I scratched another Saturn Award winner for Best Horror Film off my list earlier tonight, and this time around it was 1988 winner, “Beetlejuice.”This horror-comedy was released in March 1988 and stars Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis and Winona Ryder. It was directed by Tim Burton.
For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, it’s about a young married couple who are killed in a car wreck and return to their Connecticut home as a pair of ghosts. Their home is sold to a family from New York City, and the ghost couple decides to try to scare them away. They don’t have much luck, so they decided to call on Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice), a “bio-exorcist.” Betelgeuse turns out to be more trouble than the family New York, and the married ghosts end up having to figure out a way to send him back to where he came from.
I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of this movie. To me, it’s not very scary or funny. The special effects are too plastic and cartoonish for my taste, and the story is very predictable. It’s no where in the same league as other Saturn Award winners like “The Exorcist,” “The Wicker Man” or “The Lost Boys.”
To me, this movie’s one saving grace is the performance by Michael Keaton, who played Beetlejuice. It’s said that this is Keaton’s favorite role, but he only appears on screen for a little over 17 minutes of the movie’s 92-minute run time. He spent just two weeks filming his part in the movie.
Keaton initially turned the role down, but his manager convinced him to meet with Burton thanks to some behind the scenes work by producer, David Geffen. Interestingly, it’s said that Burton originally wanted Sammy Davis Jr. to play Beetlejuice, but studio execs shot down that idea. (Thank goodness!)
From here, it’s on to 1989/1990 winner, “Arachnophobia,” which stars Jeff Daniels and John Goodman.
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