{"id":21228,"date":"2014-10-13T02:17:59","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T06:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=21228"},"modified":"2016-07-01T02:38:31","modified_gmt":"2016-07-01T06:38:31","slug":"buffy-the-vampire-slayer-1992","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/13\/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-1992\/","title":{"rendered":"Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ttt_buffy-560x300\"<\/a>Yes, it\u2019s not the vision that Joss Whedon had originally planned, but you know what? \u201cBuffy\u201d was just too ahead of its time and eventually found its place with the cult favorite series. But that\u2019s not to say that the original 1992 movie isn\u2019t any fun, either. Taken as a stand alone horror comedy, \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d actually manages to be a creepy, twisted, and very funny take on the vampire slayer mold, teaming an ass kicking valley girl against vampires. And Kristy Swanson is a better Buffy than Sarah Michelle Gellar. Teeming with 90\u2019s paraphernalia, \u201cBuffy\u201d is dated, but definitely one of the better attempts at mixing vampires with comedy.<\/p>\n

Surely enough it\u2019s also a good gateway drug for anyone that wants to delve in to the horror genre without bathing in unnecessary gore, and heavy sexual themes. This variation of \u201cBuffy\u201d is \u201cClueless\u201d meets \u201cLost Boys,\u201d with Kristy Swanson playing the titular Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Cursed with visions and dreams of a past life involving a young girl seduced and eventually murdered by a vampire, Buffy slowly realizes her world is changing around her. Especially considering that the pains she\u2019s experiencing are being accompanied by her sudden heightened strength, agility, endurance, and advanced senses. Buffy just wants to be a normal shallow valley girl whose world revolves around school dances and boys, but she eventually meets Merrick.<\/p>\n

As played by Donald Sutherland, he proclaims she is one in a long line of vampire slayers, and is destined to guide her in her battle against the forces of darkness and the supernatural by acting as her \u201cwatcher.\u201d Meanwhile, the immortal vampire Lothos has risen and begins feasting on local high schoolers, while Buffy realizes she has to train and eventually face off against the dreaded vampire master and his minions. \u201cBuffy\u201d has its share of problems, especially considering the fact that the entire grand plot of Lothos seems hellbent on eating Buffy and nothing more. All the while the face off and eventual death of the villainous vampire is abrupt and unsatisfying. I was also never sure how anyone would explain the vampires, but director Fran Rubel Kuzui approaches the material with absurdity so it\u2019s a footnote that\u2019s glossed over.<\/p>\n

In either case, \u201cBuffy\u201d still entertains greatly, thanks to its hilarious script and slew of top notch performances. Luke Perry is fun as Buffy\u2019s ally Oliver, while Kristy Swanson kills it as the sexy, smart alecky, and tough as nails Buffy. There\u2019s also Donald Sutherland who is fun as Merrick, while Paul Ruebens is laugh out loud hilarious as Lothos\u2019 second in command vampire Amilyn. He plays the role like Evil from \u201cFright Night\u201d if he ever grew in to the role of blood sucker. While it\u2019s been noted much of the dialogue is improvised, Reubens has fun the role, while also playing the resident punching bag. I still cackle at many of the one-liners, as well as Amilyn\u2019s refusal to die after being staked. I also really find the martial arts throwdown between Buffy and the vampire minions in the fog pretty damn sleek. \u201cBuffy\u201d serves more as a fun guilty pleasure, but one that chooses to embrace the absurdity and run with it, as opposed to Whedon\u2019s series that embraced the irony and wit.<\/p>\n