Fan reactions to the trailer dropping for the forthcoming Beetlejuice movie set the internet ablaze this week. Michael Keaton reprises his role as the titular character in director Tim Burton's 2024 reimagining of the cult classic horror comedy movie.
But Beetlejuice won't even arrive in cinemas until this September – and it'll be a longer wait than that for the best streaming services to pick up Warner Bros. latest much-anticipated flick too. Even the original Beetlejuice from 1988 isn't available to stream online, such is its heritage.
However, all these remakes of 1980s classics lately – Road House appeared on Amazon Prime Video just this week too – has got me thinking about some great horror-comedy alternatives that you can stream right now ahead of Beetlejuice's anticipated arrival at the end of the summer. From classic to modern, I've got three must-watch picks guaranteed to entertain...
1. Wednesday
No, it's not soley because Jenna Ortega, who plays the titular character, Wednesday, also appears in the new Beetlejuice. It's because Wednesday, which is also directed by Tim Burton, is such a superb Addams Family spin-off series on Netflix that, if you haven't already, you really need to dig your teeth into.
Wednesday doesn't have the whimsy of the recent Sabrina remake (also on Netflix), but manages to be effortlessly stylised, yet tongue-in-cheek comedic, with just the right dose of creepy. Given the Burton link here, inevitably you'll get visual similarities, while the 1991 Addams Family movie is in precisely the same ballpark as Beetlejuice and the heyday era of horror-comedy movies.
2. Ghostbusters
The original Ghostbusters hit cinemas back in 1984 and was a runaway success. It still stands the test of time today, with Bill Murray's performance in particular really carrying the comedy tone throughout. A 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II, is an unusually brilliant follow-up too, although that's not available to stream for free right now.
Now, 40 years on and after an extended hiatus, the movie series continues to march on. The latest, Frozen Empire, looks like it'll be a disappointment (which arrives in cinemas this weekend). But I thoroughly recommend the previous flick, Afterlife, which in 2021 felt like the perfect storm of classic meets Stranger Things success. None of those are streaming at present, though, so you'll have to go right back to the beginning and enjoy the classic.
3. Tremors
It'd be remiss of me not to include at least one other classic in this list, although from a few years later. Many others that I'd investigated – Critters and Gremlins being two particular standouts, aside from the original Beetlejuice – simply aren't available on many streaming services. But Kevin Bacon's breakthrough, Tremors, most certainly is. And what a 1990 classic it is.
Relatively lo-fi, Tremors has fortunately seen a Full HD remaster to make it worthy of modern eyes and the best TVs' ability to upscale and bring that added sharpness. The movie itself has plenty of witty dialogue to complement the visuals, and some great effects (not CGI!) to really add to the tension. The less said about the extensive sequels, however, the better...
