So, you enjoyed Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (looking at the box office, a bunch of you certainly did) and now you’ve got a taste for the Goth King of Hollywood’s brand of macabre mirth. Where to next?
Well, assuming you’ve already taken in the original Beetlejuice (and you should—it’s great, and better than the new iteration) you’re next is obviously to check out the rest of Burton’s canon. That’s tricky territory, though, as his output has been a bit patchy for the last couple of decades, but make time for Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and Frankenweenie.
Which is not to say there aren’t other bangers in his filmography—including his Batman movies and Ed Wood biopic—but those three are more closely aligned with the specific Beetlejuice vibe. It’s worth noting that Burton did not direct The Nightmare Before Christmas—Henry Selick did—but add that to the pile, too.
And while Beetlejuice‘s horror elements are very lightly played, it’s still a horror comedy. With that in mind, give Joe Dante’s Gremlins movies a spin, although the second is more a straight comedy. By contrast, Sam Raimi’s original The Evil Dead is a straight horror, but Evil Dead 2 and especially Army of Darkness are spectacular examples of the comedy-horror form. If you struggle with older films, a) you should work on that, and b) Christopher Landon is the current king of the horror comedy ring, with Happy Death Day and Freaky, riffs on Groundhog Day and Freaky Friday, respectively, both being ridiculously good fun.
If it’s Timbo’s mall goth aesthetic that appeals, we have to recommend The Crow (not the remake!) which had prime space on the shelf of every self-respecting spooky kid back in the day, along with Burton’s films and teen witch drama The Craft. Speaking of spooky young’uns, if you followed Jenna Ortega here by way of the Burton-produced Wednesday on Netflix, we must strongly recommend making time for Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, both hilarious horror comedies.
