Random Insane And Horrifying Scenes In ‘Beetlejuice’ That Were Impossible To Understand As A Child (12 items)

(#7) There Were Dead People Watching The Same Movie You Were

As Adam and Barbara talk with Juno (Sylvia Sidney), behind them, we see a window. Peering into that window from the other side is a movie theater full of dead people who are eating popcorn and enjoying the show.

There are skeletons, an old-timey-looking woman in a gown, and even the Blues Brothers in their trademark suits and sunglasses. So deceased people watched the same movie you were from both the literal and figurative "other side."
(#8) Shrunken Heads Hang Out In The Afterlife Waiting Room

Beetlejuice sits in the civil servants' waiting room, attempting to trick what appears to be some sort of Voodoo tribesman. The tribesman has already shrunken the head of another person in the waiting room. This doesn't deter Beetlejuice, who continues trying to pull one over on the tribesman until he shrinks Beetlejuice's head, too.

Heads are shrunken, eyes are bugging out, and lips are sewn shut. Not exactly Disney fare.
(#2) Beetlejuice Tries To Marry A Teenager

The whole red wedding scene is dark. Beetlejuice, the old, creepy guy, marries Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), the teenager. She's wearing a red wedding dress, which is a reference to an old Victorian superstition: Married in red, you'll wish yourself dead. This makes sense, considering the groom is already expired, and the bride is sort of obsessed with the concept.

Moments later, when he puts the ring on Lydia's finger, we see the jewelry still attached to the finger of his ex. "I'm tellin' ya, honey, she meant nothin' to me," Beetlejuice tells Lydia. But the ex is gone, he still has her finger in his pocket, and he's marrying a goth teenager.
(#1) Beetlejuice Goes To Dante's Inferno Room, AKA A Gentlemen's Club

At one point in the film, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) is distracted in a model town built by Adam (Alec Baldwin). He encounters what appears to be a strip club, though there is no hint of nudity or inappropriateness.

The strip club's name is Dante's Inferno Room. You know, Dante's Inferno. That classic poem about a journey through the nine circles of Hell - not exactly a lighthearted romp for kiddies.
(#6) Charles Is Aroused By Architecture

When you were a kid watching Beetlejuice, did you notice that Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones) was seemingly turned on by architecture? For instance, when he discovers the town's post office, he talks about the building with an almost salacious fascination.

As a movie buff, Chris Stangl of The Exploding Kinetoscope blog observed, "Charles has been mastered by the buildings he assesses and purchases." And Charles seems to like this fact a little too much.
(#12) Beetlejuice's Passing Is Unsettling - Even If He Is The Antihero

To save Lydia from marrying Beetlejuice, Barbara crashes into the house astride a sandworm. The sandworm then proceeds to eat Beetlejuice, ending the wedding. Beetlejuice is an antihero throughout the movie, and even though he's annoying and monstrous, he's also sometimes charming and even likable.

As a kid, it can be scary to watch a character like that get eaten by a giant worm.