Surreal, unusual, freakish and proud of it.

Rating: 8/10 (6 November 2015)

Tim Burton built his name on his macabre style but "Beetlejuice" is one odd movie (in a good way). But some of the stuff that goes on in this is just bananas, and that speaks to the movie's inherent personality. There some serious imagination at work here, not just the title character, but in the Salvador Dali netherworld images (complete with giant sandworm), grotesque makeup and its playful take on the afterlife. It's also got Winona Ryder at her most charming, and Catherine O'Hara's a B on wheels in this movie; oh, man. And then the unforgettable Danny Elfman score. It all adds up to something pretty great.
But that's all before we even get to the crown jewel, the pièce de ré·sis·tance: Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. It'd be weak to say he steals the movie; he owns it lock, stock and barrel. He's a comic performer at the top of his game; lewd, profane and utterly without boundaries. It's one of his best performances, that's a given. Even those who don't like this movie have to admit that.
But then, how could anyone not like this movie? 8/10