Buffy, der Vampirkiller

I originally saw this one quite a few years ago... back when it was released... and I do remember enjoying it even then. It's a fun bit of garb that I would recommend to anyone.

If you are thinking of watching the series... it may be a good idea to watch this before you start on the many episodes that await you. It'll give you a sort of grounding and deeper understanding of the world that is 'Buffy'... and why there is so much merchandising being thrown at us by bigwig company executives!

Wait for this to come out on the tele... I wouldn't rush out and buy it on DVD... and that's why I give it...

6.5 flaps out of 10

This is an unpretentious and funny high school action movie with vampires. Very beautiful young Kristy Swanson does a good job playing charismatic and initially futile Buffy. Even the most obvious clichés are nice to be seen performed by her: Silverstone-Clueless-style emptiness, martial arts and vampire-slaying practice, cheer-leading for the basketball school team. Both arrogance and tenderness are convincingly portrayed at her pretty face. Quite remarkable was also Donald Sutherland in the role of Buffy's tutor, Merrick. The film gets campy sometimes, but it is not a flaw. It is quite good in what it intends to do (and that is not to frighten or to be serious). Indeed, I laughed a lot! Seeing Hillary Swank in her very first movie playing one of Buffy's best airhead friends is something to be highlighted. The same can be said about having Rutger Hauer as the comic master vampire. My positive review has nothing to do with being a fan of the TV show, as I have never watched it.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" follows sassy and unsuspecting cheerleader Buffy (Kristy Swanson), a simple L.A. girl who spends her free time shopping and socializing in the mall food court. But when she finds herself responsible with the taking down bloodsucking demons from hell under the eye of a newfound guardian (Donald Sutherland), her extracurricular activities take a serious hit.

Something of a cult film today, and the launching pad for a series of actors (including lead Kristy Swanson, and co-stars Hilary Swank and David Arquette)—as well as birthing the wildly popular series—"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a heady brew of teen comedy and vampire splatter-lite. I'll make it clear: this is definitely a corny flick, and Joss Whedon's script takes place in an alternate reality where vampires and Valley Girls can and do co-exist. In a lot of ways, it feels like an eighties movie, akin to something "Fright Night" but far less sinister.

Whedon's script is humorous in the right places, and Swanson plays the spunky titular character with an appropriate pep. A young Luke Perry is the high school bad boy/hunk and looks the part probably more than he plays it, but his performance is fine. The presence of Paul Reubens and Donald Sutherland lend the film more credibility than it probably deserves, although Sutherland does feel somewhat out of place here; regardless, you can't knock a film for having Donald Sutherland as a part of its cast.

All in all, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a fun and energetic offering of late eighties teen comedy with a splash of vampire blood and some fantastic one-liners; it's a ridiculous, alternate world fantasy, but a fun one at that. It does a fantastic job at meeting the crosshairs of horror and comedy without steering itself into too serious territory. 7/10.

Kristy Swanson is an underrated actress.

This was a fun romp Hanging with your friends in the Mall food court eating good junk food Bring back the 90s!

I can't believe other reviewers called this moving "boring and idiotic". Um...hello...what were they expecting, a serious, contemplative piece of cinema? It's completely silly, as it's supposed to be. If it wasn't good, would it have inspired a (far inferior, in my opinion) television spin off? Watch it with no expectations. You'll be impressed. Kirsty Swanson does that Alicia Silverstone in "Clueless" thing perfectly. My friends and I have made it a ritual to watch this movie every couple months with a bottle of wine and a big bowl of popcorn. Nothing better on a rainy night. Don't listen to the bozos who said this isn't worth seeing. It's hilarious, trust me.