Review of Beetlejuice (1988) by Connor B — 22 Aug 2012

Beetlejuice will go down in the history of films as one of the finest horror-comedy films to ever grace the big screen due largely in part to the direction of Tim Burton and the performance of Michael Keaton as the titular character. Keaton only actually appears onscreen for about twenty minutes overall but it is what he does in that short time that makes the film what at is and he provides much of the laughs as the wacky, creepy, energetic and funny Beetlejuice. The film also stars Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffery Jones, Catherine O'Hara and a young Winona Ryder who all give stellar performances. Beetlejuice in my humble opinion is director Tim Burton's masterpiece.

The story starts with newly weds Adam and Barbara Maitland who are currently living in their dream home but when the young couple are tragically killed they return to their home as ghosts and find that they cannot leave the home or move on to the hereafter. With their property up for sale the Deetz family snatch it up at a bargain price the Maitland's are not happy and want them out immediately. When they learn that there are people in the afterlife that can help them they enlist the help of Juno to help scare them off but after several failed attempts Beetlejuice shows up and begins to cause chaos between the Deetz's and the Maitland's and all hell breaks loose.

Beetlejuice is one of Tim Burton's earliest films and upon its release it was met with mixed reviews and you really have to wonder why. The jokes, plot and cast are all terrific and the film itself has aged well and remains a popular favorite of many and Beetlejuice like all good things only seems to get better as the years go by and a sequel has even been planned but as a massive fan of Burton and Beetlejuice I think that is should be left alone as it will go down as a classic and that's a fact.