Warning! This article contains spoilers for Beetlejuice 2!The very end of Beetlejuice Features a clever reference to the 1976 classic Stephen King horror movie CurryWhich was a great giveaway to the twist of Lydia’s nightmare. Tim Burton Beetlejuice 2 is filled with Easter eggs and references to the original 1988 movie, but it’s also stuffed with nods to classic horror films, the cast’s recent roles, Burton’s history with studios like Netflix and Disney. Some of these references are played for nostalgia, love for the horror genre, or simply clever meta jokes, but others, like Burton’s nod to CurryLead deeper clues to the plot twists.
Tim Burton’s subtle Stephen King reference arrives in Beetlejuice 2s ending, with the twist of the 2024 movie mirroring the final surprise of the 1976 horror classic. Directed by Brian De Palma and based on Stephen King’s 1974 novel, Curry Follows the story of the titular teenage outcast as she discovers she has supernatural powers, leading to a devastating catastrophe at her high school prom in the film’s climax. While Beetlejuice 2 And Curry do not share many story similarities, Burton repurposes an iconic feature from the 1976 classic to provide a clue to the true nature of Lydia Dates’ nightmare..
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice includes the theme music from Carrie
Carrie’s theme music plays at the end of Beetlejuice
After Lydia and Astrid banish Betelgeuse from the real world during his second failed marriage to Winona Ryder’s character, Beetlejuice 2‘s ending jumps forward in time to show that the mother and teenage daughter have reconciled. Lydia films the last episode of her paranormal talk show Ghost house To spend more time with Astrid, you take on the travels that the teen had originally planned with Lydia’s late husband Richard. The sequel then cuts to Lydia and Astrid turning Dracula’s castle, with the camera focusing on Astrid as she is struck by Vlad, a boy there dressed as Dracula.
As Astrid’s smile lingers, the horror comedy continues to jump forward in time to a scene of Astrid marrying Vlad, then to Astrid giving birth to their child, only for the baby to be revealed as the demonic Betelgeuse Baby who Lydia herself gave birth earlier in the movie. After seeing the baby, it is revealed that Lydia dreamed the entire future sequence, and still has nightmares of Betelgeuse to her. Beetlejuice 2s soundtrack Plays the recognizable theme music from Curry Over that full ending sequenceProviding a clever hint to reveal that Lydia is just a nightmare.
Using Carrie’s theme was a major clue to the twist of Beetlejuice 2
Carrie & Beetlejuice 2 both end with nightmare twists
Brian De Palma Curry Has one of the most iconic horror movie endings in history, with a bait-and-switch twist that ends with Sue Snell going to Carrie’s grave and seeing her bloody corpse hand suddenly reaching out of the ground to grab her. The 1976 movie then quickly Screams to Sue screaming as she wakes up from a nightmare, revealing the scene of Carrie’s hand grabbing her was just a dream. with Currys theme music playing over Beetlejuice 2In the final moments, Burton was signaling to the audience that Astrid’s demonic Betelgeuse baby is not real – it is simply a bad dream.
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Both Sue Snell and Lydia are traumatized by the terrors they have just witnessedAnd their fears manifested in nightmares that felt vividly real. CurrySue was wracked with guilt for being the sole survivor of the prom massacre, which culminated in the deaths of many high school students after a bully Carrie snapped and set the gym on fire. Since Sue survived, she fears that Carrie will come back from the dead to finish any unwanted business with her.
Like Sue with Carrie, Lydia still has visions of Betelgeuse in the last moments of the movie indicating that she fears that she will never really be able to free herself from him.
Meanwhile, after Betelgeuse haunts her for 36 years and never abandons his mission to marry her, Lydia remains afraid that he will come back for her again in the future. Like Sue with Carrie, Lydia still has visions of Betelgeuse in the last moments of the movie indicating that she fears that she will never really be able to free herself from him. Additionally, Lydia’s nightmare of Astrid giving birth to the demonic Betelgeuse baby reveals that she is also afraid of how the “bio-exorcist” will continue to impact and haunt her daughter in unexpected ways. Clearly, Betelgeuse is not done with Lydia and Beetlejuices family debts.
How much of Beetlejuice’s ending was a dream?
Astrid’s marriage and Betelgeuse’s baby was part of Lydia’s nightmare
It seems that there are about two places where the dream can start Beetlejuice 2It’s the end. The dream may begin when Lydia sees Astrid smiling at Vlad and imagines their marriage and future together, or It probably begins when Lydia and Astrid arrive at Dracula’s castle. Lydia may have dreamed of the travels she and Astrid intended to take and then proceeded to imagine a loving future for her daughter with someone she meets at the iconic location, or she may remember their trip to Dracula’s castle and dream about all that Happens after Astrid spots Vlad.
The movie cuts back to Lydia, seemingly still in the Winter River House after waking up from her nightmare, so it’s unclear how much time has actually passed since her failed marriage to Betelgeuse.
When Lydia ends her tenure at Ghost houseIt’s not a dream yet. The second time she wakes up without Betelgeuse next to her, the dream is over. Betelgeuse himself noticed during Beetlejuice 2s “MacArthur Park” dance scene that he loved a “dream sequence,” so there is always the chance that the ghost himself influenced Lydia’s nightmare after he was sent back to the afterlife realm. It’s an interesting ambiguous ending for Beetlejuice To leave out, and the full truth of the dream sequence may not be disclosed unless Burton makes a third movie.