October Review: Beetlejuice (1988) (Patreon)

Sophia! Sophia! Sophia!

Great! Now that you've summoned me we can get on with reviewing irreverent Burton spooky flick, Beetlejuice (1988).

Following a couple of new ghosts attempting to haunting the tenants of their home, and the more sinister ghoul who is called in to help them, Beetlejuice (1988) has earned a place as an October classic among fans of all things spooky. Much of this reputation can be attributed to a character-creating performance by Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Lydia Deetz's (Winona Ryder) representation for the goth girls, and a general ambiance of frights now synonymous with director Tim Burton's style. While these elements are more than enjoyable enough to combine into a fun look at the Halloween spirit, the cauldron doesn't quite run over story-wise.

The main conflict of Beetlejuice (1988) revolves around "whose house is it anyway?" as the dead Maitland couple, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, attempt to reclaim their sense of interior design (and abode) from the new residents, the Deetz family. Guided on their journey into the afterlife by the Handbook for the recently deceased, the film uses this couple as the audience's own guide, allowing their various missteps and questions to show the audience the film's own thesis on life after death. In and of itself, this presents an exciting way to play with a concept. Our audience-surrogates are charismatic, and they approach their death with a sense of levity and acceptance that lets the stranger aspects of Beetlejuice's (1988) world shine. Their burgeoning friendship with the slight morose Lydia is a heartwarming reminder that even as ghosts, they're still human. And then Michael Keaton eats some bugs.

It is impossible to discuss Beetlejuice (1988) without addressing the titular Beetlejuice of it all. Now a staple of Spirit Halloweens everywhere, Beetlejuice is the outside-the-system spooking expert who attempts to con his way into the service of the Maitlands, representing the gross and ghoulish along the way. His antics are indisputably entertaining. Keaton leaves nothing on the floor, twitching and grumbling his way through a truly riveting (if disgusting) performance. The character would not be so beloved if not for the perfectly timed, smarmy comedy and irreverent line reads. No matter how iconic however, Beetlejuice often feels at odds with the plot of Beetlejuice (1988).

While watching, I often found myself surprised to see how far I was into the film at any given moment. Beetlejuice is lightly teased until the final act of the film, the Maitlands spends nearly a third of the film reiterating that they need to figure out how to scare the Deetz, and despite all this, we see very few actual haunts. It comes down to an issue of pacing. None of the elements of the film, the performances, the sets, the design or other artistic choices, fail to delight and entrance, but when put together, the pieces feel jumbled up, like a puzzle whose picture you love but have yet to put together. It's not a bumpy ride, but the jumping from idea to idea, subplot to subplot, makes it difficult to grab hold. It's why the parts of this film that are beloved and remembered aren't the story beats, but the characters, the special effects, and overall aesthetics. 

Overall, Beetlejuice (1988) is still a Halloween classic, a notable feather in Tim Burton's cap. No film with such a lasting impact on the cultural zeitgeist could be discounted. As disjointed as the ideas in it may be, they still warp like the faces of some reluctant ghosts, into a spooky, fun time.

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