Beetlejuice (1988)
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A recently deceased couple hires a sleazy "bio-exorcist" to scare away the new inhabitants of their home.
The story
In Winter River, Connecticut, Adam and Barbara Maitland are a couple who find themselves as ghosts after a tragic accident. Unable to leave their home, they discover a Handbook for the Recently Deceased. When they learn the house has been sold to a new family, they decide to contact Betelgeuse, a "bio-exorcist," to scare the new owners away. However, the process of summoning him is complicated by the rules of the afterlife. The couple must navigate the complexities of their ghostly existence while dealing with the fact that they are now stuck in their home for a long period, and the consequences of involving a chaotic spirit like Betelgeuse.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After dying in a car accident, Adam and Barbara Maitland become ghosts and are trapped in their home in Winter River, Connecticut. They discover the house has been sold to the Deetz family. To get rid of the new residents, they consult a handbook and summon Betelgeuse, a "bio-exorcist." While the Maitlands are invisible to the new owners, the teenage daughter Lydia can see them. The Maitlands' attempts to scare the Deetzes often backfire, and they eventually find themselves in a complicated situation where they must deal with the consequences of summoning Betelgeuse. The plot escalates when Lydia, feeling isolated, summons Betelgeuse to help her. He agrees to help but only if she marries him. The situation becomes chaotic as the Maitlands try to stop him. Ultimately, a series of events leads to a resolution where the Deetzes and Maitlands agree to live together harmoniously, while Betelgeuse is sent back to the afterlife's waiting room.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tim Burton
- Writers
- Michael McDowell · screenplay; Warren Skaaren · screenplay; Michael McDowell · story; Larry Wilson · story
- Cast and characters
- Michael Keaton · Betelgeuse; Alec Baldwin; Geena Davis; Jeffrey Jones; Catherine O'Hara; Winona Ryder
- Genres
- gothic comedy horror; comedy; horror
- Themes
- afterlife; mortality; supernatural
- Tone and mood
- gothic; comedy; horror
- Setting
- Winter River, Connecticut
- Premise and plot tags
- ghosts; exorcism; haunted house
- Content notes
- horror
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $84 million against a $15 million budget. It was met with a mostly positive response, with critics praising its balance of bizarreness, comedy, and horror.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 71 · scale: 100 · review count: 19
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Makeup · win; Saturn Award · Best Horror Film · win; Saturn Award · Best Makeup · win; Saturn Award · Best Supporting Actress · win
- Production trivia
- The original script was much darker and more graphic.; The studio initially wanted to call the film House Ghosts.; The film was the first of over 5.2 billion DVDs shipped by Netflix.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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