a lot of gruesome, yet wildly creative designs. Despite the technical achievement on a lot of the practical elements for this film, it’s also home to its fair share of awkward and even legitimately bad looking effects (especially whenever it has to use stop-motion or a blue-screen). This seemingly came from Burton’s desire to emulate the B movies he grew up with when he was a kid where the quality of the effects would dip and be uneven throughout yet still produce something visually memorable, so it has an explanation but is still an odd decision to say the least. The film is weirdly not that funny from a dialogue perspective as nothing about the writing is particularly creative or even that inventive when it comes to the jokes, and instead relies on the spontaneous-ness of the actors, the abstract nature of its world and its premise, and the often surreal and unexpected visuals and actions to result in a chuckle. The musical score by Danny Elfman really feels like it perfectly captures the tone of the film; being very wild and kooky, featuring a heavy party side, and feeling nice and chaotic, while still remembering to be spooky in vibe, atmospheric in mood, and even a little threatening underneath all the fun madness. There’s a nice element of this film that doesn’t feel dated, as nothing about its characters, world, or even writing feel like a specific period of time, which helps the movie become more universal and appealing anytime its viewed. Even the usage of classic songs rather than modern numbers helps the film remain in this nice timeless bubble and even arguably adds to the absurdity of certain situations (seeing an entire group of uppity socialites breaking out into a choreographed dance number of Day O is pretty great and definitely not expected).

Beetlejuice acted as a shooting off point for several different people as well as launched its own media frenzy that influenced other movies and properties in the future, and for all of this to come from a relatively low-budgeted supernatural horror-comedy directed by a newcomer director is pretty cool to see. This kind of tone and style is more commonly seen and accepted nowadays, but to see it applauded and appreciated back then and with several future Burton projects receiving the same treatment, showed that these kind of wild ideas did have a place in the mainstream cinematic space and people were craving for them. This film is just a good time plain and simple, featuring likeable characters, solid performances, great visuals and production quality, an entertaining and timeless tone and a premise that takes advantage of itself yet doesn’t get lost and over-complicated itself either. Its doesn’t blow any minds with its ideas or go out of its way to be daring and complex, but it doesn’t need to be and it can stay nice and happy as the special little film that it is. Make sure to keep the name to mind but never say it three times, this anti-haunting is in need of further inspection.