---
title: "Beetlejuice"
year: 1988
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/beetlejuice"
fi1m_id: "beetlejuice"
imdb_id: "tt0094721"
tmdb_id: 4011
wikidata_id: "Q320384"
fi1m_score: 83
critics_score: 82
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:01.364879+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Beetlejuice (1988)

Directed by Tim Burton · 1h 32m · MPA PG · Fantasy, Comedy

## Identity

Beetlejuice

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/beetlejuice
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** beetlejuice
- **IMDb ID:** tt0094721
- **TMDB ID:** 4011
- **Wikidata ID:** Q320384
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094721/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/4011, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q320384

**Fi1m score: 83** · Critics 82 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* Being dead seems manageable until Michael Keaton offers to help

> Tim Burton’s ghost comedy is funny and worth forgiving when the story wanders. Michael Keaton supplies the bad behaviour; a fondness for the put-upon dead keeps the film warmer than its grotesque effects suggest.

## Synopsis

Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) are newly dead, but the living still cause them problems. To deal with them, they turn to Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), a bio-exorcist offering help with unwanted humans. The haunting is seen from the ghosts’ side, as the afterlife proves to have everyday difficulties of its own. Winona Ryder plays Lydia, with Catherine O’Hara as Delia and Jeffrey Jones as Charles, among the people caught up in the supernatural dispute. Tim Burton directs this fantasy comedy about the awkward business of trying to manage the living from the other side.

## Review

*Beetlejuice* is a funny, good-natured ghost comedy with an unruly streak, and we recommend it despite its loose plotting. Tim Burton takes the ghosts’ side, making their difficulties the ordinary business around which everything strange happens. The dead have problems, need assistance and can be persuaded to seek it from someone unsuitable. That gives the film a comic situation we can grasp before the effects get busy. Burton allows us to care about the ghosts even while enjoying their discomfort.

Alec Baldwin’s Adam and Geena Davis’s Barbara give that idea a useful human scale. Their performances encourage us to regard being dead as a practical predicament, which is a considerable service in a film this excitable. Winona Ryder’s Lydia supplies a quieter presence without draining the comedy of its oddness. We care enough about these people to want the supernatural interference to amount to something. That is an advantage the screenplay occasionally takes for granted.

Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse is the chief pleasure and the least reassuring person to consult. He plays the bio-exorcist with such pushy confidence that the offer of assistance already sounds like trouble. We laughed at the sheer nerve of his salesmanship. The aggressive delivery makes asking him for help seem like an error before anything needs to go wrong. Burton allows the performance to be unpleasant without insisting that we find the character endearing.

Bo Welch’s production design makes the afterlife recognisable enough for its everyday frustrations to register. The grotesque additions seem like further inconveniences for people who already have plenty to manage. Thomas E. Ackerman’s cinematography favours colour and visible oddity over the concealment a more frightening film might need. We can enjoy looking at the effects rather than wait for them to jump out. The openly artificial appearance suits a comedy whose dead characters still have ordinary business to attend to.

Danny Elfman’s music encourages the film’s unruliness, helping the grotesque comedy remain buoyant. It is a good match for Burton’s willingness to put sweetness beside something repellent and carry on without apology. Jane Kurson’s editing gives the individual comic eruptions their force, although the joins between them are less secure. A good sight gag can make the story’s unevenness easy to overlook for a moment. The next stretch does not always build on the pleasure of the last.

The weakness sits partly with Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren’s screenplay. Once the basic situation is established, the business of ghosts and living people frustrating one another can feel repetitive. The afterlife is so much more amusing than the routine manoeuvring that returning to the latter costs the film some energy. Too often, another visual invention has to supply the interest that the action cannot quite sustain. At 92 minutes, it is short enough to recover before this becomes a serious burden.

Burton succeeds by allowing a ghost story to be funny without tidying away everything disagreeable about it. Against the haunted-house convention that the living deserve our concern, siding with the haunters provides a satisfying change. The warmth helps, but so does the willingness to let Keaton behave appallingly. Watch it for him, and be prepared to forgive the gaps between the jokes.

*Fi1m score 83, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to Beetlejuice, with praise clustering around Tim Burton’s fanciful afterlife, the sight gags and the offbeat performances. Michael Keaton’s manic bio-exorcist is the most consistently admired presence, while the supporting cast helps make the supernatural comedy work beyond its visual tricks. The reviews also value the everyday irritations beneath the grotesque fantasy: this afterlife has recognisable problems, which give Burton’s flights of imagination something solid to work against.

The reservations concern how well that invention holds together as a story. Time Out finds the film enjoyable despite its disjointed stretches, while Variety considers the afterlife sequences more inventive than the conventional cat-and-mouse business above ground. The New York Times offers the clearest dissent, describing a comedy whose bizarre effects and timing may delight some viewers but leave others finding it unfunny and plotless. The dominant response remains enthusiastic, with less agreement about the plotting than the performances and visual humour.

## Straight answers

**Is Beetlejuice worth watching?**

*Beetlejuice* is worth watching for anyone who wants a ghost comedy that sides with the ghosts, and we scored it 83. Michael Keaton's pushy bio-exorcist is the chief pleasure, and Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis make being dead feel like a practical predicament. The plotting wanders between jokes, but at 92 minutes it recovers before that matters much.

**How long is Beetlejuice, and what is it rated?**

*Beetlejuice* runs 1h 32m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is a fantasy and comedy film.

**Where can I watch Beetlejuice in the US?**

*Beetlejuice* is streaming on HBO Max, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Beetlejuice, and is it suitable for children?**

*Beetlejuice* is a 15 in the UK, and its grotesque effects and Keaton's appalling behaviour are played for laughs rather than fear. The openly artificial look means the effects are there to be enjoyed, not to jump out, so teenagers should find it more funny than frightening. The certificate puts it beyond younger children, and we would leave it there.

**How does Beetlejuice compare to A Matter of Life and Death?**

*Beetlejuice* is the rowdier film and [*A Matter of Life and Death*](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death) the finer one, so the choice depends on the evening. Powell and Pressburger's afterlife is orderly, warm and romantic, and easier to recommend to almost anyone. Burton's is a comedy that lets Keaton behave dreadfully and asks you to forgive the gaps between the jokes.

### Reviews we read (8)

- **Empire**, Ian Freer (85/100, inferred): The critic finds Tim Burton's outlandish horror comedy full of delights, with newlydeads hiring the titular bio-exorcist leading to manic chaos. A young Winona Ryder, Harry Belafonte music, and Keaton's whirling dervish performance are singled out for praise, with the film still feeling fresh decades later. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/beetlejuice-review/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Kyle Counts (85/100, inferred): The critic finds inspired lunacy in this stylized comic fantasy about a bio-exorcist hired by ghosts. Burton's fanciful imagination makes the film colorful, delightfully deranged, and endlessly inventive—a grand-scale funhouse. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/beetlejuice-review-movie-1988-990023/)
- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (4/5): The critic calls it a landmark supernatural comedy showcasing zany special effects, demonic one-liners and offbeat performances. Burton's imaginative view of the afterlife as a ghoulish extension of everyday problems stands out as a visionary masterstroke. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-tghlp5/beetle-juice/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (80/100, inferred): Burton's imagination creates a universe of mundane surrealism and candy-coated gothic whimsy, with McDowell's scenario peeling away layers of reality. The high-concept comedy floats thanks to standout character actors and Keaton's unhinged performance. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/beetlejuice-dvd/)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (80/100, inferred): The film has sweetness and ample opportunities for Burton to play around in its ghost story that sides with the ghosts. Keaton's manic performance as the title character is a highlight amid the wacky, candy-colored vision of the afterlife. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/beetlejuice-1798217228)
- **Time Out**, SGr (80/100, inferred): This ghost story from the haunters' perspective provides surprisingly enjoyable viewing with off-the-wall humour and sensational sight gags. The critic notes it is maddeningly disjointed at times but ultimately an astonishing piece of work. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/beetlejuice)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin: The critic finds the film inventive in its bizarre effects and comic timing for some viewers but largely unfunny and plotless for others, with arbitrary visual tricks holding it together. Michael Keaton's over-the-top bio-exorcist is singled out as the central chaotic force. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/30/movies/review-film-ghosts-and-extra-eyeballs.html)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff: The review praises the afterlife sequences and Michael Keaton's raucous performance for enlivening the film, while noting that the above-ground antics are less inventive and fall into a trite cat-and-mouse game. Keaton is highlighted as the element that makes the comedy work. [Read](https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/beetlejuice-1200427665/)

## Details

- **Director:** Tim Burton
- **Director:** Tim Burton
- **Screenplay:** Warren Skaaren, Michael McDowell
- **Story:** Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson
- **Cinematography:** Thomas E. Ackerman
- **Editor:** Jane Kurson
- **Music:** Danny Elfman
- **Production design:** Bo Welch
- **Costume design:** Aggie Guerard Rodgers
- **Producer:** Michael Bender, Larry Wilson, Richard Hashimoto
- **Cast:** Alec Baldwin as Adam; Geena Davis as Barbara; Winona Ryder as Lydia; Catherine O'Hara as Delia; Jeffrey Jones as Charles; Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse; Glenn Shadix as Otho; Sylvia Sidney as Juno
- **Runtime:** 1h 32m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 30 March 1988
- **Genres:** Fantasy, Comedy
- **Budget:** $15 million
- **Box office:** $85 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po1HJbmow0g

## Where to watch in the US

- HBO Max: streaming, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, IE, IL, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1989: Best Makeup and Hairstyling (won)
- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 1989: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Fi1m 92: An orderly afterlife complicates earthly affection, with wit and much warmer manners. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md)
- *House* (1977): Domestic space turns hostile in a stranger, less reassuring burst of supernatural invention.
- *The Frighteners* (1996): Another grubby supernatural operator, with jokes that give way to nastier business.
- *The Devil's Backbone* (2001): For a sadder ghost story that also gives the dead a fair hearing.
- *What We Do in the Shadows* (2014): Undead housemates discover that supernatural powers do little to settle domestic irritations.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/beetlejuice