Classic Old Horror Film

This classic old horror movie [1988] was directed by Tim Burton and produced by Warner Brothers [Wes Craven was set to direct the film at one time, when it was still more of a horror film. When things fell apart he went on to write _Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, etc]

Thanks to the carelessness of a fluffly little dog, newlyweds Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are killed in a freak auto accident. 

Upon arriving in the outer gates of Heaven, the couple finds that, thanks to a century's worth of bureaucratic red tape, they're on a very long waiting list. Before they can earn their wings, Davis and Baldwin must occupy their old house as ghosts for the next 50 years. Alas, the house is now owned by unlovable yuppies, Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones. 

Horrified at the prospect of sharing space with these "plastic" humans, Davis and Baldwin do their best to scare O'Hara and Jones away, but their house-haunting skills are pathetic at best. In desperation, the ghostly couple engage the services of a veteran bio-exorcist, a yellow-haired, snaggle-toothed, profane, spirit named Beetlejuice (Played by Michael Keaton). But beetlejuice has an evil agenda behind his plot to help these young newlyweds. He can not be trusted-especially when he falls in love with O'Hara and Jones' gloomy, black-clad teen aged daughter played by Winola Ryder. [Who happens to be the goddaughter of LSD guru Timothy Leary. This happened to be her breakthrough role!]  One of the most tantalizing scenes comes when their is a dinner party and Bettlejuice comes up with some unusual antics to scare the hell out of everyone.This made the calypso music even more popular.

The first time that I viewed it, I laughed so hard that I felt some kind of kinship with the director. Imagine combining comedy, horror and just pure craziness into one film and making it work so well. 

Over 19 years after its release, Tim Burton's Beetlejuice remains a revered horror classic and an important film in the career of a young filmmaker who was only beginning to wow us with his distinct way of looking at life and making films.