Beetlejuice

[School of Movies 2024]

A perennial Halloween favourite for our family, this was Tim Burton's Sophomore effort, after his debut with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure but before he became a Hollywood Titan with Batman (starring Beetlejuice). And I know we give him a hard time a lot, as a purveyor of populist Goth chic to the masses, but when he hits right you get this movie.

And it really does hold up after three and a half decades. Possibly because it's so much fun and so child-friendly that new generations can embrace this ghostly monster party every few years, giving it an evergreen quality. Certainly Willow has loved it since they were tiny, and goes into why on this episode with us. Each member of the cast and crew are firing on all cylinders. It's visually stunning, wickedly gruesome, wildly quotable and utterly hilarious.

And this weekend we get to visit the messy but enjoyable 2024 sequel for the Patreon bonus podcast feed.