Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Beetlejuice’?

Beetlejuice (1988)

tomatometer

81

Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 43
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 8

No consensus yet.

71

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 2

No consensus yet.

audience

77

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 834,346

My Rating

Movie Info

Thanks to the carelessness of a cute little dog, newlyweds Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are killed in a freak auto accident. Upon arriving in the outer offices of Heaven, the couple finds that, thanks to a century's worth of bureaucratic red tape, they're on a long celestial waiting list. Before they can earn their wings, Davis and Baldwin must occupy their old house as ghosts for the next fifty years. Alas, the house is now owned by insufferable yuppies Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones.

PG, 1 hr. 33 min.

Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

Warren Skaaren

Jun 26, 1997

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (43) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (8) | DVD (18)

Beetlejuice means something good: that imaginative artists can bring a fading genre back from the dead.

August 22, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Luckily, Keaton pops up from his grave to liven things up when the antics pitting the good ghosts against the intruders become a trite cat & mouse game.

August 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An appealing mess.

August 7, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[The] actors, not surprisingly, are limited by the stupidity of their material.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comments (2)
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Not since Ghostbusters have the spirits been so uplifting.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The joy of Beetlejuice is its completely bizarre -- but perfectly realized -- view of the world.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Early Tim Burton is creepy, dark fun for tweens and teens.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

With its sophisticated yet accessible blend of comedy and the macabre, I knew Beetlejuice was likely to be one of those films I would never tire of. But a classic? It's been 20 years. I'm willing to throw that blue ribbon on it.

November 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Views | Comment

Quite possibly the most bizarre and flat-out surreal effort of Tim Burton's career...

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

Daylight comes to Beetlejuice in this anniversary DVD, but apparently the bonus features wan' go home.

October 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

Tim Burton's imagination jumped into the saddle and held onto the bridle with Beetlejuice.

October 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

...inventive and funny, something that has eluded Burton for a while now. (Blu-ray Edition)

October 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

...weird and unorthadox and innovative and clever, but the main thing is that it's funny.

October 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

The character of Beetlejuice is hazy because the writers can never decide if he's a villain or an anti-hero...

October 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comments (7)
Cinema Crazed

One of [Burton's] flat-out funniest films, with Michael Keaton giving a performance for the ages.

September 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

A surreal, demented delight.

August 22, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A minor classic.

August 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Darkly humorous and visually inventive, Burton's second film, which deservedly won the Makeup Oscar, fulfilled the promise he showed in his debut, launching a brilliant career with Batman and other original movies, many of which starring Johnny Depp.

August 18, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

Very clever black comedy full of great characters and situations.

June 1, 2007 Comment
Video-Reviewmaster.com

Some of the most surprisingly enjoyable viewing in years.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Beetlejuice

Day-o. You say day, you say day, you say dayyy-oooo. This movie is very comical. Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz, is so odd and interesting which equally balances out between Baldwin & Davis's Adam and Barbara, a couple who are normal and have never been able to have a baby. Michael Keaton kills it as Beetlejuice and is

March 2, 2008
movieguru12
Cassie Hill

Super Reviewer

Beetlejuice was met with mixed response upon release and is now rightfully a classic to the horror comedy genre. And of course, Tim Burton's overlooked talent at the time was like the unrecognisable talent of Led Zeppelin in the sixties and seventies, the world wasn't ready for them yet, the world wasn't ready for Tim

October 29, 2011
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

    1. Betelgeuse: IT'S SHOWTIME!
    – Submitted by Tailor R (51 days ago)
    1. Preacher: Do you Betel?
    2. Betelgeuse: Ah! Oo, oo, oo, oo, ah, ah, ah! Nobody says the 'B' word!
    – Submitted by Nick S (52 days ago)
    1. Adam Maitland: What are your qualifications?
    2. Betelgeuse: Ah. Well... I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT... NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY... NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I'm qualified?
    – Submitted by George B (2 months ago)
    1. Delia Deetz: Chalrles if you do not let me remodel this house, I will go insane and take you with me!
    2. Charles Deetz: Yeah...well maybe it could use a fixer up. Tell you what, just this room alone okay?
    – Submitted by sean b (2 months ago)
    1. Lydia Deetz: My whole life is a dark room. One. Big. Dark. Room.
    – Submitted by Alejandro O (2 months ago)

Latest News for Beetlejuice

January 13, 2012:
Tim Burton Talks Beetlejuice 2
He isn't involved at the moment, but he'd be interested in directing it.

September 9, 2011:
Weekly Ketchup: Beetlejuice Sequel Is On Its Way
This week's Ketchup covers a four day week that should have been slower than it was, being...

What's Hot On RT

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,527 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,331 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,092 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,604 taken
created 15 months ago

Foreign Titles

  • Lottergeist Beetlejuice (DE)
  • Beetlejuice (UK)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile