An original!

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2007)

Whatever it's genesis, the film "Beetle Juice" is a startlingly original concept and is perhaps unique among ghost films in its darkly comic approach.
Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play the "recently deceased" couple, the Maitlands, as a nice couple who meet their deaths in an automobile-drowning accident and find themselves back in their home as ghosts. When an obnoxious family moves in, they are forced to try to scare them off.
There are many inconsistencies in the abilities of these ghosts: Though they can apparently walk through doors in true ghostly fashion, when they are escaping from the giant sandworm, they have to get the door to their home opened as they can't otherwise enter. They can move articles and completely interact with the strange daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder in her star-making role.) by handing her items but cannot cast a reflection in a mirror (though I suppose this was also true of Bela Lugosi in his most famous role of Dracula!). Michael Keaton has a perfect role as the "bio-exorcist" Betelgeuse (the "Beetle Juice" of the title.) whom he portrays as an obnoxious ne'er-do-well. (I can't help thinking that Jim Carrey learned a great deal from him for his role in "The Mask".) Betelgeuse appears, they say, in only 17.5 minutes but these are, pretty much, the most crucial moments in the film.
Alec and Geena are excellent as the Maitlands and perhaps the most horrific image in the film is where Adam (Alec) is holding his separated head (He puts it back eventually.) But these special effects are mostly more cartoonish than really scary, in my opinion. Even so, this film is not for impressionable young children to whom it's guaranteed to give nightmares.
Jeffrey Jones is excellent as Charles, the man who buys the house as is Catherine O'Hara as his sculptress wife, Delia. Glenn Shadix is a standout as the gay-stereotyped interior decorator Otho and Winona almost steals the picture from the other actors. (Oops! I guess I shouldn't have used that expression!! ;-)) Sylvia Sidney, (a star of the early talkies) is quite funny as the Maitland's "social worker" Juno and her scene with the ghostly football players reminds me of Whoopi's scene with the crowd of ghosts in the film "Ghost"which appeared 2 years later in which she similarly "throws them out"!.
The DVD has some extras and is two-sided which is a bad idea. One side is the original wide-screened (letter-boxed) version and the other side fits the standard screen and unless the owner of the DVD is extra careful, one side or the other is apt to get damaged as did my library copy. Since the cost of an extra DVD blank is pretty negligible, I can't understand why the manufacturers go for the double-sided format. (Perhaps to save money on the "jewel box"?)