BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
(1992)
Movie Review
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Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Starring:
Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer
Run time: 86 min.
[ FILMOGRAPHY ]
Plot synopsis: Blonde, bouncy Buffy (Kristy Swanson) is your typical high school cheerleader--her goal is to "marry Christian Slater and die" and nothing gets in her way when it's time to shop. But all that changes when a strange man (Donald Sutherland) informs her she's been chosen by fate to kill vampires. With the help of a romantic rebel (Luke Perry), Buffy is soon spending school nights protecting L.A. from Lothos, the Vampire King (Rutger Hauer), his sidekick, Lefty (Paul Reubens), and their determined gang of bloodsuckers. It's everything you'd expect from a teen queen in the Valley.
REVIEW
Ahhh! Where do I begin? Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a movie that does a lot of things, but it doesn't do any of them especially well. It is a movie with a highly original and interesting plot line, but one where the direction lacks any outstanding qualities. It is a movie that strives to be a comedy, but it may have been better off aiming strictly for horror. It is a movie with an all-star cast, but only a few memorable character performances. Even so, Buffy is somewhat of an enigma because despite all these shortcomings, the movie keeps you interested just enough that you don't get up and walk away disgusted. Believe it or not, it is possible to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer all the way through and get some secret enjoyment--just be sure to lower your expectations accordingly. |  |
Even with complete lack of any exceptional qualities, there is a kind of ongoing sense of something interesting enough around the corner to make this teen flick from the early nineties watchable. For me, I find the assembled cast of past and future all-stars incredibly fascinating: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, David Arquette, Hilary Swank, Natasha Gregson Wagner, and most amazingly of all, an uncredited appearance by Ben Affleck as basketball player #10! Luke Perry does an excellent job as the brooding but romantic Dylan…ugh, I mean Pike; Paul Reubens gives what in my opinion is probably the best supporting role performance of his career; and David Arquette makes a great vampire--he really looks and acts the part exceptionally well.
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Oh, yeah, and then there is the movie itself. Although I'm definitely not a fan of portraying vampires as clumsy buffoons, it's kind of integral to the comic element of the storyline: Rutger Hauer as the eccentric and egotistical vampire king, Paul Rubens as the overzealous and exceedingly faithful apprentice, and the hundreds of blundering vampire followers who comprise their undead army. With vampire clichés like these you can't help rooting for Buffy to kill them all off, and enjoy watching them go through their excessive death throws when any old pointy wooden object is pushed into their fragile vampire hearts. Anything from a sharpened ruler to the broken off shaft of a guitar will make do as a deadly wooden stake. |
But if nothing else, watching the beautiful Kristy Swanson as she goes through her rigorous training activities--working up a sweat pounding and kicking on punching bags as she showcases various 90s workout apparel ensembles--is alone worth the investment in time.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not a vampire movie classic, and yet so much of today's popular interest in vampires and vampirism by the youth of America can be traced back to this 1992 movie. However, the only credit the movie really deserves (and I guess it could be argued that this is a fairly considerable contribution) is that it provided the basic storyline for one of todays most popular and successful television series. But like any excellent student who inevitably surpasses in knowledge and skill his (or her) own master, Buffy the Vampire Slayer provides a unique example of one of those rare occasions when the television show is actually better than the original movie upon which the TV show is based. (Thank you Sarah Michelle Geller!)
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Two wooden stakes for the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.
Hey, look! It's Ben Affleck!
Is that a hair piece?
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