Beetlejuice is 35 years old: did you say cult?

In 1988, Tim Burton signed a crazy comedy, “with a truly new tone,” Première congratulated him on its release.

In 1988, Tim Burton had not yet shot its Batmanneither Edward Scissorhandsso much so that his only reference to the public was the commissioned film Pee Wee. “A remarkable attempt”wrote Jean-Paul Chaillet in our pages, at the heart of his criticism of Beetlejuice. “He obviously hasn’t lost his touch”he continued, saluting the director’s talent for telling a truly original story, carried by actors (Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder…) in great shape and visibly delighted to have so much fun in its very particular universe.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Beetlejuiceand while Burton reunited some of the original cast for its sequel, for which he recently completed filming (also with Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe…), the editorial team is digging into its archives. Here’s our review of the 1988 film, to (re)watch on Première Max.

“Burton confirms here, brilliantly, his taste for hysterical atmospheres and crazy situations. Beetlejuice is a comedy which offers perfectly delirious escapades with very caustic black humor. This very explosive rereading of traditional ghost stories is, moreover, full of special effects (sometimes eye candy) and brilliant discoveries.”

Predicting, without disclosing it, that the calypso scene would become cult, it also saluted a “Keaton hilarious and wild”then concluded on the fact that despite some script flaws (we get a little lost in the plot), “Beetlejuice nonetheless retains a truly new tone. Let’s bet that, for some, it will even have the appearance of a cult film.”

Trailer :

Tim Burton: “I was a normal movie buff, so completely abnormal”