buffythevamp

It’s hard to dislike this movie, but only because hindsight is 20/20. It spawned one of the greatest
TV series of the last twenty years and for that many Buffy fans will be forever grateful, but this film
didn’t net many of those fans. In fact, I would be willing to bet that many fans of the television
series have never even seen this film. Now it is the quintessential “cult classic” as a loyal following
of viewers laud it as stellar entertainment much to the confusion of the rest of the world. As a
whole, this film is a low budget slice of cheese, but the presence of certain talent within the project
makes this critic wonder if there was a marked difference in what writer Joss Whedon envisioned
and what the studio actually produced.

Kristy Swanson is Buffy Summers, a high school cheerleader in Southern California with all the
vapid personality traits that come with that title. This shallow tart has little to worry about except the
next high school dance, cheer practice and the latest fashions. That is until she is approached by
Merrick, a mysterious and creepy man played by Donald Sutherland. Merrick tells her that she is
the next “chosen one,” the one girl in all the world who possesses the powers necessary to combat
the vampires that plague mankind unbeknownst to the population at large. Merrick knows about all
the weird dreams Buffy has been having about Rutger Hauer who plays the leader of the Vampires
named Lothos. Merrick convinces a petulant and reluctant Buffy that Lothos is very real and that
she must begin training in order to combat the undead threat. Which of course she starts doing in
a series of training montages.

This film is entertaining at points, very funny at others, but is very dated and ultimately hard to
swallow. At first it seems like a spoof that pokes fun at “Clueless” and bad vampire films, until you
realize that “Clueless” was made three years later. The low budget, bad action sequences and the
presence of such “talent” as David Arquette and Paul Reubens as over the top vampires make this
movie an often eye-rolling experience. In fact, all of the villains are just plain obnoxious including
the usually effective Rutger Hauer. Watch for a pre-celebrity Hilary Swank as one of Buffy's good
friends and yes, you're not hallucinating, that is Ben Affleck on the rival high school's basketball
team.

The film, however, is not without some entertaining qualities, most notably Luke Perry in the role of
Pike, Buffy’s rebel without a cause love interest. Pike is so amiably apathetic that it makes me
wonder if it wasn’t Perry’s actual attitude about the project coming through in his performance.
Sutherland is solid as ever, lending the only real credibility to the film at all. And I can’t leave out
Swanson. She plays the pouty valley girl with ease and looks very capable during the training
montages as she throws stakes, tuck rolls, climbs walls and somersaults about the room. It makes
you wonder what she would have done with the character had she gone on to do the TV series.

Ultimately and sadly, this film never really elicits much more than a few courtesy laughs. The horror
aspect is just not present and at no point do you feel tension or fear. The film is basically one big
gas and it’s hard to pinpoint if the director was aware of this or not. If you were a fan of the series
and haven’t seen this movie, I definitely recommend it. You’ll get to see concepts later dropped
from the television incarnation, like Buffy getting menstrual cramps when a vampire is near. If you
are not a fan then there is no harm in skipping this one. If you must see it, see it for Luke Perry’s
careless irreverence.