Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

"Oh, wow. I-I never hit anybody before."
"Really? Well you did it perfectly."
"I didn't even break a nail."

When teenagers with strange marks on their necks are killed, the only hope is a cheerleader: Buffy (Swanson).  Buffy is a normal teenager, content to spend her time at the mall, but her destiny has other plans.  One day she is approached by a man named Merrick (Sutherland), who claims she is "the chosen one," the only one strong enough to stop the vampires who are behind the mysterious killings.  She teams up with slacker Pike (Perry) to stop Lothos (Hauer) and Amilyn (Reubens) and their army of vampires.


This film was the precursor to Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV show... but the two could not be more different.  The film was written by Whedon, but they kept changing his vision and he eventually left the project.  A few years later, he was given the opportunity to bring his vision to life.

The film takes a campy view of the storyline.  It is played for laughs and doesn't really have any scary moments.  Unlike the TV show, the staked vampires look like dead bodies (in the show they turn to dust).  Overall, the film is interesting, but the TV show is better.


Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) 86 minutes
Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Starring: Kristi Swanson as Buffy
Donald Sutherland as Merrick
Paul Reubens as Amilyn
Rutger Hauer as Lothos
Luke Perry as Pike