Tim Burton's spooky tongue-in-cheek vision effectively sells this Gothic horror comedy in life

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2017)

Mixing elements of Gothic horror and comedy can be a tricky stunt to pull off. Director Tim Burton however, manages to do just that in more than ways one. And if you know the director well enough, you'd know that resorting to usual Hollywood conventions isn't part of his norm. We are talking about a director takes his quirky vision and places it full-throttle to create an entertaining horror-comedy feast that supplements both laughs and scares. His vision is what makes this quirky, yet effectively engaging Gothic horror piece work. Imagine a world where Michael Keaton played a goofy green- haired lunatic that made The Joker look like a cute little snuggle doll by comparison. This concept is brought to life in this infectiously bizarre comedy- horror salad that see Burton exercising his signature style to full extent, pushing the boundaries of youngsters' dark imaginations, but not without having his tongue in his cheek. This film follows Adam (played by Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (played by Geena Davis), a married couple who are driving on a bridge when they swerve off-course while dodging a poor little dog. When the fall ends up killing them, they wake up in the afterlife where their house is being a sold by a family consisting couple Charles and Delia Deetz (played by Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara respectively) and their emo teen daughter Lydia (played by Winona Ryder). Since they (Adam and Barbara) are ghosts, Charles and Deila can't see or hear them. However, it is Lydia who has the mysterious ability to communicate with them. In an effort they scare the family out of there house, the couple must cross paths with an erratic, fast-talking clown only known as Beetlejuice (played by Michael Keaton). It is only too bad that the clown has a more devious plan they do more harm than good.
Wacky and peculiar are the most suitable words to describe what kind of ride you are in for. But as this is Tim Burton, bizarre is what most people should expect. This features Michael Keaton in a role that defies against the usual good guy tapestry that he would resort to later on his career. Keaton exercises the role of the quirky clown-being with appropriate over-the-topness and macabre-type comedic energy that lends plenty of humor to leave audiences snickering beneath the dark Gothic nature of his character and the film itself. The movie has moments of laughter, but most certainly not in the way that will leave you busting your gut with guffaws. After all, it is dark humor that defines the underlining comedic tone while the spooky imagery triumphs over the absurd wackiness. To be more specific, the vast portion of the imagery lies within the world of the afterlife where Adam and Barbara encounter deceased victims who have faced very unpleasant deaths such as a man who has been burnt to meat, an elderly lady who smokes and exhales through the slit in her throat, a headless man, and a later sequence when one of the characters is tasked to pop her eyes out of her skull. And yet this film somehow managed to pass with a PG-rating in an era that introduced the PG-13 rating by the release of the war film 'Red Dawn', not to mention that Keaton also drops an F-bomb in one scene. Nonetheless, Tim Burton brings an expert hand at keeping things moving, and Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis sell themselves in their roles just fine. If there is any detriment to Burton's vision, it is, of course, time as the special effects he incorporates some sequences such as the lead couple being chased by a giant sandworm has grown hideously outdated. And the musical number at the end feels somewhat out of place. But whether Burton is trying to frighten us with his nightmarish imagery or amuse us with the quirky nature of the characters, particularly the eponymous character, he is always inviting us in for the laughs.
Beetlejuice is an entertaining piece that mixes comedy and horror in an eccentric fashion that truly works. With all grotesqueness that showers the film, some may question whether it makes for an appropriate children's movie. For my answer, probably not without parental guidance unless the youngsters who dare to watch this are immune to nightmares induced from Tim Burton's campy visual imagery. But with the macabre humor injected into the film's veins, there is enough camp to make for a nice treat for both adults and preteen children alike.