The Moody English Rock Band That Helped Inspire Lydia Deetz in ‘Beetlejuice’

Beetlejuice, released in 1988, proved a spectacular success, grossing $75 million against a relatively modest reported budget of $15 million, and creating a long-lasting franchise that has resulted in animated series, a stage musical, a sequel movie, and video games. The movie’s immensely creative, zany design aesthetic won it an Academy Award for Best Makeup, and its madcap appeal has caught the imagination of generations of children and adults alike.The movie follows the ghosts of a deceased couple, Adam and Barbara Maitland, who are disgruntled to find a new living family, the Deetzs, has moved into their old house. When they contact Beetlejuice, a crude and unwholesome bio-exorcist, in hopes that he can help drive the new inhabitants out, things soon escalate out of hand. The Cure’s Connection to Beetlejuice’s AestheticTim Burton directed the film with his trademark visual flourish and offbeat style. Michael Keaton put in an unforgettable turn as the titular antihero (Burton's original choice reportedly being Sammy Davis Jr.). One of the movie's most unforgettable characters was Lydia Deetz, the teenage daughter of the family, played by a young Winona Ryder.A sullen young woman, amateur photographer, and unwitting conduit to the afterlife, Lydia Deetz's character, with her striking black hair, pale makeup, and flamboyant goth style, proved scene-stealing in Ryder's hands, and it's fascinating to note that the inspiration from the character came from a real rock band. The screenplay for Beetlejuice was developed by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren from an original story by McDowell and Larry Wilson. The latter also received a “characters created by” credit, and it was Wilson's attendance of a live show by English group, The Cure, the shaped his idea for Lydia, specifically the fashion displayed by the women he noticed around him in the crowd.Formed in Crawley in West Sussex in 1976, goth band The Cure were led by frontman Robert Smith, and helped pioneer a dark and macabre style of post punk music that proved quite influential. Their lyrics often centered on a kind of twisted angst that appealed immensely to a large section of young music lovers. There was also a deeply romantic element to their sound, albeit it one more akin to the bleak tragedy of Wuthering Heights than any laid-back rom com or Hallmark approach. Fans of The Cure loved to emulate Smith's trademark style of pitch black unkempt hair, black eyeliner, and dark, anti-establishment clothing. The band's dress and attitude provided the perfect template for Lydia Deetz.