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

(#11) Lydia Dancing With The Football Players

In another fun dancing scene, Lydia does a mystical dance to Harry Belafonte's "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)." As she levitates into the air, a football team serves as her backup dancers. And that whole football team is expired. They're ghosts, as is evident earlier in the film when one of them tells the Maitland's otherworldly caseworker, Juno, that they all passed in a crash (but their coach somehow survived).

Thus, the teenage girl is doing a possessed dance accompanied by a dead football team. It's such light and breezy subject matter.
(#3) People Who Die By Suicide Become Civil Servants In The Hereafter

In the world of Beetlejuice, people who die by suicide are assigned to be civil servants in the afterlife. This is one of the less-obvious and less-distressing elements in the movie, but it's one that adults may pick up on more easily than kids.

Imagine what this is saying to impressionable young minds: Devoting your life to public service is akin to dealing with cantankerous ghosts in the afterlife for all of eternity.
(#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.
(#4) There's An Out-Of-Place Crotch-Grab And F-Bomb

This wasn't a scary moment by any means, but it was jarring considering the movie had virtually no foul language. Angered at the Maitlands, Beetlejuice destroys a tree in the model town, screaming, "Nice f*ckin' model!" and grabs his crotch as a cartoonish horn honks.

It's a quick, insignificant moment, but watching something so adult and out-of-tune with the rest of the movie's tenor could have appeared crazy to a kid viewer.
(#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.
(#5) Suicide Is Prevalent

Bubbling under the surface of a seemingly madcap and farcical movie is the constant theme of suicide. Caseworkers are people who died by it, the concept comes up during the dinner party conversation that eventually turns into the "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" dance fest, and Lydia writes a goodbye note.

And Beetlejuice used to be a caseworker, so this is also how he met his end.