Hundreds of happy and haunted movie fans gathered at Bushwick's House of Yes Saturday to celebrate the wonders of Beetlejuice, Tim Burton's 1988 comedy-horror classic.
Green skin, grotesque masks, and heads both severed and half-shrunken filled two large rooms, both of which were loaded with dead-on recreations of props from the film. In one corner, a severed woman read quietly on a couch while her still-living legs bobbed back and forth. On stage, a strange and unusual live cast acted out lines from Beetlejuice's wedding with plenty of help from the crowd. Between the tuxedos, lace, corsets, wigs, and wide smiles, the crowd was giddy to be partying with the Afterlife's Leading Bio-Exorcist.
The night was the latest in events put on by BBQ Films, a production troupe whose beginnings date back to 2007, when co-founder Gabe Rhoads began inviting friends over for movie nights on his Spanish Harlem rooftop (these parties would include plenty of grilling, hence the name 'BBQ Films'). Then their friends began dressing up, bringing their instruments, and building props. "In just a couple of years we had such a creative community around us, it was just natural to take it off of the roof," Rhoads said Saturday.
Today, BBQ Films works as an all-volunteer crew of ten members, plus a cadre of over 60 friends and supporters who will do just about anything to make sure the shows are a hit. The Beetlejuice party took six weeks to plan, but for the actors and stagehands involved, it's well worth it. "We love it. It's an all-in, aggressive way of celebrating film," Social Media Director Naomi Percey said.
"This is awesome," Kerry Lawton said, "I would definitely do it again." Lawton was dressed and painted in full Beetlejuice regalia. "I've seen the movie 15 or 20 times," she added. "The character of Beetlejuice, everybody adores him. He can insult anybody and they love it! He's not good or bad—he's just an opportunist. He's whatever you want him to be."
