Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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!

This is one of my favorite movies. It's full of extremely clever one-liners that I never get tired of. "Oh, yeah? Clap!" The main character acts like a brainless bimbo but, if you pay attention, the movie gives you subtle hints she's a lot smarter than she lets on. Acting brainless is a little social camouflage so she fits in with her airhead friends.

It's fun to watch everyone playing it way over the top: Rutger Hauer is the perfect creepy head vampire, Paul Reubens seems to relish his role as the main vampire henchman, and Donald Sutherland delivers yet another quirky performance in a career full of quirky performances.

Oh, and watch for a fairly obvious continuity error about, maybe, halfway through.

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

"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.

Buffy (Kristy Swanson) is the quintessential valley girl cheerleader. She and her friends are all clueless. She is approached by Merrick (Donald Sutherland) and told that she is the Slayer. There are vampires in the world, and there is a slayer who fights them. When one slayer falls, another one takes her place. It is Buffy's turn to be the Slayer. She is joined by a slacker outcast Pike (Luke Perry) in a fight against the powerful Lothos (Rutger Hauer).

This is most notable for who wrote the script, Joss Whedon. Although he definitely has disowned this with all the changes to his script. It has a funny co-starring role from Paul Reubens. The style is lacking. Kristy Swanson has the looks but not quite the attitude of the valley girl exactly. She always seems a bit too bright and too serious for the clueless role. It is definitely a very light sarcastic take on the vampire movie.