Beetlejuice (1988)

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What can be said about my relationship with the original 'Beetlejuice'? The film came out when I was just five years old, and oddly enough, my only memory of it being in theatres was walking by the movie poster for it and pointing out the girl with the crazy hair (Lydia). In the meantime, over the next few years, I would tune into the animated series, which I kinda ate up at the time. It could be said that I was very much into the strange and unusual, because I, myself, am strange and unusual. Shows like this helped fuel my imagination, and I loved it!

It wasn't until I was maybe about 7 or 8 that I finally got to see the movie at a friend's house, and it ended up being a fun comedy with elements of horror that allowed me to dip my toes into the horror genre ever-so-slightly. Other movies provided this for me like 'Gremlins' or, my all-time fave, 'Ghostbusters', but I never did reach the point of being able to enjoy all-out horror like my peers could because a lot of imagery just stuck with me, and I could scare pretty easily. But not only were movies like this fine for me, they helped shape me!

I can actually credit 'Beetlejuice' here in many of the same ways I can credit 'Ghostbusters'. It helped ease me into scary stuff by making it more fun, it was something I could watch again and again, and keep finding new things to appreciate about it, and even helped with my love of Halloween - I even dressed up as Beetlejuice in fourth grade. And for those wondering about my greater love of 'Ghostbusters', I was Egon when I was 5, so it was covered. But, getting back to the point, this was always a title I've held close to my heart.

Just for a quick plot summary, the film involves married couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) Maitland who find themselves the victims of a nasty car wreck. Upon returning to their beautiful, big, country home, the couple realize they've died, but haven't passed to the other side. Meanwhile, the Deetz family; Charles (Jeffrey Jones), his second wife, Delia (Catherine O'Hara) and Charles' daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder) move into the now abandoned home, much to the Maitlands' dismay.

The game soon becomes one of trying to scare the family enough to leave, but as nothing they do seems to be working, they ask for help from a freelance "bio-exorcist" named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton - the title name comes from a game of charades within the movie). It's not long before things get completely out of hand once the "juice is loose," and the Maitlands start to have a change of heart once realizing how twisted Betelgeuse can be, and after befriending Lydia, who can actually see them, unlike everyone else.

I would strongly consider this to be a movie of acquired tastes, though, and can't recommend it to just anyone. I have a soft spot for it due to it being very influential to my tastes growing up; I like when movies think outside the box, my love of horror comedy and giving a film a certain style. I'd even go so far as to say this might be THE best example of a Tim Burton original that shows you what he's all about, because there's a little bit of everything you'd expect from him here. But if you're not really a Burton fan, it might not work out.

To this day, I still have a certain admiration for this film, although it doesn't hit quite as much as it used to. Regardless of how one may feel about it, though, one has to admit that there's something to be said about the overall originality of this movie, and I might even argue its contribution to goth style (thanks to Lydia) before goth really became a thing, circa the late 90s. It may not be for everyone, but for me, despite a dip in how entertained I am by it today, it still means a lot to me in a certain nostalgic way.

4/5

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