Beetlejuice

Rating: 4/10 (9 July 2011)

This starts very well with an original and interesting take on the afterlife. The prospect of two naive but likable ghosts having to learn their haunting skills on the job was delightful. As was the depiction of a monstrous bureaucracy behind the scenes, not far removed from Terry Gilliam's Brazil.
Had the second half proceeded along these lines, this would have been a true classic.
Alas, things start to go downhill with the appearance of the title character, one of the most annoy characters in cinematic history, not made any better by Michael Keaton's mannered performance. One is grateful that he does not put in much of an appearance.
The film then abandons any attempt at intelligence to instead go in for a lot of gimmickry. The reaction of the family to the dinner table haunting could have been made plausible if the haunting had not been so wildly over the top. Nor is it clear where Baldwin and Davies acquire the ability to control humans and create disembodied hands. They do not demonstrate this skill anywhere else.
More overblown (but unfunny) scenes kill any willing suspension of disbelief leading to the rushed and clunking finale.