Director Tim Burton has released the sequel to his 80s classic, BEETLEJUICE, and to ensure you're among the best-informed moviegoers, we'll tell you what this first installment, released on March 30, 1988, is all about. In it, a ghost working as an exorcist, scaring the living out of haunted houses, finds his work turning the ghost community against him, ultimately leading to the end of his business. And listen up, the film helped solidify Burton's aesthetic in the public's favor and made it clear that horror could elicit reactions of panic, fascination, and even tenderness. To enjoy the first film, Amazon Prime has it available on its streaming platform.

Before we see the second one, the one premiering in 2024, let us tell you that the name of the first film, BEETLEJUICE, and the second, which is the same but repeated, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, both translate to "beetle juice." It's also the story of a ghost couple who find their house invaded by living people and want to force them to leave, so they call in a professional scarer. It's a metaphor for individuals who are different from the rest of society and don't want their privacy violated. BEETLEJUICE represents the struggle of those who defend their right to be different, using their qualities and charms to earn the right to decide how to live their lives. It's a drama by the director himself, Tim Burton, a "weird" and introverted guy who enjoys art and horror stories, but who in the real world works as an artist, not a murderer or a criminal, even though his stories often deal with these themes.

When you go to see BEETLEJUICE, remember that the first film, released in '88, marked the beginning of a prodigious decade for the young director Tim Burton. During those years, he connected with the young teenagers who would become adults in the '90s. His training as an animator and as a character and set designer would become the aesthetic foundation of his films. His formal refinement allowed him to make the strange appealing, transforming it into a quality that influenced the behavior of his fans. That's why those who watch a film like BEETLEJUICE and identify with one of its characters enter the realm of their own inner world, where they can think the most terrible thoughts and desire the most bizarre things without fear of punishment. With his work, Burton makes the horrifying beautiful and allows viewers to enjoy what makes them feel strange, because in his films, being different is the defining characteristic of his protagonists.