March 30, 1988
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American fantasy horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren, and Larry Wilson, produced by The Geffen Company, distributed by Warner Bros., and starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton as the title character. The plot revolves around a recently deceased couple who, as ghosts haunting their former home, contact Beetlejuice, an obnoxious and devious "bio-exorcist" from the Netherworld, to scare the home's new inhabitants away.
Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, grossing $74.7 million on a $15 million budget. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Makeup, and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney. The film's success spawned an animated television series, video games, and a 2018 stage musical.
A sequel was officially announced on May 10, 2023, with a theatrical release date of September 6, 2024.
Storyline[]
In Winter River, Connecticut, Barbara and Adam Maitland decide to spend their vacation decorating their idyllic country home. As they are driving home from a trip to town, Barbara swerves to avoid a dog, and the car plunges into the river. After returning home, she and Adam notice they now lack reflections and find a Handbook for the Recently Deceased.
They begin to suspect they did not survive the car crash. When Adam attempts to leave the house, he ends up in a strange and otherworldly desert-like landscape populated by enormous "sandworms". The encounter lasts only a few seconds for him, but after Barbara rescues him, she says he was gone for two hours.
The house is sold, and the new owners, the Deetz family, arrive from New York City. Charles Deetz is a former real estate developer; his second wife, Delia, is a self-proclaimed sculptor; and his teenage goth daughter, Lydia, from his first marriage, is an aspiring photographer. Under the guidance of interior designer Otho, the family transforms the house into a new-wave work of postmodern art.
Consulting the Handbook, the Maitlands travel to an otherworldly waiting room populated by other distressed souls, where they discover the afterlife is structured according to a complex bureaucracy involving vouchers and caseworkers. The Maitlands' caseworker, Juno, tells them they must remain in the house for the next 125 years on pain of a dire fate. If they want the Deetzes out of the house, it is up to the Maitlands to scare them away.
Adam and Barbara are invisible to Charles and Delia, but Lydia can see the ghost couple and befriends them. Against Juno's advice, the Maitlands contact the miscreant Beetlejuice, Juno's former assistant and a now freelance "bio-exorcist", to scare the Deetzes away.
But Beetlejuice quickly offends the Maitlands with his crude and morbid demeanor: they reconsider hiring him, though too late to stop him from wreaking havoc on the Deetzes. The small town's charm and the supernatural events inspire Charles to pitch his boss, Maxie Dean, on transforming the town into a tourist hot spot, but Maxie wants proof of the ghosts. Using the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, Otho conducts what he thinks is a séance and summons Adam and Barbara, using their wedding clothes, but they begin to age and decay, as Otho unwittingly performed an exorcism instead.
Horrified, Lydia summons Beetlejuice for help, but he will help her only on the condition that she marry him, enabling him to freely cause chaos in the mortal world. He saves the Maitlands and disposes of Maxie, his wife, and Otho, then prepares a wedding before a ghastly minister. The Maitlands intervene before the ceremony is completed, with Barbara riding a sandworm through the house to devour Beetlejuice.
Finally, the Deetzes and Maitlands agree to live in harmony within the house. Beetlejuice is stuck in the afterlife waiting room. He steals a number ticket from a witch doctor, who shrinks his head in return.
Also See[]
- Beetlejuice (1988) (Trailers)
- Beetlejuice (TV Series)
- Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Sound Effects Used[]
- Hollywoodedge, Medlow Pitch Boing CRT015902 (1st boing)
- Hollywoodedge, Thunder Clap Head Sh PE1007203
- Hollywoodedge, Thunder Crack Impac PE1006401
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, CRASH - LARGE JUNK CRASH 01
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, MOTOR - LOONEY MOTOR CHUGGING AND SQUEAKING: START AND RUN
- Sound Ideas, HEAD SHAKE, CARTOON - PINGY HEAD SHAKE (high pitched)
- Sound Ideas, KAZOO, CARTOON - KAZOO FADE IN
- Sound Ideas, MOTOR, CARTOON - SQUEAKY MOTOR
- Sound Ideas, POOF, CARTOON - FOOF (Heard in a low volume.)
- Sound Ideas, SQUIRT, CARTOON - WATER SQUIRT 02
- Sound Ideas, TAKE, CARTOON - TUBE TAKE
- Sound Ideas, TEETH, CARTOON - SCOOBY'S TEETH CHATTER, LONG/SHORT
- Sound Ideas, THUMP, CARTOON - TUBE THUNK 01 (Used in various pitches.)
- Sound Ideas, ZIP, CARTOON - QUICK WHISTLE ZIP IN
- Sound Ideas, ZIP, CARTOON - QUICK WHISTLE ZIP OUT