Beetlejuice Opens

Setting the scene

Tim Burton had cult success with Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice offered his gothic-comedy aesthetic a bigger budget. Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson's script followed dead newlyweds haunting their home. Warner Bros. bet on practical effects and Burton's visual imagination before Batman made him a franchise director.

What happened

Beetlejuice opened on March 30, 1988, with Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as the Maitlands and Michael Keaton as the chaotic bio-exorcist Betelgeuse. Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz, a goth teen who could see ghosts, became a style icon. Harry Belafonte's Day-O and banana boat dance sequence mixed calypso with supernatural chaos.

Why it still matters

The film grossed over $73 million, won an Oscar for makeup, and became a Halloween staple with a Broadway musical decades later. Burton's striped suits and twisted suburbia influenced goth pop culture. Memorable detail: Keaton spent only about two weeks on set but dominated the film with improvised manic energy and minimal screen time by design.

Background

Tim Burton's macabre comedy became a Halloween staple.