Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

Flighty teenage girl Buffy Summers learns that she is her generation's destined battler of vampires.

Director:

Fran Rubel Kuzui

Writer:

Joss Whedon

Stars:

Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kristy Swanson	...	Buffy
Donald Sutherland	...	Merrick
Paul Reubens	...	Amilyn
Rutger Hauer	...	Lothos
Luke Perry	...	Pike
Michele Abrams	...	Jennifer
Hilary Swank	...	Kimberly
Paris Vaughan	...	Nicole 'Nicki'
David Arquette	...	Benny
Randall Batinkoff	...	Jeffrey
Andrew Lowery	...	Andy
Sasha Jenson	...	Grueller
Stephen Root	...	Gary Murray
Natasha Gregson Wagner	...	Cassandra
Candy Clark	...	Buffy's Mom

Storyline

Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson) has the lifestyle any young woman could want. Cheerleading, dating the Captain of the basketball team, and copious amounts of time spent shopping with friends. She had no idea of her true calling until a mysterious man named Merrick (Donald Sutherland) approached her and told her that she is the Slayer; one woman called to defend the world from vampires. Reluctant to concede to the fact, Buffy soon learns that Merrick speaks the truth and so begins to take her new life seriously while trying to maintain the sense of normality her life had once been. With her best friends slowly abandoning her, Buffy finds solace in the town outcast, Pike (Luke Perry), who knows very well the terrors that have arisen. Together, they combat the forces of the old and powerful vampire, Lothos (Rutger Hauer), who has his eyes set on Buffy.

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Plot Keywords:

mentor student relationship | destiny | high school | coming of age | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

Homework. Cheerleading practice. Killing vampires. No one said high school would be easy.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for comic vampire violence and drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ricki Lake: A waitress in the scene where Buffy (Kristy Swanson) and Pike (Luke Perry) officially meet for the first time.

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Goofs

When Merrick takes Buffy to the graveyard he shows her Robert Berman's grave and says he was buried 3 days ago. Yet the grave already bears a carved tombstone which would not have been possible in such a short time.

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Quotes

Zeph: Where the hell are going?
Pike: I'm leaving man, I'm bailing town. This place has gotten way too hairy.
Zeph: Where the hell I'm I gonna find a mechanic stupid enough to work for my kind of money?
Pike: Seen Benny lately?
Zeph: No. Hey! What, you want me to give him a message?
Pike: You should think about leaving too, man. Sell this place. There's something going on around here. I don't know, something really weird.
Zeph: Hey, what do you want me to do if I see Benny?
Pike: Run.

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Crazy Credits

Amilyn (Paul Reubens) revives to go through some more death throes.

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Alternate Versions

The original theatrical release received a "12" rating in the UK without any cuts however, the video release was rated "15" with 11 seconds cut. The scene in which Lothos ignites Buffy's cross was removed and instead of immolating his head, she merely flees. At the time, the "12" rating did not cover video releases, only theatrical so it was rated "15" and the scenes in question may be imitated by younger viewers. In 2002, all previous cuts were waived and the video release was rated "15".

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Connections

References Let's Make a Deal (1963)

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Soundtracks

I Fought the Law
Written by Sonny Curtis
Produced by Ralph Sall
Performed by Mary's Danish
Courtesy of Morgan Creek Music Group

User Reviews

Tongue-in-cheek but it doesn't make a great movie

First off I have to say my review of this movie may be somewhat coloured by my adoration of the television series. Despite sharing a few superficial elements - a character called Buffy who slays vampires and who has a watcher - the two are quite distinctive (even if Joss Whedon penned them both).

"Buffy" here is very much played with a tongue-in-cheek. It's Clueless meets Dracula. Buffy and her cohorts are shallower than an evaporated puddle and Buffy can only learn to grow up when heaped with the responsibility of being the Chosen One, destined to slay vampires. The vampires in question are just people with white faces played up in quite a camp manner and bare little resemblance to the sharp, wise, smart vampires favored by both the TV series and other movies.

There's no acting of any note and the plot is wet-paper thin. The direction isn't memorable... so what stops the movie getting a 0 or a 1? The humour. The movie is played for laughs, taking a bit of a dig at pop culture and vampire lore. There's some great lines in it - particularly the "kill him A LOT!" line. Watch the coach at the basketball game for similar humour, and there is an unforgettable vampire staking towards the movie end that's very amusing.

The movie looks like it was shot on a shoe-string budget (adding to the camp tongue-in-cheek parody feel) and has none of the production values we'd see Whedon employ later on. What it does have is a sometimes very amusing line in black humour offset somewhat by an irritating need to follow the "Clueless" mould of teenagers (which was, admittedly, the trend at the time). It's not an awfully bad movie but it's not really all that good. In the end it's a 5.5/10 from me.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Filming Locations:

Merry-Go-Round, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,515,541, 2 August 1992

Gross USA:

$16,624,456

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,624,456

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1