Fr. Brian and Fr. Matt explore the treatment of death and the afterlife in both Beetlejuice (1988) and its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). They compare the films’ lighthearted approach to death to the Christian concept of “memento mori,” a sober recognition of mortality and living life in preparation for death. Regarding the afterlife, while the film’s depiction of an otherworldly bureaucratic waiting room can be compared to our understanding of purgatory, its descriptions of the “Great Beyond” lack the sense of eternal peace or eternal rest that we associate with heaven.

(0:28) Fr. Brian and Fr. Matt open the episode by discussing some of the movies they’ve seen recently, including Sing Sing, about the real-life theater program at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison, and Trap, an M. Night Shyamalan film about a serial killer evading police while attending a concert with his daughter. Fr. Brian then challenges Fr. Matt to a game before announcing the movies being covered in this episode: Beetlejuice and its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. After summarizing the plot of the films, our hosts zero in on the films’ depiction of death and the afterlife.

(14:12) In both films, the afterlife is depicted as a bureaucratic office through which souls are processed after death. Fr. Matt notes that there’s a purgatorial aspect to this “waiting room” or “in-between phase” for the characters. The second movie also includes references to the “Great Beyond,” a place one can go after the initial waiting period. While this idea slightly mirrors a soul’s transition from purgatory to heaven, our hosts note that the film’s depiction of the “Great Beyond” lacks the sense of eternal peace or eternal rest that we associate with heaven.

(19:06) Fr. Matt confesses that he isn’t typically a fan of Tim Burton’s films, as they often feature lighthearted depictions of death that aren’t aligned with the Christian practice of sober preparation and recognition of one’s mortality. Fr. Brian notes a few details Beetlejuice Beetlejuice gets right: The “Great Beyond” represents what comes after a soul’s period of waiting, and the character Dolores, who drains the souls of the dead, in some ways mirrors the idea of “second death” mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

(28:48) Fr. Brian talks about a plot device used in both movies wherein characters get married in the afterlife. He cites the Gospel of Mark, which happens to be Fr. Matt’s favorite, in which Jesus tells the Sadducees that there is no marriage in heaven. As these films are favorites to watch during the Halloween “season,” our hosts take time to discuss the difference between secular and religious holiday celebrations.

(35:49) Fr. Matt clarifies that a film being featured on Cinema Verbi does not mean it enjoys the full endorsement of either host. Instead, families are encouraged to review and judge movies based on their own needs. Both of our hosts then rank the Beetlejuice movies using their “seeds of the word” rating, based on how clearly they saw goodness, truth, and beauty reflected in the stories.

Life Everlasting in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"