After 10 or so times I watched it , still engaging - every fantasy fan should see it

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2003)

Directed by Tim Burton
Written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton
A brilliant, fascinating and imaginative black comedy by Tim Burton, who proved unambiguously his great talents and went on to direct Batman . Beetlejuice is a satire dealing with the supernatural and is a modern fairy tale. Simultaneously it has a good share of hilarious moments and creepy scenes (like the snake scene).
Although the basic plot may be regarded as quite original and funny, I am somehow compelled to point out that the basic concept seems to be loosely influenced by Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost," a rather dark fairy tale for kids (in precisely the same tradition of Roald Dahl's creepy books like "The Witches," "Matilda," "James and the Giant Peach" etc.) . It contains the hopeless attempts of an undead British lord who haunts his castle for centuries and callously scares off or even murders in gruesome ways all the subsequent habitants of the castle (including his very own descendants) only to fail to boot out a wacky American family of Republicans , who have bought the castle and have taken over his residence. Failed efforts to show them his presence include post-midnight roaming in the hallways hauling a rusty creaking metal chain and breaking the tea set in the living room. Sounds familiar?
The film starts out as your typical romantic sitcom with your happy couple Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) being the ideal young husband and wife, full of love for each other and dreams. They live in a big house on an idyllic grassland near a cute little American hometown. The first plot twist comes 3 minutes later when Adam and Barbara are killed in a peculiar ironic sequence (which seems to have be taken by a Wile E. Coyote cartoon). Their spirits return in the house without remembering what happened. After a short period of research they realize that they are now ghosts and they have to endure a transitional state during which they are stuck in the house for good. As if there weren't enough problems already, a typical American yuppie called Charles Deitz (Jeffrey Jones) buys the house and sees the perfect chance to have a calm relaxing period from his anxious life in N.Y. Along with him comes his neurotic second wife Delia (Catherine O' Hara) who regards her stone monstrosities of statues as skilled art and will do anything to promote them, and his daughter from the first marriage Lydia (an alarmingly pale Winona Ryder in one of her first acting steps). Lydia is a miniature of a Black Widow, dressed in black and self acknowledges her existence as "strange and unusual." She hates her step-mother as much as Delia hates her. The two ghosts want to get rid of the intruders: after several unsuccessful "hauntings" they have no other option but to contact a weird "Bio-Exorcist" called Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to help them. This propagates a series of uncontrollable situations which culminate into a hilarious climax.
Beetlejuice is truly one of the most visually stunning and imaginative movies ever seen. Where to begin....well the cinematography is very good. The scenes in the afterlife world which depicts it as a surrealistic public service full of bureaucratic hints and tricks, is wonderful and gives us a strong satirical aspect of our world ( HELL! - even in the afterlife you need priority numbers !!!) along with beautiful-for-the-eye scenes. The director of photography made an excellent job with his colorful lighting. The sets, costumes and make up are exceptional. Who can forget the scorched "Cigar Man" who "is trying to quit?" Who can forget the room with the pit of "exorcised souls" with the Escherish designs? Who can forget the ending sequence which is simultaneously creepy (an occult exorcism with paganistic spells taking place on a stormy night) and funny with Beetlejuice gatecrashing the session, evoking chaos.
The SFX team really outdid themselves. For a 1988 movie we have some of the most original SFX to appear in screen for years. Further than the afterlife sequence we have hilarious scenes in Beetlejuice's miniature graveyard or the notorious whorehouse sequence or the climactic metamorphosis of the Beetlejuice to a neon lighted sparkling fun-fair hammer which sends the guests to the ceiling (the entire movie seems to be a roller-coaster with a "terror train," dark and kind of scary but great fun). Not to mention Delia's sculptures which come to life. There are other examples but I think I gave away too many spoilers. The music score by Danny Elfman gives the right two-natured feeling of a horror carnival the film has. There are some great existential moments which have a dreary moody feeling like when Lydia discovers the miniature city in the attic fully illuminated by white lights. The performances from all the actors are great. Winona Ryder shines here (no pun intended) in a very unusual role. The same goes for Michael Keaton as the fast talking deranged voluptuous Bio-Exorcist called Beetlejuice. The word "perfect" can't do this man justice. See the movie and judge for yourselves.
Although Beetlejuice drops in literally half way through the film (time-keep for yourselves if you don't believe me) he is the definition of a scene stealer and he even occupies the film title!! However I would like to underline that the best scenes in the film are the opening ones when the Maitlands try to figure out what is going on and struggle to adjust in the new status quo. Beetlejuice is a semi-dark masterpiece and a classic movie which can be viewed over and over many times. If you are a fan of dark satirical flicks like Gremlins then this is definitely a must-see for you.
BEETLEJUICE 9.5 / 10