Beetlejuice

Story

After tragically passing away in a car accident, young couple Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) find themselves trapped in their house and struggling to come to terms with their new life as ghosts. However, when the Deetz family moves into their deceased estate, and Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and Charles (Jeffrey Jones) Deetz make plans to gut the home, the Maitlands decide they will stop at nothing to get them out and save their house.

Their scare tactics don’t seem to work, however, as the only person who can see the Maitland’s is the Deetz estranged teenage daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder). Adam and Barbara befriend Lydia, but her parents ignore Lydia’s claims and think the haunting is being done by someone trying to make money.

In a final attempt to save their home, Barbara summons the leading ‘bio-exorcist’, ‘Betelgeuse’ (Michael Keaton), to help them. However, Betelgeuse is not as he seems, and chaos ensues for both the Deetz family and the Maitlands. Will the living and the dead be able to work together to banish Betelgeuse before it’s too late?

Themes

Death; supernatural; paranormal; suicide; unhealthy family dynamics; alternative lifestyles

Violence

Beetlejuice has some violence. For example:

Barbara holds Adam’s decapitated head in one hand and a bloody knife in the other, with his headless body at her feet.
Characters often yell at and criticise each other.
After turning into a giant snake with his face, Betelgeuse knocks a character down the stairs and drops Charles from the top of the stairs to the ground floor.
Betelgeuse turns into a circus-themed character with giant mallets for arms, and knocks 2 characters through the roof of the house.
There are several sexist remarks made towards women, including ‘come see the kitchen; you’ll finally be able to cook a decent meal’.
After non-consensually groping a woman’s leg and getting slapped, Betelgeuse exclaims, ‘women; I don’t know what her problem is’.
A character is ridiculed for his weight. This is done for comedic purposes.
Several jokes are made about suicide.

Sexual references

Beetlejuice has some sexual references. For example:

Lydia hears moaning and, assuming it is her parents having sex, bangs on the wall.
Adam pulls Barbara down into a chair where they kiss passionately.
Dalia licks Charles’ nose flirtatiously.
Betelgeuse manipulates Lydia into agreeing to marry him, in order to save her friends.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Beetlejuice has some substance use. For example:

Multiple characters are seen smoking cigarettes.
Multiple characters are seen drinking glasses of wine or champagne in a social setting.
Lydia states that Dalia is, ‘sleeping with Prince Valium tonight’.

Nudity and sexual activity

Beetlejuice has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

After wondering where he can get ‘a little action’, Betelgeuse is beckoned into a brothel by multiple women in revealing clothing.
Betelgeuse is shown forcibly kissing, groping and looking up the skirt of Barbara.
Betelgeuse is shown gyrating, grabbing his crotch and simulating having sex several times.

Product placement

Beetlejuice has some product placement. For example, Minute Maid is featured in several scenes.

Coarse language

Beetlejuice has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Beetlejuice is a creepy, cult-classic horror/comedy, with dry humour best suited to an older audience. Due to horror themes, scary scenes, violence and coarse language, the movie is not suitable for children under 13 years; and parental guidance is recommended for children from 13-15 years due to darker themes including suicide, death and sexual harassment.

The main message from Beetlejuice is that change is inevitable, but we can learn to make the best of our situation with help from others.

Values in Beetlejuice that you could reinforce with your children are overcoming adversity, teamwork and determination.

Beetlejuice could give you the chance to talk with your children about Betelgeuse’s negative attitude towards women and marriage. You could also talk about Lydia’s depression , and why it’s important to seek help if you feel depressed.