Beetlejuice Movie Review 1988

The after-life is confusing for a pair of ultra-nice novice ghosts Adam Maitland (Baldwin) and his wife Barbara (Davis), who are faced with chasing an obnoxious family of post-modern art lovers who move into their house. Then they hear of a poltergeist who promises to rid the house of all trespassers for a price. Things go from bad to impossible when the maniacal Keaton (as the demonic "Betelgeuse") works his magic. The calypso scene is priceless. A cheesy, funny, surreal farce of life after death with inventive set designs popping continual surprises. Ryder is striking as the misunderstood teen with a death complex, while O'Hara is hilarious as the yuppie art poseur.

Distribution

Time-Life Video and Television, 1450 Palmyra Ave., Richmond, VA 23227-4420, Phone: (804)266-6330, Toll-free: 800-950-7887, Fax: (757)427-7905

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 92 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Horror Comedy, Death & the Afterlife, Yuppie Nightmares, Ghosts, Ghouls, & Goblins, Special FX Extravaganzas, Special FX Extravaganzas: Make-Up, Supernatural Comedies

Screenplay

Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren

Cast

Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Sylvia Sidney, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, Jeffrey Jones, Dick Cavett, Glenn Shadix, Robert Goulet

Cinematography

Thomas Ackerman

Director

Tim Burton

Music

Danny Elfman

Awards

Oscars 1988: Makeup; Natl. Soc. Film Critics 1988: Actor (Keaton).