Beetlejuice introduced the audience to the title character, a mischievous ghost who creates chaos in both the afterlife and the world of the living, but one wild theory suggests that Beetlejuice wasn’t dead throughout most of the movie. Tim Burton has shared his unique vision of horror and comedy in a variety of movies since the 1980s, and one of his most popular and beloved works is the horror comedy Beetlejuice, starring Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton.
Beetlejuice follows young couple Barbara (Davis) and Adam Maitland (Baldwin), who on their way back to their country home get into an accident and die… but they don’t know that they did. The Maitlands’ house is later purchased by the Deetz family, but as the Maitlands can’t leave the house for the next 125 years, it’s up to them to get rid of the Deetz – however, they befriend their daughter, Lydia (Ryder), which makes kicking them out more difficult. Desperate for a solution, the Maitlands summon Beetlejuice (Keaton) to get rid of the Deetz, but he only creates a lot more trouble for them, Lydia, and her parents. Beetlejuice is unmistakably a corpse, as he has a rotten appearance, but a theory claims that he wasn’t dead, and he was just trapped in the afterlife.
How Beetlejuice’s Afterlife Works
Beetlejuice follows the idea that there’s life after death, and it looks a lot like some of the most annoying parts of the world of the living, though with a sinister twist. The afterlife in the universe of Beetlejuice is referred to as the Neitherworld, and it’s an exaggerated and darker version of the world of the living and is structured according to a complex bureaucracy, with the recently deceased having to go through a whole process. The recently deceased find themselves at the Neitherworld Waiting Room, ran by civil servants (which, judging by what’s shown in the movie, are those who committed suicide), and where new ghosts meet or make an appointment with their afterlife caseworker.
It’s unclear what happens to other ghosts after their meeting with their caseworkers, but in the Maitlands’ case, they were told they couldn’t leave the house for over a century and that dealing with the Deetz was up to them, and they were also warned about summoning Beetlejuice, but they obviously didn’t care.
Theory: Beetlejuice Was Actually Alive
A theory posted on Reddit explains that Beetlejuice wasn’t dead until the end of the movie, based on how the Neitherworld works and how Beetlejuice and his backstory are presented. At the end of Beetlejuice, the title character is eaten by a sandworm and ends up in the waiting room, where he will have to wait a long, long time to meet his caseworker. The author of the theory explains that, if Beetlejuice was already dead, being eaten by a sandworm wouldn’t have been a big deal for him, and wouldn’t have been sent to the waiting room, so Beetlejuice was most likely alive up to that point.
The author continues by pointing out that Adam and Barbara had to dig Beetlejuice up out of a grave, where he was stuck until someone said his name three times. While it’s understood that he’s trapped there so he won’t be causing trouble everywhere, the theory suggests he was trapped there by an authority in the Neitherworld. It’s explained in Beetlejuice that the character used to work as Juno’s assistant, so she might be the one responsible for him being trapped in the afterlife. Beetlejuice, then, was a living man who entered the Neitherworld (which wouldn’t be too surprising as there are humans, like Lydia, who can see and interact with the dead) and, given that Juno is in a high position of authority, she might have found him wandering and knowing he had to be contained, kept him close as an assistant until he got himself into trouble, so she was responsible for him being trapped in the Neitherworld.
The author adds that Beetlejuice can’t really be trusted, as seen by his contradicting statements throughout the movie. Beetlejuice actually tells the Maitlands that they’re “talking to a dead guy!”, but he also mentions going to Julliard (which was founded in 1905) and living through the Black Plague (1348-1350), so he’s not reliable at all, and this further supports the theory.
How This Theory Changes Beetlejuice (& Is It Possible?)
If Beetlejuice was alive throughout most of his movie, that would make him a victim rather than a crazy ghost, and the villains/antagonists from the afterlife would be Juno and company for keeping him there (and probably driving him insane in the process). The theory would also give a new perspective to Beetlejuice’s attempts to escape the afterlife, as he tried to by almost marrying Lydia, as they would have been an honest and desperate attempt to return to his world. As interesting as the theory is, it’s unlikely Beetlejuice was alive before being eaten by the sandworm, and his contradicting statements are just part of his personality and a way to show that he truly can’t be trusted. As for why he ended up in the waiting room, it might just be part of the process as a sort of “second death”, but it would have been interesting to see what happened to Beetlejuice once he met his caseworker.