Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Christian Movie Review)
For Christian viewers not repelled by the spooky aesthetics and spiritual overtones, Tim Burton’s captivating visuals and effectively dark humor provides some diverting entertainment.
About the Film
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988) is a cult classic. With Hollywood’s rush to remake/reboot all its existing intellectual properties, it’s unsurprising that a long-awaited sequel is finally arriving 36 years later. While some may dismiss the sequel as merely another corporate Hollywood cash-grab, there is enough earnestness in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to disarm such cynicism. For Christian viewers not repelled by the spooky aesthetics and spiritual overtones, Tim Burton’s captivating visuals and effectively dark humor provides some diverting entertainment.
To begin, let’s address the giant poltergeist in the room. This film enthusiastically plays in the sandbox of spiritual subjects and Halloween-esque visuals in ways that will undoubtably prove divisive among Christians. Some will be deeply disturbed by what they deem as satanic promotion of the real-world occult, while others will see only a “playfully spooky aesthetic” in an imaginative work of fiction. For those in the former camp, this movie is not for you (and you likely already knew that from the marketing material alone). Personally, I fall into the latter group. I don’t sense any true spiritual darkness beneath the surface of the creepy prosthetics and dark atmospheres, nor do I think Tim Burton himself believes that the film’s depiction of the afterlife reflects reality. It is a fantastical work of fiction born out of his famous macabre storytelling sensibilities. As such, this review is not aimed at raising a “satanic panic” or outrage, and neither is it designed to convince Christians uncomfortable with the movie to “loosen up.” Instead, my intention is merely to explore the film for what it is, and for the benefit of those that choose to watch it.
Tim Burton is one of Hollywood’s most singular directors, with an instantly recognizable and unique stylistic approach. Much of the charm and amusement in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is due to his inventive touch. It is evident that everyone involved in this film—both in front of and behind the camera—is having an absolute blast, and no one more so than Burton (with a shout out to William Defoe who delightfully hams it up in a supporting role).
The film offers a torrent of wacky visuals, weaving together interesting creature designs with fun prosthetics. There are also plenty of stylistic shifts, as the movie suddenly morphs into a retro animated style, or into a black and white film with a foreign language voiceover, or a wacky third act climax that bursts into an elaborate musical number. The film constantly throws fresh ideas at viewers. Some work more effectively than others, but it is never boring or lacking in imagination.
Despite some great actor performances (Michael Keaton effortlessly reprises his iconic role), the narrative mostly falls short of the quality of the visuals. The plot is somehow both overly complicated and remarkably simple. Attempting to juggle an abundance of characters and storylines, it can get bogged down in convoluted exposition while trying to get viewers up to speed on all the events that have transpired since the 1988 film. Plot threads are introduced and then neglected for long periods of time, to the point that when the story’s main villain reappeared in the climax, my first thought was, “Oh yeah, I forgot about her.” At the same time, the plot seems merely an excuse to get the bizarre characters back together, crack some jokes, and showcase the visuals. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is perhaps best approached as a sort of entertainment stew; most satisfying when consumed as a whole, rather than straining too much thought on the individual ingredients.
Tonally, the film is a dark comedy. It is not “scary” as much as it is intentionally disturbing, although its efforts to invoke disgust are typically done in a comedic manner. Such humor will obviously not be to the taste of all viewers, particularly with the more extreme “gross out” gags, such as a character literally “spilling his guts” or a woman having a vision of giving birth to a monstrous child that looks like a mini Beetlejuice. Not all the humor is paired with disgust, however, and there are plenty of other genuinely clever jokes, such as Defoe’s brilliant character, Beetlejuice’s one-liners, or the escapades of his shrunken-head minions.
Tim Burton has had 36 years to let his imagination run wild, and it shows. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a rare sequel that feels like it still has plenty of new ideas to bring to the table. The movie doesn’t attempt to do much beyond have fun with its classic characters and entertain viewers for its relatively brisk 1:45h runtime, and it mostly succeeds in that aim. The spiritual elements and dark humor may keep some Christians away (and that’s okay, as this is far from a “must see” film). But for fans of the original, or viewers that enjoy dark comedy and bizarre visuals, Burton demonstrates that his imagination has still got plenty of juice left.
For Consideration
Language: One verbalized F-bomb, one that is bleeped out, and another that is cut off before being fully articulated. There are also a handful of other profanities (mostly “s—”), and “God” and “Jesus” are each used at least once.
Violence: Most of the violence is either implied or else done to inhuman beings. The ghost’s appearances reflect the manner of their deaths, resulting in a range of humorous to grisly images (a power tool impaled into a murdered woman’s eye, a surfer missing his legs from a shark attack, etc.). The most disturbing of these are a man missing his head and upper torso (red pulp is visible and blood spirts out of an artery), and a dismembered woman who reassembles and staples her body back together. Several beings have their “soul sucked,” leaving their bodies hollow and shriveled on the ground.
Sexuality: In a flashback montage, a man narrates his honeymoon by describing the carnal lust and passion of the wedding night, as he and his bride fall into bed together. They are both clothed, and the scene is depicted in a comedic manner rather than a sensual one.
Other: There are plenty of spiritual elements, including an attempted seance (which seems more performative for the character than genuine). Christians may be divided on whether the depiction of the church is done in fun or mockery. The town priest is occasionally the object of jokes, and clearly his Christian views are at odds with how the film depicts the afterlife. At the same time, he is established as a good and respected person, in contrast to the corrupted clergy often imagined in Hollywood.
Engage The Film
The Afterlife
As one character says, “The afterlife is so random.” An intriguing worldbuilding element in the Beetlejuice movies is how they juxtapose the film’s dreary and mundane vision of the afterlife with the loftier Christian view of heaven and eternity. The contrast is made explicit in one scene when a priest waxes eloquently about the glorious existence that a recently deceased man is now experiencing, which is starkly different than what the audience knows to be true in the film. Although, it should also be noted that the afterlife on screen in Beetlejuice is arguably closer to a form of purgatory than to heaven, as the “Great Beyond” and “Damnation” are revealed to be separate locations that the dead can eventually journey to on the “soul train.”
In an interview, Tim Burton once remarked, “I remember being forced to go to Sunday school for a number of years, even though my parents were not religious. No one was really religious; it was just the framework. There was no passion for it. No passion for anything. Just a quiet, kind of floaty, kind of semi-oppressive, blank palette that you’re living in.” In many ways, the afterlife depicted in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reflects that childhood experience. It is not a place of passion or joy, but merely a prolonged and dreary existence where people labor on with the mundane tasks and work that they experienced during life.
The grim picture of the afterlife leads to an insignificance of death. While some of the indifference is due to the film’s comedic tone, character deaths are largely greeted with a shrug. If death is merely a mundane continuation of life, then neither life nor death carry much significance. Christians can contrast that unsatisfying view with John’s heavenly vision described in the Biblical book of Revelation. While we mourn the dead, we also celebrate that they have entered a beautiful eternity with a loving God.
Materialism v. Supernaturalism
Initially, the most atheistic character in the movie is Astrid (Jenna Ortega), the daughter of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). She rejects her mother’s spirituality and confidently declares that she doesn’t believe in anything that she can’t see or touch, choosing to follow science rather than superstition. Of course, her materialist worldview quickly crumbles as her eyes are opened to the spiritual reality around her. While the framework of that spiritual world is inconsistent with biblical truth, the wider theme of faith and belief in a spiritual realm can be affirmed by Christians.
