Rating of
2.5/4
Just don't expect it to be like the TV show
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/02/08
"Buffy" (Kristy Swanson) is the lead cheerleader of a high school who is dating the star basketball player who acts much like the typical valley girl who cares more about status, her appearance and the cheerleading squad. But her destiny has nothing to do with anything she cares most about.
She soon learns about her destiny when she meets "Merrick", a mysterious man who tells her she's "The Chosen One". "The Chosen One" is the one who will lead the fight against vampires. She is "The Vampire Slayer".
"Merrick" trains "Buffy" secretly so she can face the vampires, which are lead by "Lothos" (Rutger Haur) and his right-hand man "Amilyn" (Paul Reubens). To make things worse for "Buffy", her friends and classmates are becoming "Creatures of the Night".
Now, "Merrick", "Buffy" and "Pike" (Luke Perry), a real jerk who slowly warms up to "Buffy", must join forces to save the town and school from the world of the undead.
OK, although this is the movie the very popular television series is based upon, it is nothing like the TV show. The TV show is a serious horror/drama, while this movie is a campy B-movie.
There are some good performances in this film, but they are not perfect due to the script being only fair. The script has some plot holes, like how does "Merrick" know "Buffy" is "The Chosen One"? It's never explained.
Like I said before, the performances are not great. The main cast are stuck in a fair script. Sutherland, Swanson and Reubens have some of the strongest performances. Hauer is underused for being the lead vampire. For the lead vampire, "Lorthos" isn't seen much as he has "Amilyn" head any attacks outside the place he resides, which I think wasn't mentioned in the movie.
Another thing you will notice with this film is that there is no gore and very little blood. The scares are pretty mild. I also noticed that the vampire attacks on "Buffy" are "telegraphed" (meaning, you can see it coming) thanks to the stomach pains "Buffy" experiences when a bloodsucker is near. Maybe if they eliminated that plot device, and added some moody music that suddenly gets louder when something scary happens, the scares would have been much better.
It is also obvious that this movie has a fairly low budget thanks to the vampire makeup. The actors who play the bloodsuckers had powdered faces, fairly good looking fangs and horrible, but believable ears. But, for some reason, "Lorthos" looks more human than the rest of the vampires.
Since it's release to theaters, this film has become a cult classic. It's pretty good for watching on cable, and maybe for rental if your first couple of choices are unavailable for whatever reason.
Just remember one thing, if you have seen the TV show, but not the film on which it is based, there is a good chance you may be disappointed because you are expecting something drastically different.
