"Troubled by the Living? Is death a problem and not a solution? Unhappy with eternity? Having difficulty adjusting?"
Despite holding the licence for a number of years, NECA had never done an Ultimate format Beetlejuice until the sequel hit cinema screens in 2024. While NECA initially repacked their older, original film figures from 2008 to mark the movies release it was soon announced that they would be bringing us the first Ultimate format Beetlejuice in early 2025.
The Ultimate Beetlejuice, Bio-Exorcist, arrived in Spring 2025 and was packed into an Ultimate closed box which utilised the Beetlejuice flyer from the movie as the design principle. The front cover recreates the calling card from its browned paper base colour to the crudely drawn beetle and the various advertising slogans such as “Troubled by the Living!” The box sides change design slightly to a darker purple theme and images of the figure itself along with the traditional Beetlejuice movie logo.
The back of the box reverts to the aged paper look but with a montage of inset images of the figure illustrating the various included accessories and specific looks you can create. A short ‘includes’ section at the base confirms the contents and if you turn the box over to the very bottom panel you will see a short illustrative instruction on how to change the ‘interchangeable faceplates’ that are referenced in the contents list. The Ultimate format uses an opening front cover, behind which is the window, and a full look at the figure and accessories. On the opposite panel is another larger image of the figure, rising from the grave as seen in his first scenes of the movie. The backing card for the figure itself is a backdrop of the Afterlife corridor, but is quite flimsy cardboard so not a backdrop that you could use straight out of the box without some work.
The Bio-Exorcist release recreates that first appearance of Beetlejuice from the movie complete with bright red patterned shirt, dirty blue trousers, odd socks and shoes, and his larger tattered overcoat. Each piece is coloured accurately to what we see on screen with a good level of detail added around the patterns - but the coat fastenings and the shoe laces go unpainted and are left in the base colour.
Beetlejuice himself features pale, ghostly skin visible under the shirt collar and inclusive of mould and spores added over the white in shades of green. We see the same skin tone on th ehands, which also feature sculpted nails and Beetlejuice’s ring.
The head sculpts are plentiful in their options - built on the principle of two core headpieces, which accept one of four included face plates. This provides eight individual looks for Beetlejuice, half with his ‘tour guide’ hat and half without. Each of the two ‘base heads’ pops off the neck ball joint relatively easily, allowing a fairly painless process of swapping out the two options. The base heads are a green translucent colour and overpainted for the hair, and on the second head they also pick out the grimy details of the hat and its front ‘Guide’ plate. On the front, there is a flat section with three sockets that correspond to the holes on each of the four faces.
The faceplates use a similar skin tone, complete with green fungus patches and each varies in expression providing you with variations of neutral, grinning, and grimacing Michael Keaton in full make up likenesses. Detailing is excellent in and around the deep-set red-ringed eyes and at the mouth with the rotten teeth and fungus mustache. The faces are all very much of the era and the look from 1988. They are quite chalky in hand with a potential risk of paint wear over time if handled excessively.
You get a number of alternative hands with the set, and these are a majority of right hands including one in a pointing gesture and another with a closed pair of fingers to hold some of the smaller accessories. There is then a set of open-palmed hands and a pair of half-grip hands in a holding position. NECA’s harder plastic makes swapping hands a difficult affair - more from the jeopardy of potentially breaking the hands as you pull them loose - a gentle application of hot water or warm air from a suitability-distanced hair dryer will help.
As an Ultimate release, Bio-Exorcist Beetlejuice is accompanied by some scene-specific accessories allowing you choices on how he is displayed. These start with the Betelgeuse calling card on which the box is designed. This is only cardboard and will be easily damaged. But the print is crisp enough and it fits into the pinched finger hand to be held up to present to prospective clients.
The newspaper is done in a similar way, a larger cardboard piece printed and folded. The text is crisp and clear and the back of the paper is inclusive of another Betelgeuse advertising panel. The two partly open hands are effectively intended to hold the paper in the open ‘reading’ position, but I did find this frustrating as there is not enough resistance in the paper or grip in the hands to hold it securely - a more closed-off pair of gripping hands like the ones holding the business card would have provided more security.
We then have a small rat complete with sculpted fur, eyes, and tail which can sit in Beetlejuice’s open hand. Again, this relies on gravity rather than any particular grip or connecting components - but it is more secure once positioned than the newspaper. The accessories conclude with an oil lantern in a dark brown frame, a translucent inner lantern, and internal flame details. This comes with a ringed handle on top, but again no defined gripping hands to hold it - which means it too relies on a propped position and gravity to keep it in place.
Articulation is 14 points overall, all pinless and all with a basic level of movement. Elbows and knees bend to roughly 90 degrees, with the shoulders then able to raise and extend the arms to the full extent as needed for that rising from the grave pose. The hips are not quite as extensive as some comparable lines although the cut of the long coat does render the need for extensive hip movement redundant. There are also some limitations in the waist, and in the ankle rockers. The latter still provides a solid base for standing Beetlejuice on display. The figure has sufficient options to work with and posing opportunities are as laid out on the box artwork maximising the use of the accessories or recreating the onscreen gestures. The Rising from the Grave pose is also there, but an aftermarket stand will be required and one with sufficient strength to hold the heavier NECA plastic in place.
Collectors of NECA figures will know that their figures are built predominantly for their aesthetics, and Beetlejuice is a good example of how the figure very much replicates Michael Keaton’s costume and makeup. The Ultimate figures are then stacked with variations of hands, faces, and accessories and for this Ultimate Beetlejuice, the face combinations are a very inventive way of giving us plenty of options - as are the included parts, albeit 50% of them are printed cardboard. Articulation is limited, but Bio-Exorcist Beetlejuice does enough to capture some iconic poses.
With NECA’s figure construction, you get a heavy figure with a harder often brittle plastic so care has to be taken with swapping parts and over-exerting any of the joints. All of this is wrapped up in an RRP which is now significantly above where it was 10 years ago when NECA figures were comparable to Hasbro and McFarlane lines of a similar 6-7 inch scale. Expect Bio-Exorcist Beetlejuice to set you back at least £37 here in the UK, but for that, you will receive a very detailed and expressive figure for your horror (or 1980s classic movie) display
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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