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Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! The best scenes from the spookily classic comedy
Beetlejuice came out almost 35 years ago, but we'll eternally get enjoyment from watching it over and over again.
The 1988 film Beetlejuice is a classic, a movie that only gets better rewatch after rewatch. As the spooky season gets ever-closer, now is a great time to once again take in Michael Keaton’s head-spinning Beetlegeuse; Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin’s newly deceased struggles as the Maitlands; and Wynonna Ryder and Catherine O’Hara’s memorable performances as Lydia and Delia Deetz.
The whole movie is a ghoulishly enjoyable watch, but in case you want a briefer return to the the film, SYFY WIRE has assembled a list of some of Beetlejuice’s best scenes.
Take a look below, and enjoy!
The Maitlands in the waiting room for the dead
Being dead isn’t easy! That’s the case, at least, for Adam and Barbara Maitland. The two are struggling to learn the rules confusingly outlined in their handbook for the recently deceased and ultimately end up in a bureaucratic waiting room with their fellow dead. These fellow deceased are … memorable. There’s the woman literally cut in half, the man with a shrunken head who puts the moves on Barbara, and the charred body of a guy who still won’t give up smoking. Adam and Barbara aren't alive anymore, folks! And the couple is finally coming to terms with that.
The Maitlands first meet Beetlegeuse
Keaton’s Beetlegeuse is bonkers. Adam and Barbara (and the audience) realize that right away when they finally figure out how to say his name correctly three times. The couple find themselves shrunken into Adam's miniature rendition of their town, where unearth Beetlegeuse’s grave and immediately regret it. In the course of mere minutes, Keaton gives a frenetic performance that screams that Beetlegeuse is just bad news. And the Maitlands and the Deetzes are about to find this out the hard way.
The Maitlands’ 'best' scare attempt
The Maitlands have a lot to learn about haunting.Their first efforts to scare away the Deetzes were weak at best. After a pep talk with their case manager toward the end of the film, however, they each warp their faces into more-than-slightly-disturbing shapes, giving us to ghastly images taht that will stick in your brain long after watching.
Beetlegeuse gets aggro on the Deetzes, carnival style
Beetlegeuse goes after the Deetzes — the eccentric family who move into the Maitlands’ house — with gusto. The most memorable moment of his supernatural schenanigans is when he causes the shrimp dish at their dinner party to reach up and grab their and their guests’ faces, all to the tune of Harry Belafonte’s “Jump In the Line (Shake Señora).” Beetlegeuse’s antics continue throughout the film — he also shows up later on as a giant worm and, when Lydia calls on him to save the Maitlands from being exorcised, he gets gussied up as a terrifying carousel that brings anything but joy to both the Maitlands and the Deetzes.
Beetlegeuse and Lydia’s wedding
Beetlegeuse continues to run amok and ultimately forces Lydia in front of an altar, much to her horror. Adam and Barbara try to save her by saying his name three times, though Beetlegeuse does is best to stop them. Ultimately, however, the Maitlands win, with Barbara corralling a sandworm to much up Lydia's potential groom. The movie ends with the Maitlands and the Deetzes living together in harmony, and with Beetlegeuse stuck in the waiting room for the dead, where he ultimately gets his head shrunk by another waiting member of the deceased.
Want to see these scenes or, better yet, the entire film? Good news! Beetlejuice is now streaming on Peacock.
