Beetlejuice

Published 2024-10-27

Film info

Title Beetlejuice
Director Tim Burton
Year 1988
Run time 1hr 32m
Genres Comedy, Fantasy
Tagline In this house, if you've seen one ghost... you haven't seen them all
Cast Alex Baldwin, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Michael Keaton

Ghosts Adam and Barbara try to scare off the new owners of their home with their new-found powers, but get more than they bargained for when the new family appears to enjoy being haunted. Desperate, the pair enlists the help of a demonic phantom, despite having been strongly advised against it.

Live blog

Time	Comment
2:26	Very glad that spider isn't to scale.
3:51	Can't get my head around how young Alec Baldwin is here.
9:34	"What is going on?" SAME.
18:08	"I will go insane and I will take you with me!"
21:05	Loving Winona's style so far.
31:32	If I had a nice attic like that, I'd build a model too - railway rather than village but still.
34:28	To be fair, this movie makes Rocky Horror show seem completely sensible.
36:58	The smoke coming out her neck is fun.
41:59	Damn, haven't watched Night of the Living Dead yet.
50:29	"Nice fucking model."
53:59	This table scene is ringing a bell for some reason.
1:09:40	Beetlebreakfast.
1:22:45	Wasn't expecting there to be a forced marriage in this.

Thoughts

I've never seen this film before and didn't know much about it - but it was going to be the featured group dance on Strictly, and there's a sequel doing the rounds, so it seemed about the right time to get it ticked off the list. I don't quite know what to make of it? It seems like a Rocky Horror style movie that if you love it, you really love it, otherwise you're left a bit nonplussed.

I did think Michael Keaton absolutely stole the show but he was in it for such a short amount of time, it made the rest of it feel like a bit of a slog. Winona Ryder was amazing though, so bits of it worked for me, I just ultimately didn't 'get it'.

Rating: 2 / 5