Dead. And LOVING it!

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2006)

God knows many have tried, yet only ridiculously few filmmakers succeeded in bringing horror-comedies that are actually funny AND genuinely macabre at the same time! And yet, since the beginning of his career already, Tim Burton manages to pull this off seemly without the slightest bit of effort. "Beetle Juice" in particular is the most spirited horror-comedy I ever saw and possibly even one of the best comedies of the entire 80's decade! It's an incredibly energetic movie, and you gladly allow the characters and situations to go immensely over-the-top. I don't know how he does it or what his secret is, but in a Tim Burton movie, there are equal amounts of devotion going out to the comedy aspects and the make-up effects! By the rather gruesome make-up art, you certainly can't derive that "Beetle Juice" is also a light-headed comedy! The portrayal of the "afterlife" is pretty eerie and notably the séance-sequence is quite frightening. Despite originally intended to be much more horrific, "Beetle Juice" is definitely creepy at times. It often looks like an obscure comic book story that came to life! The happily married Maitlands  Alex Baldwin and Geena Davis - both pass away in a car accident but have to remain ghost-residents in their own house for another 125 years. This wouldn't be such a problem, if it weren't for the new owners, an eccentric New York family with the intention of giving the old-fashioned nest an avant-garde makeover. In order to scare them away, they might require the help of the too-much-too-handle bio exorcist Betelgeuse. This immediately turns out to be a bad idea, as Betelgeuse is an unscrupulous, boisterous and totally deranged lunatic. This crazy flick terrifically stood the test of time and still benefits from its great music and excellent acting performances. All the players are great, but obviously Michael Keaton will be remembered most for his sensational role as Betelgeuse. He swears, transforms into snake-like monsters, dances atop graves, visits miniature brothels and fires off some of the most comical one-liners in the history of cinema, including: "Go ahead, make my Millennium" and "I'm the ghost with the most, babe". Thanks to him, you worry a lot less about having to die one day