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Beetle Juice
Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    100
    By the time this irresistible treat is over, it has created some of the funniest moments and most inspired visual humor and design we may expect to experience at the movies all year. [30 Mar 1988]
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  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    100
    Hilarious…The joy of Beetlejuice is its completely bizarre -- but perfectly realized -- view of the world, a la Gary Larson's "The Far Side," or "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." [1 Apr 1988]
  3. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    90
    Beetlejuice means something good: that imaginative artists can bring a fading genre back from the dead. [11 Apr 1988]
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  4. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    90
    Not since "Ghostbusters" have the spirits been so uplifting. [30 Mar 1988]
  5. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    88
    So original that it'll be years before a major filmmaker attempts another one. We're talking black-belt cult-movie status here. [30 Mar 1988]
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  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    80
    Beetlejuice springs to life when the raucous and repulsive Betelgeuse (Keaton) rises from his moribund state to wreak havoc on fellow spooks and mortal enemies.
  7. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    75
    For all the film's popped eyeballs and severed limbs, Beetlejuice retains an innocence that makes the grotesque humor very appealing. Burton has captured the sweet ghoulishness of a 12-year-old pouring over horror comics, dreaming of the greatest Halloween costume ever invented. [30 Mar 1988]
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  8. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Non Credited)
    70
    A surreal, demented delight.
  9. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    70
    Only about half of the disconnected gags and oddball conceits pay off, but their gleeful delivery takes up most of the slack.
  10. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    Gets off to a start that's so charming it never lives it down. The movie is all anticlimax once we realize it's going to be about gimmicks, not characters.
  11. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    The screenplay is foolish and Michael Keaton overplays the title role badly, but director Tim Burton gives the comedy a heap of visual imagination. [22 Apr 1988]
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  12. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    40
    Elaborate as this sounds, there really isn't much plot here, only a parade of arbitrary visual tricks to hold the film together. [30 Mar 1988, p.C18]
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  13. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    25
    It's two hours of your life wasted, time once spent that can never be regained. Don't go. Don't do it. [30 Mar 1988]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. TipsyMcBee
    9
    With a great cast of actors and a great production value, Beetle Juice will give you laughs and even a bit of scares (especially for the little ones) in this enjoyable film. In my opinion, this is definitely one of Tim Burton's strongest films he's ever directed and I just love the odd humour and strangely dark concepts in the movie. Baldwin, Davis, Ryder and Keaton took the stage in playing such strong and memorable roles and the art direction in special effects looked unique at its time. This is a pretty entertaining flick and I recommend a audience who enjoys dark comedies and odd original storytelling should give this a go.… Full Review »
  2. CritiqueGirl
    10
    Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton are all great and Winona Ryder and more are all very, very good. So original and Tim Burton was fantastic with direction.… Full Review »
  3. ERG1008
    8
    Couple have old house, friend wants them to sell, have car crash, die, new family move in, couple haunt them without success, ask "People-Exorcist" for help. Tim Burton at his best with a wonderfully surreal & dark tale featuring a very strong cast. The effects haven't dated that well but a lot of the creations here can be seen later in the equally brilliant Nightmare Before Christmas. Michael Keaton steals every scene he is in (although not that many) & you think he'd have been better playing the Joker rather than Batman in his next film after this performance.… Full Review »
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