I haven't been this frightened since Michael Keaton, not Johnny Depp, was Tim Burton's muse
Beetlejuice. Ahhhh, Beetlejuice. How well I recall the evening my parents, uncharacteristically savvy of pop culture, rented Beetlejuice for an evening of family entertainment, having heard it was supposed to be "really fun."
How well I recall the experience of watching Beetlejuice for the first time, which was not unlike being dipped in a vat of boiling terror: The bannister that turns into a snake! The giant worms living outside the house! The terrifying facial contortions (literally!) of Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin! Worst of all: THE SHRIMP COCKTAIL THAT ATE PEOPLES' FACES.
And this from a kid who LIVED for bizarre, sick shit. Harryhausen's Medusa: beheaded, falling forward, gluey red junk pouring out of her stump of a neck? Loved it. Ghostbusters' devil dogs attacking Sigourney Weaver from inside an easy chair? Bring it on! Watching the scene in The Dark Crystal where the emperor skeksis decomposes into little chunks, my aunt inquiring if I'm ok, if I'm a little scared by it--my response? "Oh, that happens all the time."
What the hell was it about Beetlejuice then? Was it the fact that everything was like a sick funhouse, and I already had an overwhelming fear of clowns? Actually...that might be it. In fact, I think that's exactly why Beetlejuice terrified me so: I knew it was supposed to be funny (like I know clowns are 'supposed to be funny') and I didn't think it was funny. I thought it was a god damned horror movie.
One more of life's mysteries: solved.
Click here to look upon the face of fear; or, what occasions a diatribe about Beetlejuice, anyway?
How well I recall the experience of watching Beetlejuice for the first time, which was not unlike being dipped in a vat of boiling terror: The bannister that turns into a snake! The giant worms living outside the house! The terrifying facial contortions (literally!) of Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin! Worst of all: THE SHRIMP COCKTAIL THAT ATE PEOPLES' FACES.
And this from a kid who LIVED for bizarre, sick shit. Harryhausen's Medusa: beheaded, falling forward, gluey red junk pouring out of her stump of a neck? Loved it. Ghostbusters' devil dogs attacking Sigourney Weaver from inside an easy chair? Bring it on! Watching the scene in The Dark Crystal where the emperor skeksis decomposes into little chunks, my aunt inquiring if I'm ok, if I'm a little scared by it--my response? "Oh, that happens all the time."
What the hell was it about Beetlejuice then? Was it the fact that everything was like a sick funhouse, and I already had an overwhelming fear of clowns? Actually...that might be it. In fact, I think that's exactly why Beetlejuice terrified me so: I knew it was supposed to be funny (like I know clowns are 'supposed to be funny') and I didn't think it was funny. I thought it was a god damned horror movie.
One more of life's mysteries: solved.
Click here to look upon the face of fear; or, what occasions a diatribe about Beetlejuice, anyway?
posted by Kate Racculia at 12:47 PM
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