Editorials
‘Beetlejuice 2’ – We Visited the East Corinth, Vermont Filming Location of Tim Burton’s Sequel
In 1988, Tim Burton turned the quiet village of East Corinth, Vermont into Winter River, Connecticut for Beetlejuice. 35 years later, the filmmaker returned for Beetlejuice 2. While the majority of filming took place in London, the exteriors of the original filming locations were recreated in East Corinth for two days of on-location shooting. After it wrapped, fans — myself included — flocked to the quaint town to experience Winter River in person.
Burton originally chose East Corinth after stumbling on postcards featuring scenic photos of the area while location scouting for Beetlejuice throughout New England. According to locals, the studio wanted him to recreate the necessary locations on a sound stage for Beetlejuice 2, but Burton insisted on returning to the original site.
The town hasn’t changed all that much over the years, but the production experience certainly has. While those who were around for the original Beetlejuice shooting recall the cast and crew freely interacting with the locals, news of the sequel spread fast on social media, resulting in an onslaught of tourists hoping for a glimpse of Hollywood. The production used the fake working title Blue Hawaii, perhaps a nod to the scrapped ’90s sequel Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian as well as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi‘s well-known working title, Blue Harvest.
Burton was joined in East Corinth by Beetlejuice 2 stars Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, and Jenna Ortega as well as Burn Gorman (Pacific Rim, The Dark Knight Rises), who has not been formally announced as part of the cast but was spotted on set. The Ghost with the Most himself, Michael Keaton, was not present, nor were co-stars Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe.
The iconic Deetz residence is situated atop a hill overlooking the town. The façade was recreated where the original once stood. Since it’s located on private property, it was inaccessible to fans but could still be seen from a distance. The sequel finds the home shrouded in sheer black drapery for a post-funeral sequence in which the house itself is in mourning. O’Hara and Ryder were present for the scene, as was Delia’s sculpture from the original film.
Samson Zilic, a Massachusetts-based aspiring actor who worked as an extra in the scene, tells me, “It was very organized and professional. Tim Burton was hands-on and amazing to watch. We were on top of a hill in beautiful Vermont. It was a great atmosphere to be in.” It was O’Hara’s final scene for the film, with Burton and Ryder celebrating her wrap with hugs while the rest of the cast and crew gave her a round of applause. She graciously responded by recognizing the importance of the background actors.
Janai Planck, owner of Corinth’s Winter River Glampground — its name an homage to the location’s Beetlejuice roots — also worked as an extra. Despite the long hours and out-of-season wardrobe in 90° heat, the experience was worthwhile. “To have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stand in the midst of such incredible talent was something I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life. The cast and crew were all incredibly kind, patient, funny, and down-to-earth. They treated us very well, and we all tried hard to exceed their expectations.”
Maitland Hardware is no more in Beetlejuice 2, with a new façade for Rewind Coffee Roasters now standing in its place. The shop’s advertised offerings include coffee, tea, smoothies, shakes, and “Frulacto” vegan yogurt. Pammy’s Pet Parlour has replaced Old Bill’s barber shop next door. The fire department, church, and Jane Butterfield’s Real Estate & Travel Agency remain in the surrounding area, along with the new addition of Winter River Vintage.
All of the locations, along with several neighboring houses, were decorated for Halloween. Indeed, at least a portion of Beetlejuice 2 will be set on Halloween, including a trick-or-treating sequence that was filmed at night in East Corinth. Not unlike John Carpenter’s Halloween, the crew was equipped with bags of brown leaves to make the summer season look more like fall. Eagle-eyed viewers may be able to spot a pumpkin carved to resemble The Nightmare Before Christmas‘ Jack Skellington in the window of the vintage store.
Brandon, an aspiring local filmmaker who was hired as a security guard, was tasked with keeping spectators off the set. “A lot of the locals have been coming together to engage with all of this. There’s been a lot of community around it. It’s been really cool to see. You never expect these cinema legends to pop up in East Corinth, a town that’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s an incredible experience for all of us.” He adds, “It’s like one big celebration of not just Beetlejuice but East Corinth as a town itself.”
Down the street is Miss Shannon’s School for Girls, which Lydia Deetz attended in the first film. A permanent landmark, the 101-year-old schoolhouse had served as a Masonic lodge for decades until last year, when it was purchased by Beetlejuice super-fan Kendall Gendron with the goal of renovating it into a nonprofit community center, event venue, and Beetlejuice museum. It will make another appearance in Beetlejuice 2, complete with a new sign out front identical to the original.
“The shoot was a surreal experience. I got to be an integral part of the shooting of the sequel to my favorite film,” says Gendron. “I have a lifelong love affair with Beetlejuice, which is why I moved to East Corinth, why I hustled for two years to purchase a piece of its history, and why I ultimately named my nonprofit [Miss Shannon’s School House] after the school in the film. I’m hoping they let me keep the sign for my future museum!”
Just around the corner from downtown is the red-covered bridge where the Maitland’s plummeted to their death in Beetlejuice. The original bridge cover has been relocated to the nearby Northeast Slopes, where it’s been repurposed for storage, so a new one was constructed for the sequel. The speed limit posted on the nearby “Welcome to Winter River” sign has been adjusted from 30 miles per hour in the original to 15 for the sequel, perhaps due to the Maitlands’ fatal crash.
Jerry Coles, who documents horror movie filming locations via the Instagram account Famous Horror & Film Locations, utilized his airline job for an impromptu flight from England to visit East Corinth. “I really wanted to come here. I read other peoples’ comments online saying they were going to tear it down. I had four days off, so I jumped on a plane and came over. It’s amazing. It’s like walking into the film.”
In addition to the funeral, trick or treating, and school scenes, additional footage shot in East Corinth included Jenna Ortega (along with her stunt double) riding a bicycle through town and a driving sequence with Gorman.
Epic Film Guys podcast co-host Justin Esquivel drove nine hours from Vermont to visit the locations. “To walk the sets early in the morning with a very Tim Burton-like heavy fog roaming in the air gave the perfect atmosphere to take it all in with my own two eyes. After all of these years of hoping and waiting for a Beetlejuice sequel, knowing it’s finally happening and being able to see the experience, it all was a dream come true.”
Massachusetts native Nick Rodolosi has been a Beetlejuice fan since seeing the original in theaters as a child, going so far as to get a large tattoo dedicated to the film. “I was a kid who wore a lot of black, so I vibed very well with Winona Ryder’s character. The aesthetic, the characters, I loved it. I definitely wanted to see the locations. Fans were giving each other advice on where to go for the best views and helping each other out with pictures. It’s nice to see a big community for the movie itself.”
The SAG-AFTRA strike brought Beetlejuice 2‘s production to a halt after two days in East Corinth. While the general consensus is that shooting was completed in the area, additional filming was being prepared in the Boston suburb of Melrose, Massachusetts. I stopped by the location to find a dilapidated treehouse in a gnarled tree that screams “Tim Burton.”
The East Corinth sets have already started coming down and will be completely removed by the end of the month. Unfortunately, reports of theft of props have dampened the experience for the production and locals alike. If you plan to venture to the location, please be respectful. (I also recommend getting a cartoonishly large Italian sub from East Corinth General Store.)
Beetlejuice 2 is scheduled to haunt theaters on September 6, 2024, although the ongoing strikes could delay its release. Until then, you can enjoy more of my photos below. Perhaps if we all say his name three times, it’ll be showtime for Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
Editorials
Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘Alien Autopsy’ Showed How Real Found Footage Could Feel
The line separating artist from con man is a lot thinner than you might initially believe. While I think we can all agree that lying for the sake of profit is actively malicious behavior, isn’t it also true that the faux documentary aspect of The Blair Witch Project is half the reason why that film became such a cultural phenomenon? After all, if there’s one thing filmmakers have in common with stage magicians, it’s that misleading and misdirecting audiences is simply part of the job.
That’s why I’ve developed a habit of mostly ignoring the moral quandaries behind many of film and television’s biggest “hoaxes” in favor of appreciating the narrative elements that drive productions like Mermaids: The Body Found and even Animal Planet’s highly underrated The Cannibal in the Jungle. However, if there’s a definitive case of a highly publicized broadcast fooling the world into taking it seriously, it has to be Fox’s infamous 1995 TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.
It’s been over three decades since that eerie footage first haunted television screens right at the peak of the ’90s ufology craze, and in that time, the video has taken on a life of its own. From countless parodies and references in everything from The X-Files to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (as well as John Dower’s recently released tell-all documentary The Alien Autopsy Scandal, which I’d highly recommend to genre fans everywhere), there’s no denying the legacy of the Alien Autopsy video. However, I rarely see the tape discussed as what it truly is: a highly convincing found footage film directed by a passionate stage magician and brought to life by masterful practical effects work.
That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me on a deep dive into one of the most infamous broadcasts of all time in an attempt to reevaluate the footage as a fascinating narrative experience rather than a complete hoax.
The TV Special That Convinced Millions It Was Real
Ray Santilli next to Extraterrestrial replica in ‘The Alien Autopsy Scandal’
For starters, regardless of whether or not you believe that there was in fact an extraterrestrial crash in Roswell during the summer of 1947 and that some form of autopsy was performed on the victims, the producers behind the black & white recordings, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, insist that their video was a “restoration.” Though I’d argue that the proper word is “remake”of genuine footage that was too damaged to air on television. That’s why the duo went on to recruit filmmaker and eccentric magician Spyros Melaris and sculptor/monster designer John Humphreys to bring their version of the autopsy to life and sell it to the highest bidder.
This is where the story of the Alien Autopsy as a narrative experience really begins. Melaris claims that his approach to the faux recording consisted of striving for extreme period accuracy in both shooting equipment and setting while also planting subtle details that would initially seem like mistakes but could later be revealed to actually fit the time period. That being said, the filmmaker was under the impression that the short would be released for free as a PR stunt, with the team later producing and selling an informative documentary chronicling exactly how the footage was faked and commenting on how easy it is to manipulate public perception with a good old-fashioned magic trick.
This obviously isn’t how things went down, and that’s likely the reason why Melaris has since distanced himself from everyone else involved with the project. Yet, no amount of behind-the-scenes drama can undermine the genuine effort that went into making the short as impressive as it is. From the sourcing of real animal organs from a local butcher to make the organic part of the creature more lifelike to the highly detailed sculpt that made use of a hollowed-out underlayer that could be filled with fake blood and assorted viscera, there’s a reason why so many Hollywood specialists are still impressed with the artistry on display here.
Of course, the believability is only half the story, as I think that the best part of the autopsy is how Melaris builds on the existing tension by obscuring certain details and often embracing the chaos of what a real examination of extraterrestrial life could feel like. The camera often goes out of focus at just the right time to make certain effects hit even harder, and we can only speculate as to what the hazmat-suited doctors are gesticulating about during the operation. There’s a real air of mystery to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a cosmically terrifying, cursed film containing forbidden knowledge that civilians were never meant to see.
So when Fox’s Fact or Fiction brings in the specialists to comment on the film and its otherworldly subject, it’s no surprise that we end up with one of the most memorable mockumentaries of all time – albeit one where the participants are unaware that the footage they’re commenting on is basically a large-scale practical joke. A joke that the network was obviously in on, as many participants claim that the TV special cut out significant portions where guests point out that they believe the footage to be an elaborate hoax.
The Lasting Impact of the Hoax Turned Cultural Event
Regardless, I remember going to bed terrified after watching reruns of the special and thinking about the respected pathologist who claimed that the body was almost certainly inhuman, with even effects maestro Stan Winston commenting on how difficult it would be to recreate some of these visuals through practical puppetry. That’s not even mentioning Jonathan Frakes’ dramatic hyping up of the disturbing imagery as if he was talking about the tape from The Ring, with his spooky demeanor here likely being responsible for his later role as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction a few years later.
Personally, I’d argue that the Alien Autopsy phenomenon had just as much of an impact on me as a horror fan as The Blair Witch Project, a film that was almost certainly influenced by the success of this immensely popular hoax (to the point where they even produced their own TV special commenting on Heather’s found footage). Even if Fox didn’t intend to produce a narrative feature about the aftermath of the Roswell crash, the end product still holds up remarkably well as a highly entertaining mockumentary exploring the idea that we may not be alone in the universe.
While neither Santilli nor the rest of the production team has ever commented on this, I also think it’s very likely that the idea of a faux Alien Autopsy could have been influenced by Dean Alioto’s The McPherson Tape/UFO Abduction. I’ve already written about how this granddaddy of found footage was co-opted by rogue ufologists who began selling bootlegs of the tape at conventions as if it were real evidence of a close encounter, so it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Santilli and company could have heard about this phenomenon and been inspired to come up with their own highly profitable hoax.
At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that the Alien Autopsy film is recreating any real footage from Roswell, but I can still appreciate the short and the accompanying television event as a standalone horror story that still influences the way we see found footage to this very day.
After all, the possibility that something could be real is often much scarier than finding out for sure – and that’s why I think Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is still worth revisiting three decades down the line.
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