Review of Beetlejuice, directed by Tim Burton

For those of you who have never set foot virtually into this space, welcome! This is my blog, which serves as an online diary and digital archive of everything I’ve watched, read, and experienced in the past few years. Recently, it has become a source of income for me, and a crux as I faced unexpected unemployment after an opportunity I was told I had fell through. Feel free to click around if you liked this post.

In addition to this become a vital income source while I’m unemployed, I’ve been actually catching up on my content game. There are so many movies, television shows, and books I’ve watched and read throughout the years but never had the chance to review, so while I’ve had the free time, I’m dedicating more time to catching up on these reviews.

I recently discovered a backlog of movie and book reviews I’ve written throughout the years, and although these reviews are often half-written and need some major edits, I’m determined to go through them and update them. Plus it’s an excuse to revisit movies that I haven’t seen in a while!

Today’s review is focused on Beetlejuice. This review will probably come out in the spring of 2025, much later then when I am writing this due to the sheer amount of backlog I have, but I have fond memories of Beetlejuice. I was shown the movie as a kid and instead of being freaked out, I enjoyed it.

It even spurred me to go see the musical on Broadway when it was on the stage with Alex Brightman. So it seems fitting to return to the movie after so long as well.

Let’s get into the review—I know I can ramble in the introduction of these posts, so I don’t want to bore you with the semantics.

Ghosts haunt the living, and one young teenager gets caught up with a pesky poltergeist.

This movie begins with a couple named the Maitlands: Adam and Barbara. They live in Connecticut, and at the time of the movie, they have a large country home that no one actually wants them to live in. When Adam tells Barbara that he needs something from the town, they swerve off the road to avoid hitting a dug and end up in the river.

They get home, but they can’t remember how exactly they got there. Turns out when they try to leave the house again, there’s a desert outside with sandworms, and Barbara has to rescue Adam from that world. They realize they’re dead ghosts when they find a handbook for the dead in the house and they have no reflections in the mirror anymore.

The house is then sold to Charles Deetz, his daughter Lydia, and her stepmother Delia. Delia ends up gutting the house and completing redecorating, which the ghostly Maitlands hate. They find out about the exorcisms conducted by Betelgeuse, who promises to get rid of unwanted residents.

They head to the waiting room with other souls, but three months pass while they’re in there and the house is completely redone. The Maitlands are then told by their caretaker they have to wait 125 years in the house before going onto the afterlife, and she advises they scare out the Maitlands without Betelgeuse. Turns out Betelgeuse has a bad reputation.

Lydia then realizes she can see the ghosts, and the Maitlands summon Betelgeuse. They end up not liking him and decide to haunt the Deetz family themselves. At a dinner, they possess them and their guests, but this makes the guests entertained, not scared. Lydia’s dad decides to try and build a supernatural theme park even because of it.

Betelgeuse then terrorizes the family by becoming a giant snake, but Barbara puts him back into their town model in the attic. Their caretaker is mad they went to him too, and in the real world Lydia writes a suicide note. She finds Betelgeuse before that, and she almost summons him, but the Maitlands stop her.

The dinner guests come back looking for the ghosts, but the Maitlands refuse to do anything. Otho decides to do a seance to try and summon them, but turns out he did the wrong one and is actually send them to the final death. Lydia asks Betelgeuse for help, and he says she has to marry him in order for his services.

She agrees and he saves them. Now it’s time for the wedding, but the Maitlands want to banish Betelgeuse again. He sends them away, but at the wedding, Barbara arrives with a sandworm that eats him. Lydia’s family agrees to live with the Maitlands, and Betelgeuse is sent to the afterlife waiting room. As he tries to steal a ticket, the witch doctor shrinks his head.

Overall Thoughts

It’s a Tim Burton movie, and even after all of these years going by, I’d say this is still a classic. Sure, it’s pretty coded to the 1980s, which is kind of hard to avoid during that time period, but I think that the actual content of the movie and its meat is worth the classic status.

That said, I honestly don’t have much to say about this movie besides the fact it’s a good time. It’s gothic, it’s got personality, and there are quite a few moments that will have you laughing out loud despite the darker moments.

Go watch it if you haven’t already! I think you’ll find it worth it if you’re interested.

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