Review by ElenaBurt

Now, I’ve always been a fan of Halloween-themed movies. I think they reinforce a certain spookiness, eerie chill and fall feeling to the season. The iconic “Beetlejuice,” starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, came out in 1988 as a comedy/horror film. 

The popularity of the movie has sustained since the 80s because it mixes the ordinary with the extraordinary while implementing dark humor delivered through a talented cast. The creepy setting is memorable, for the characters are living in a semi-secluded mansion in a fictional town in Connecticut, while switching from the real world to the dead world. The wardrobe of each character symbolizes their personality, and some outfits could be described as glam goth—heightening the dark essence of the movie.  

In a nutshell, “Beetlejuice” is a story about a honeymoon-staged couple, Barbara (Davis) and Adam Maitland (Baldwin), living in an enormous house all by themselves. They unfortunately die in a drowning accident and are trapped in their house as ghosts. Their house then goes on the market to be sold to the sinister Deetz family, who ruin the couple’s visions for the house. The Maitlands’ goal is to scare them off, but the Deetz’s daughter, Lydia (Ryder), can miraculously see them in their ghost form. She is not scared, along with her family members, who want to make money off of them. 

 Desperate Barbara and Adam seek help from the ill-recommended Betelgeuse (Keaton) to send the family running. Betelgeuse is a perverted demon who only has his powers when someone says his name three times. The couple cannot resist and call his name. He shows up and makes things messy by almost forcing Lydia to marry him. He eventually gets taken off by a monster from the afterlife, and the Maitland and Deetz families live in harmony at the house.  

The sequel to this classic came out in September, called “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” starring Keaton, Ryder, Jenna Ortega and Catherine O’Hara. 

This movie begins with Lydia (Ryder) on a talk show, helping others interpret their supernatural experiences because she still has the ability to see ghosts. However, the only ghost she cannot see is her late ex-husband and father to Astrid (Ortega), and that causes Astrid to resent her mother, calling her abilities fake. 

Lydia and her stepmother, Delia (O’Hara), are haunted by memories and visions of Betelgeuse, fearing he will come back. Lydia’s eccentric and gold-digging fiancée activates him, trying to be a hero. This actually didn’t cause a huge problem, for Betelgeuse is asked for help by both Lydia and Delia later in the movie to save Astrid from her male interest who tries to steal her life so he can be resurrected, because he is a ghost. This means that Astrid inherited her mother’s ability to see ghosts, she just didn’t know it. Then things unravel, but I won’t spoil the ending for those who want to see it.

Both of these movies are good. I liked watching the first one because I thought it was cute to see what things were like in the 80s, and how film has advanced so much since then. With that being said, it does a great job capturing the discomfort, fear and confusion that the Maitlands feel as they are freshly dead. I couldn’t imagine suddenly dying and being trapped in my house with a new family invading and completely distorting the appearance and feeling of my once-beloved house. 

As for the second movie, I like how it connects to the first movie, while still adding enough characters to keep us interested in some new storylines. However, I can see where some people might be confused if they hadn’t seen the first movie in a while, because there are a lot of details, characters, facts and little artifacts that you have to remember from the first movie to: a) understand the plot better and b) enjoy the movie more. For example, I enjoyed and found it funny to see things like Delia’s sculptures from the first movie, blown up at Astrid’s school in the second movie. The sequel definitely keeps up with the humor of the first one, for Betelgeuse is still a gross demon who has cocky mannerisms, but says funny things sometimes. 

The original is better than the sequel, because it has a better flow. The actors were more in-tune with their characters in the 80s, and it was a little more enjoyable to watch directors interpret 1980s quirks, than watching 2020s quirks in the second movie, which was a bit cringeworthy. I will say, though, that “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” keeps you on the edge of your seat and invested in the plot, for it is fast paced and many things are happening to various characters. 

Things wrap up nicely at the end of both movies, which was satisfying. Watching both “Beetlejuice” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” this Halloween season is worth it, but make sure you don’t say his name three times… like I just did…