Beetlejuice Family 陰間大法師家族 冥界のグランドマスターファミリー

Beetlejuice is a 1988 American gothic horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson. The plot revolves around Adam and Barbara Maitland, a recently deceased couple. As ghosts, they are not allowed to leave their house. They contact Betelgeuse, a sleazy "bio-exorcist", to scare the house's new inhabitants away. Beetlejuice was released in the United States on March 30, 1988, by Warner Bros. Pictures The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $84 million against a $15 million budget. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Makeup, and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney. The film's success spawned a media franchise, consisting of an animated television series, video games, a 2018 stage musical, and a 2024 sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

In Winter River, Connecticut, Adam and Barbara Maitland are spending their vacation decorating their large country home that local real estate agent Jane Butterfield constantly pesters them to sell. As a hobby, Adam is building a scale model of the town in the attic. While the Maitlands are driving home from town, their car plunges off a bridge and into the river. Barbara and Adam arrive home but are unable to recall how they got there. When attempting to leave the house, Adam finds himself on Saturn's moon Titan, an otherworldly desert-like landscape populated by enormous sandworms. The encounter lasts mere seconds for him, but after Barbara rescues him, she tells him he was gone for two hours. After discovering a Handbook for the Recently Deceased and noticing they now lack reflections, the couple realizes that they drowned in the river and are ghosts.

The house is sold to New York real estate developer Charles Deetz and his second wife Delia, a talentless sculptor. Charles's teenage goth daughter, Lydia, lives with them. Under the guidance of interior designer Otho Fenlock, Delia begins renovating the house with a new-wave aesthetic of postmodern art.

While consulting the Handbook on how to eject the Deetzes, the Maitlands see an advertisement for "Betelgeuse". Following the handbook's guidelines, they travel to an otherworldly waiting room filled with other distressed souls. After navigating the afterlife's complex bureaucracy, the Maitlands return home only to realize three months have passed and the house has been completely redesigned. Their caseworker Juno arrives and discloses the Maitlands must remain in their house for 125 years before "moving on", while discouraging them from contacting Betelgeuse, her former assistant-turned-freelance "bio-exorcist", to drive out the Deetzes. Betelgeuse can only be summoned by uttering his name three times. Juno recommends that the Maitlands haunt the Deetzes themselves.

Adam and Barbara are invisible to Charles and Delia, which thwarts their fright attempts. Lydia, however, can see them, which she attributes to her peculiar nature. The Maitlands invoke Betelgeuse and are transported into the model. Betelgeuse's crude and morbid demeanor is offensive and they exit the model. The Maitlands possess Charles, Delia and their wealthy friends during a dinner party. Unexpectedly, their antics only amuse the group, inspiring Charles to pitch a supernatural theme park to investor Maxie Dean. The Deetzes uncover the town model in the attic, where Otho finds the Handbook. Betelgeuse transforms into a giant snake and terrorizes the Deetzes before Barbara banishes him back to the model.

Juno calls Barbara and Adam back to the afterlife office and berates them for releasing Betelgeuse. Meanwhile, Lydia, depressed and blaming the Maitlands for Betelgeuse's attack, discovers Betelgeuse inside the model. She almost summons him in exchange for passage to the afterlife, but the Maitlands return and stop her.

Maxie Dean arrives and demands evidence of paranormal occurrences, but the Maitlands refuse to manifest again. Otho uses the Handbook and conducts what he believes is a séance. He summons Adam and Barbara by using their wedding clothes, but they begin aging and decaying rapidly as Otho has mistakenly mixed the summoning spell with an exorcism, leaving them in a state of perpetual suffering.

A horrified Lydia invokes Betelgeuse, who will help if she marries him so he can remain in the mortal world. He saves the Maitlands, drives away Otho and the Deans, then prepares to wed Lydia. The Maitlands attempt to banish Betelgeuse, who teleports Adam to the town model and Barbara to the desert-land. Barbara rides back into the house on a sandworm, which devours Betelgeuse.

The Deetzes and the Maitlands agree to harmoniously live together. Meanwhile, Betelgeuse is stuck in the afterlife waiting room, waiting his turn to see a caseworker. He attempts to steal a numbered ticket from the ghost of a witch doctor, who retaliates by shrinking his head.

The Venice Carnevale is not all about masks. Many local Italians prefer painted faces, historical costumes and recently even cosplay. Often, these costumes look much better than full masks and I do enjoy photographing them very much. The original portraits are done using 100% natural lighting only and against a grey wall. Beetlejuice Family is a family portrait done at the Venice Carnevale for my Italian friends Antonella Borgato and Omar Ferroti and their children. I have known this lovely couple for more than 10 years now, even before the children are born....

This, is the real Venice Carnevale...

And for the fun of it, I created a mock movie poster for the family...