Editorials
What Are Your Favorite Tim Burton Films?
This past week was a roller coaster of emotions when it comes to Tim Burton and, specifically Beetlejuice. There were rumors that a sequel to the 1988 horror/comedy had a finished script as well as original stars Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton aboard for a trip back into the world of the deceased. Alas, Burton’s reps released a comment explaining that the director’s focus is on two different films at the moment, Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children and Dumbo.
While that’s sad news, it got me thinking about the director and the great many works that he’s been behind. And while I will fully admit that I think he’s had some serious missteps, I also believe that he’s had some glorious triumphs. So I think it’s time that we celebrate some of those.
While not all of Burton’s movies fall under the horror moniker, I think we can all agree that the director almost always uses a very surreal and sometimes horrific style in his work. Just think of “Large Marge” or the bicycle nightmare scene in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Those freaked the hell out of me as a child and I still get slightly unsettled due to nostalgia.
So, without further ado, here are a few of my favorite Tim Burton films. Share your sin the comments below and let’s get some discussions going!
Batman
While not a horror film, there are more than enough dark and twisted moments in this movie to satisfy any fan of the genre. Plus, I don’t think anyone can argue that Jack Nicholson as The Joker is absolutely masterful. There’s a reason people keep asking who was better, Nicholson or Ledger. While both totally different, they’re, in my opinion, on par in terms of their performance.
Also, in what will be a recurring theme in this list, composer Danny Elfman’s score is simply fantastic. Driving, memorable, and perfectly suited (no pun intended), it’s one of the best parts of the movie.
Sleepy Hollow
Back before Johnny Depp was being super weird in pretty much any role he took, he was Constable Ichabod Crane, sent from New York to investigate murder in Sleepy Hollow!
While not a flawless film, Burton’s adaptation of the Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” absolutely exudes atmosphere (it won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction) and looks like no other film that I can think of. It’s got a fun story, a fantastic cast, and wonderful music. Plus, Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman? Yeah, you win just for that.
Beetlejuice
The whole reason this post even exists. But get ready for this revelation: I can’t tell you how much I HATED Beetlejuice when I was a kid. I just felt really uncomfortable with it. However, as the years passed I began to realize the genius of the movie. From its absolutely brilliant score (that opening theme will never leave my head) to its stunning imagination, the movie is prime example of going outside of the box and finding something truly amazing.
Also, nice fucking model!
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
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