13 Nights of Shocktober: Beetlejuice

by A.J.

Night 13: Happy Happy Halloween!

“There’s a word for people in our situation: Ghosts.”

Beetlejuice 

Even though I've recommended well seen, popular, and classic movies for Shocktober before, I hesitated at including Beetlejuice for those very reasons. If you haven't already rewatched Beetlejuice because of the sequel released just last month, there's a good chance you've already watched it or are already planning on watching it for Halloween. However, if it's been a while since you've seen it or even if you just watched it, you can't go wrong with combining this horror comedy classic and Halloween. 

There's a certain fondness for this movie from people that grew up in the late 80's and early 90's. It's not really a family movie or a kids movie, but it is zany and silly and very funny. There is certainly horror movie imagery, including unsightly creatures from the beyond, but it’s not really a horror movie either. The heightened, cartoonish atmosphere makes everything about this movie, from the look to the subject matter, easier to take and easier to enjoy than if it had a serious, straightforward tone. Director Tim Burton’s distinct surreal, goth macabre style is fully on display and is really the only explanation for a lot of things in the movie. 

It's strange that Beetlejuice begins like a pleasant, wholesome movie about pleasant wholesome people living in a country house, and somehow ends as a movie about wholesome, pleasant people living in a country house, but some of the people are now ghosts. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play the pleasant and wholesome Maitlands, who are surprised to find out after a car accident that they are in fact dead. The real shock for them comes when their house is sold to a nouveaux riche couple (Catherine O’Hara and Jeffery Jones). Their death obsessed goth daughter, Lydia, can see the ghosts and she finds more sympathy with them than her father and eccentric stepmother. The ghosts are horrified by the changes the new owners are making to the house, a sort of avant-garde post modern look to match the stepmother’s sculptures, which are bizarre but perfect for a Tim Burton movie. They can’t scare the new owners out (because possessing them and making them dance around to “Day-o” is actually pretty fun for everyone), so they turn to a “bio-exorcist” named Betelgeuse. Of course, Betelgeuse isn’t trustworthy to say the least and has ulterior motives. And yes, even though the title of the movie is spelled BEETLEJUICE, the character’s name is spelled like the star, Betelgeuse. Since he can only be summoned by saying his name three times, this becomes a running gag with Baldwin calling him Beetlegeist and Beetlemeyer. 

It's crazy that Beetlejuice has not one but two signature performances for performers with impressive careers: Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. Keaton’s Betelgeuse is gross and decaying and obnoxious and lascivious, but Keaton also plays him like an undead Groucho Marx: fast talking, wisecracking, and scheming. He lets Betelgeuse really enjoy being Betelgeuse and that adds a very strange charm to the character. Maybe it is because of how he is introduced that we don’t really hold it against him. When he starts causing chaos after the Maitland’s summon him, your reaction is more along the lines of, “well what did you expect?” Winona Ryder does not have as much screen time as you might remember but she really brings substance to her character so she’s more than just a moody kid. She’s still mourning the death of her mother and is even contemplating suicide so she can join her ghost friends. The scene where they have to talk her down is brief but surprisingly poignant. 

The special effects and makeup are still impressive. The stop motion creature effects might seem dated at first, but this artificial animated look, then and now, adds to the movie’s surreal nature. The monstrous worm from Saturn is pretty unsightly and even frightening but impressive so you can’t look away. The score by Danny Elfman, a long time Burton collaborator, with its booming horns is very memorable. It’s likely that whenever you think about Beetlejuice, you’re also hearing the score in your head.

I don't think it's a stretch to call Beetlejuice a classic, neither the movie nor the character ever fully left the pop culture consciousness. It still feels as wild and zany today as it did in 1988. I was cynical about the sequel–which so far has gotten very good reviews from critics–thinking that the original would be buried or swept aside, but there is no need to worry about that with this movie. It will be around for as long as there are misfit kids, people that love spooky things, and people that love creative, crazy movies. Happy Halloween.

Beetlejuice is available to stream on Max.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Ed Wood

by A.J. 

Happy Halloween! The countdown is over and Halloween is finally upon us. Tonight, hopefully, you'll be relaxing, eating some candy, and watching a scary, or not-so-scary, movie. There are a lot of options for tonight and I hope I've been of some help. Here is my final recommendation to help bring an end to Shocktober:

Night 13: Happy, Happy Halloween! “Can your heart stand the shocking facts of the true story of Edward D. Wood Jr.?”

Ed Wood 

I must confess I don’t know much about the real person of Ed Wood, so I don’t know how much of the movie or the characters is accurate or how much is embellishment. I don’t care. I love this movie, I love this Ed Wood. If you ever ask me if I want to watch Ed Wood, no matter what time of year it is, I will always say “yes,” even if I’ve just watched it. Ed Wood is one of my two favorite Tim Burton movies (the other is Big Fish) and I think it might be his best film. Ed Wood is a loving, nostalgic tribute not just to the worst director ever and his movies, but also to movies in general, movie lovers, and misfits.  

Ed Wood is filmed in black and white in way that evokes the films of the 1950’s without calling attention to its own style. The movie begins with a push-in on an old spooky house in a thunderstorm with theremin music, just like an old spooky movie. Criswell emerges from a coffin to introduce the legend of Edward D. Wood, Jr. The enthusiasm and joy that Johnny Depp exudes in playing Ed Wood also fills every scene of the movie. During the opening titles sequence the camera flies over miniatures and cheap special effects like flying saucers and an octopus, props that would be used in Wood’s movies.

Wood sees the positive in everything. He finds the one unintentionally good line in a very bad review (the costumes looked real) of a bad low budget play Wood and his troupe just performed. He tells a producer that he just put on play that that was praised for its realism. He says “perfect” after every take when he’s shooting a movie, and there’s usually only one take. He doesn’t have the money or the time for multiple takes, but also he really does see every take as perfect. A telephone conversation with a producer that has just seen Glen or Glenda? (Wood’s film about a transvestite, played by himself) ends with Wood saying, “Worst film you ever saw? Well, my next one will be better.” He’s even pretty positive about being a transvestite in 1950’s America.

Wood works with the same group of friends and collaborators on his films and even picks up a few new additions. They are a lovable band of misfits. Bill Murray is great as Bunny Breckinridge; he manages to be both subdued and flamboyant as the very “out" character who wants to be a woman. Jeffery Jones plays Criswell, a TV psychic that makes outlandish predictions. “Ed, this isn’t the real world. You’ve surrounded yourself with a bunch of weirdos,” says Wood’s long suffering girlfriend, Dolores, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. She’s supportive, but she can only take so much; she’s not a misfit like Wood and his gang. She eventually leaves him, but Wood meets a wonderful match in Kathy, played by Patricia Arquette. Late in the film Kathy tells the newly unemployed TV host Vampira, who is embarrassed to be taking a part in Plan 9 from Outer Space, “Eddie’s the only fella in town who doesn’t pass judgement on people.” Wood replies, “That’s right, if I did, I wouldn’t have any friends." 

The standout of Wood’s gang of misfits is Bela Lugosi, played excellently by Martin Landau. He deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that year. Wood is so in awe of Lugosi that to him Lugosi is still a star even though he is washed up, his heyday having long since passed. Landau’s portrayal of Lugosi is very funny and very poignant. He’s not ready to stop making movies but the mainstream has forgotten about him. Even though everyone tells him Lugosi is washed up, to Wood sticks by his new friend, even after he finds out Lugosi is a morphine addict. Wood is Lugosi’s number one fan, and becomes his caretaker. There is something sad but endearing about someone looking after their broken down hero. Lugosi and Wood bond over nostalgia for old horror movies. Lugosi tells him, “They don’t want the classic horror films anymore. Today it’s all giant bugs… Who would believe such nonsense?” Wood feels the same, “The old ones were much spookier; they had castles and full moons.” It’s a great scene. Ed Wood was able to make Lugosi’s last days less somber and less tragic by giving him a chance to be in movies again, even if they were regarded as some of the worst movies ever made. Lugosi started his career starring in some of the best horror movies of the 30’s and finished his career by being in some of the worst movies of the 50’s, but they are movies people still remember and even enjoy, for one reason or another.

One of my favorite sub-genres is movies about making movies and Ed Wood is one of the best. It captures the joy of people doing something they really love. We see the making of Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, and Wood’s masterpiece, Plan 9 from Outer Space. My favorite scene in Ed Wood, and my favorite scene about filmmaking in any film happens during the filming of Bride of the Monster. Tor Johnson, playing a character called Lobo, bumps into a doorframe and shakes the entire set. The cameraman asks Wood if he wants to do another take. Wood says, “No, it’s fine, it’s real. You know, in actuality, Lobo would have to struggle with that problem every day.” He’s completely right. Wood did have some kind of talent, even if it was only at finding a way to make his next movie (like convincing all of his friends to be baptized as Baptists so his religious landlord would fund Plan 9 from Outer Space, and maybe forget about the overdue rent). When Wood is feeling distraught and frustrated about the shooting of Plan 9, he goes to a bar, and sees Orson Welles, played quite impressively by Vincent D’Onofrio, sitting alone in the corner booth. They share frustrations about interfering, demanding producers and actors. Wood is wearing an angora sweater for the entire scene. Welles tells him, “Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else’s dreams?” I don’t care if this moment really happened or not; it’s a great scene.  

I could go on praising Ed Wood; I’ve only used two-thirds of my notes. There’s a lot to love about this movie. It’s a celebration of movies and misfits. It successfully combines joy and melancholy in way I typically only see in Wes Anderson films. It captures the unrelenting love people can have movies. Edward D. Wood, Jr. just needed to make movies and tell stories, even if they were bad. I’ll never get tired of hearing Depp’s wonderful delivery of “I like to wear women’s clothing.” Johnny Depp gives one of his best performances, if not his very best, as Wood. He seems over the top, but he’s not. He’s capturing Wood’s unbridled enthusiasm, positivity, and love for movies. It’s contagious. It makes me smile. I wonder if there is or ever has been anyone, including myself, that loved movies as much as Ed Wood. 

13 Nights of Shocktober: Sleepy Hollow

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

 Night 3: "Watch your heads." Sleepy Hollow 

The 1999 film of Sleepy Hollow is very loosely based on the famous Washington Irving story, but this big budget adaptation directed by Tim Burton succeeds where so many re-imaginings/reboots/re-whatevers fail. Burton brings more than enough style and substance to make what would otherwise be a bloated, bloody mess of a classic story something exciting and engaging.  

Johnny Depp plays Ichabod Crane who, in this version, is a New York City constable in the year 1799 sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of beheadings. He is a strong believer in science and reason and using methods of detection to solve crimes, methods that are new and not taken seriously. Crane is welcomed by few and unwelcomed by most in the town. The town elders tell Crane the legend of the ghoulish Headless Horseman -- a story that scares Crane enough to make his hands tremble -- but he rejects the story and resolves to find the logical explanation for the beheadings. This is what makes the new story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman engaging, it is not just a horror story, but also a murder mystery. 

The mood and atmosphere of this movie is as thick as the fog in the town of Sleepy Hollow. This movie won an Academy Award for its art direction which is wonderfully gothic, with its dreary skies, abundant fog, muted colors, and period architecture. This has to be one of the heaviest atmospheres of any Tim Burton movie. Burton has said that the inspiration for this movie was, in part, the movies of Hammer Films, which if you’ve seen a Hammer horror movie is easy to observe. Hammer film veteran Christopher Lee even makes a cameo at the beginning of the movie. 

Sleepy Hollow is heavy on gore and violence. When those heads come off, the blood flows and flows. Unlike most horror movies, however, the gore in Sleepy Hollow is not the focus of the film and is not mean spirited. You never root for a beheading or dismemberment in this movie. There are CGI effects used in certain scenes that hold up surprisingly well. The third act of the movie is essentially just a big action sequence, which somewhat overshadows the revelations that resolved the central mystery. However, despite that action climax, the overall conclusion of the movie is still satisfying. I wouldn’t call Sleepy Hollow scary, but it is still a fun movie to watch, even for people that are skittish of horror films.