 Beetlejuice 's budget was $ 15 million , with just $ 1 million given over to visual effects work . Considering the scale and scope of the effects , which included stop motion , replacement animation , prosthetic makeup , puppetry and blue screen , it was always Burton 's intention to make the style similar to the B movies he grew up with as a child . " I wanted to make them look cheap and purposely fake @-@ looking , " Burton remarked . Burton had wanted to hire Anton Furst as production designer after being impressed with his work on The Company of Wolves ( 1984 ) and Full Metal Jacket ( 1987 ) , though Furst was committed on High Spirits , a choice he later regretted . He hired Bo Welch , his future collaborator on Edward Scissorhands ( 1990 ) and Batman Returns ( 1992 ) . The test screenings were met with positive feedback and prompted Burton to film an epilogue featuring Betelgeuse foolishly angering a witch doctor . Warner Bros. disliked the title Beetlejuice and wanted to call the film House Ghosts . As a joke , Burton suggested the name Scared Sheetless and was horrified when the studio actually considered using it . Exterior shots were filmed in East Corinth , Vermont . 
