Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Year: 1992

Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui

Written by: Joss Whedon

Threat: Vampire

Weapon of Choice: Stake

Based upon: None

IMDb page: IMDb link

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Other movies in this series:
None

The tyranist's thoughts
I saw this movie before the TV series made the whole idea of a hot, cheerleading vampire hunter popular. And I loved it. Still do. In fact, I love both this and the series, but for different reasons. Rish assures me that I'm the only one though, and that the creator of it all, Joss Whedon, would hit me if I asked him to sign my copy. [actually, that's not so. I saw the flick twice in the theatres, and Whedon told me he's less ashamed of this one than Alien Resurrection, which he regretted not getting his name removed from.--Rish]
Anyway, you probably know the story. Cheerleader is happy. Strange old man shows up and makes her unhappy by telling her destiny is to kill vampires. After some convincing and some death, she proceeds to fulfill her destiny.
Sure they hammed it up, but fundamentally all of the things that made the series a success are here. You've got the same snappy dialogue (for the most part), the same character situations, and the same not quite serious vampire threats.
About the only thing you don't have is Sarah Michelle Gellar, and while she goes a long way toward making any movie watchable, Kristy Swanson is no slouch in that department.
I love this one and I hope that all of you who have dismissed it will give it a chance.
Posted:

Total Skulls: 11

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie skull
Future celebrity appears skullskull Hilary Swank, Ben Affleck
Former celebrity appears skull Paul Reubens
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise skull
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door skull
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start skull
Cat jumps out
Fake scare skull
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence skull
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence skull
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives skull
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?