What Age Rating Is Beetlejuice 2 - And Is It Really Scary?
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is almost ready to come out, and with the movie earning raves, audiences might be wondering what they're in for when they head out to see it. Per Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA. The score is derived from what the governing body calls "Macabre and Bloody Images, Brief Drug Use, Some Suggestive Material, Strong Language and Violent Content." That makes it slightly too mature for younger kids, and an interesting switch-up since "Beetlejuice" was rated a PG. In England, the film has garnered a 12A, which means no one under 12 will be admitted to screenings.
Anyone who's already seen any of the movie's numerous trailers can testify to how it has most of those elements even in its promotional material. We've already seen a moment where Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) yanks open his shirt and a whole bunch of worms spill out of his wide-open guts in front of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) and her boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux). A preview clip explaining Beetlejuice's origin story, including how he died features him rolling around on a bed with his wife Delores (Monica Bellucci), followed by her poisoning him and Beetlejuice taking an axe to her body — though this act is mainly implied. Another trailer hinted at Beetlejuice's possible future death by showing Delores sucking the soul out of an unfortunate ghost. And that's after the hinted-at animal sacrifice that goes down during their ceremony.
From there, it's easy enough to imagine the film getting off a few curse words, showing some drug use, getting in some further violence, and some ribald material. After all, the original "Beetlejuice" wasn't exactly a kiddie-friendly fright fest either.
Beetlejuice was rated PG -- but it was a pretty hard PG
While it might be rated PG, the original "Beetlejuice" has a surprisingly large amount of adult content in it. The whole premise centers on young newlyweds Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) dying soon after their wedding. Further scenes feature ghosts ripping their own faces off, faces shape-shifting into birdlike death masks, spirits rapidly aging and their body parts disintegrating, and other grotesqueries. And don't think too hard about an underaged Lydia being forced to nearly marry Beetlejuice.
The film also didn't hold back with the adult content – Beetlejuice is seen entering a brothel on the other side, declaring "Here I come, baby." He also grabs his groin and honks it, declaring, "Nice f***ing model!" It's not all "Banana Boat Song" sing-alongs and giant striped snakes in retrospect. While these are likely things that went over kids' heads, adults likely noticed them — and now they can look for even more naughtiness when "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" hits theaters on September 6.