Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, the dead make their case—lost in limbo, seeking grace. Is Tim Burton’s classic an allegory for Catholic Christian doctrine?
Since its release in 1988, Beetlejuice has held a unique place in popular culture, celebrated for its offbeat humor, surreal aesthetics, and its irreverent take on the afterlife. Directed by Tim Burton, the film introduced audiences to a bizarre world where death was just the beginning of a new bureaucratic nightmare, inhabited by eccentric characters, both living and dead. At its core, the movie tells the story of a recently deceased couple navigating the confusing rules of their new existence, all while trying to rid their home of unwanted living occupants, aided—or rather hindered—by the chaos-inducing bio-exorcist, Beetlejuice. The film’s blend of the macabre and the comedic resonated deeply with audiences, cementing its status as a cult classic and propelling Michael Keaton’s performance as the titular character into iconic status.
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Fast forward to today, September 5, 2024, and the eagerly awaited sequel, Beetlejuice 2 (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), has just premiered in Australia. After decades of speculation and fan anticipation, Tim Burton has once again brought his singular vision of the afterlife to the screen, reuniting audiences with old characters while introducing new elements to expand the universe. The sequel delves even further into the strange and unpredictable rules governing the afterlife, building on the surrealist satire that made the original so beloved. While many sequels struggle to capture the magic of their predecessors, Beetlejuice 2 promises to do more than simply revisit familiar territory—it seeks to deepen the exploration of life, death, and what might come after.
This thematic richness opens the door to a deeper exploration of how Beetlejuice, with all its absurdity, may have a surprising connection to profound theological questions—particularly those rooted in Catholic Christian beliefs about purgatory, hell, and the soul’s journey after death. As we peel back the layers of the Beetlejuice universe, it becomes clear that beneath the humor lies a thought-provoking meditation on the consequences of our actions in life, and the eternal destiny that awaits us.
The Name “Beetlejuice” and Its Significance
Before diving into the theological themes, it’s worth considering the character of Beetlejuice himself and how his very name plays into the film’s exploration of the afterlife. While the name Beetlejuice may seem whimsical or even random, it is actually derived from the star Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation Orion. This astronomical connection hints at the idea of stars as distant, burning objects—symbols of something vast, unknowable, and potentially destructive. In a way, the character of Beetlejuice is like the star he’s named after: a force of chaotic energy whose influence, though far away from the ordinary world, can wreak havoc when called upon.
This celestial naming also ties into deeper themes of the divine and the unknown. In many religious traditions, stars have been associated with the divine, with guidance, and with the journey of the soul. In Beetlejuice, however, the journey is anything but divine; it’s messy, unpredictable, and filled with danger, as seen through the character’s ability to manipulate the dead and living alike for his own chaotic purposes.
Much like his stellar namesake, Beetlejuice exists at a distance from any sense of moral order or salvation, a reminder of the unpredictable and potentially perilous nature of the afterlife in the film’s universe.
The Beetlejuice Universe: Purgatory with a Twist
“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:29
In Catholic belief, purgatory is a place of temporary suffering where souls are purified before entering heaven. It’s a state of waiting, a liminal space between salvation and damnation, where souls work through the remnants of sin. In Beetlejuice, the waiting room for the dead functions as a grotesque, comedic parallel to purgatory. Instead of prayer and purification, the dead are subject to a surreal bureaucracy, complete with paperwork, caseworkers, and bizarre rules. Souls are trapped in a state of confusion and helplessness, navigating a labyrinthine afterlife without the comfort of religious sacraments or divine intervention.
This purgatorial space is humorously exaggerated in the film, but it also captures something essential about the human experience of death and the afterlife: the sense of waiting, of being caught between worlds. The characters in Beetlejuice are not damned, but neither are they in paradise. They are, instead, somewhere in between—a reflection of the Catholic belief that purgatory is a necessary, though painful, step toward eventual redemption.
Civil Servants of the Afterlife: The Consequence of Suicide
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
1 Corinthians 3:16–17
One of the most striking rules of the Beetlejuice afterlife is that those who commit suicide are destined to become civil servants, forced to serve in a bureaucratic system that seems devoid of purpose or meaning. This notion draws from the Catholic understanding of suicide as a grave sin, historically considered to be an act that separated the soul from God. The civil servants in Beetlejuice are portrayed as tired, lifeless figures, drained of individuality and trapped in the monotony of endless paperwork—a punishment that mirrors the spiritual isolation and despair often associated with the consequences of suicide in religious doctrine.
However, in recent years, the Catholic Church’s view on suicide has shifted, recognizing the role of mental illness and extreme suffering in such acts, and emphasizing God’s mercy. Still, the idea that those who take their own lives might be consigned to a bleak, endless existence in the afterlife speaks to the enduring fear of spiritual separation—a form of hell that is more psychological than physical.
The Personalization of Death and Eternal Consequences
“Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”
Galatians 6:7
The personalization of death in the Beetlejuice universe, where the circumstances of one’s demise are forever reflected in their appearance and abilities, resonates with the Catholic belief that our actions in life shape our eternal destiny. In the film, the dead bear the marks of how they lived and died—whether it’s the receptionist with slashed wrists, the flattened man run over by a car, or the football players forever clad in their uniforms. This grotesque embodiment of one’s manner of death is a visual reminder of the Catholic teaching that our choices have eternal consequences.
Catholicism teaches that while we can be forgiven for our sins, the effects of those sins remain. The souls in purgatory, for example, may be forgiven, but they must still undergo purification to make up for the damage caused by their earthly lives. Similarly, the dead in Beetlejuice are forever shaped by their final moments, their appearances and abilities a testament to the weight of their actions.
Exorcism: A Second Death for the Dead
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 7:15
Exorcism, in the Beetlejuice universe, is described as a “death for the dead,” where the soul is reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. This concept ties into the Catholic fear of eternal separation from God, often referred to as the “second death” in Christian theology. In Catholic belief, the ultimate punishment is not just physical death but spiritual death—the soul’s complete and irreversible alienation from God’s grace. The fear of becoming a wisp, a lost soul in the afterlife, speaks to this fear of annihilation and eternal damnation.
In Beetlejuice, the idea that exorcism could erase a soul’s existence taps into this anxiety, presenting a fate even more terrifying than the bureaucratic purgatory: the loss of identity, of self, and of any chance for redemption.
Beetlejuice as the Trickster: The Danger of Shortcuts
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
Matthew 10:28
Finally, the character of Beetlejuice himself serves as a metaphor for the temptations that lead souls astray. Catholic tradition warns against false prophets and demonic figures who offer shortcuts to salvation, promising an easy escape from the consequences of sin. Beetlejuice, with his charm and deceit, fits this role perfectly. He promises quick solutions, but his help comes at a price—often leading to even greater chaos and suffering.
In many ways, Beetlejuice represents the darker side of free will: the allure of choosing the easier path, even when it leads away from redemption. His role as a bio-exorcist, someone who drives away the living, can be seen as a perverse inversion of the Catholic sacrament of exorcism, where the goal is to expel evil and restore divine order. Beetlejuice, on the other hand, thrives on disorder, tempting both the living and the dead to abandon their moral com.
The Handbook of the Recently Deceased: A Guide to the Afterlife
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.”
Psalms 105
The Beetlejuice universe’s “Handbook of the Recently Deceased” serves as a humorous but poignant commentary on the human desire for guidance in the afterlife. Catholicism offers its own “handbook”, we call The Holy Bible, of sorts in the form of its teachings, sacraments, and prayers for the dead. The Church believes that these provide the soul with a roap to navigate the difficulties of purgatory and reach heaven. Similarly, the Handbook in the movie is meant to be a guide to using one’s abilities in the afterlife, suggesting that the soul must actively engage with its new state in order to find its way forward.
However, much like the ambiguous and often confusing instructions in the movie’s Handbook, the reality of the afterlife, according to Catholic doctrine, can be seen as a mysterious and often incomprehensible journey. The uncertainty and fear that arise from not knowing how to interpret these instructions mirrors the Catholic teaching that the soul must rely on faith and the mercy of God rather than any clear, step-by-step guide to salvation.
Conclusion: Satire and Salvation in the Beetlejuice Universe
While Beetlejuice may seem like a purely absurd and comedic take on the afterlife, its exploration of death, judgment, and the consequences of sin taps into profound theological questions, particularly those rooted in Catholicism. Through its exaggerated portrayal of purgatory, suicide, exorcism, and the eternal consequences of our actions, the Beetlejuice universe invites viewers to reflect on their own beliefs about life, death, and what may come after.
In the end, Beetlejuice serves as both a cautionary tale and a satirical reflection of our deepest fears and hopes for the afterlife, reminding us that the journey to redemption is never straightforward, and that even in death, the choices we make continue to shape our eternal destiny.
Author’s note: I am not a theologian, nor do I have any d to the Catholic Church. I just wrote this up for fun.