| "Buffy
The Vampire Slayer" DVD Review |
Synopsis:
A flighty teenage girl learns that she is her generation's destined battler of vampires.
Now for the Zone's
Eye View:
By Scott Maravilla
Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Starring: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Michele Abrams, Hilary Swank, Paris Vaughan, David Arquette
It is hard to believe that the critically acclaimed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer was spawned from such a poor film. Buffy Summers is the most popular girl in school, a cheerleader and a typical post-pubescent shopaholic. That is until her a Watcher (Donald Sutherland who just needed the money) appears to tell her that it has been preordained that she will fight the vampires that haunt our world. Buffy's whole life is turned topsy turvy as she must slay the Lothos, the Vampire King (Rutger Hauer who I always confuse with Dolph Lundgren for some reason) and his minions. Most notable among the vampires is Paul Reubens fresh from his arrest for allegedly playing with his Pee Wee in public.
The film is more notable for its cast than anything else. It stars Luke Perry at the height of his Beverly Hills 90210 fame, Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, and David Arquette. Kirsty Swanson (Big Daddy and not much else) plays Buffy but without the charm of successor Sarah Michele Gellar.
Everything that is right with the television series is wrong in the movie. The story is played campy and not within some realm of believability possessed by the show. Buffy is a popular girl and not a strange outcast which makes her inaccessible to most of the audience who were likely not popular cheerleaders in high school. I purchased this DVD in my capacity as a completist. The opening of the series led me to believe that the end of the film is the jumping off point for the show. It's not. The two are not connected other than the fact that Buffy first began her career as a Slayer in Los Angeles and had a Watcher before Giles.
The disc itself is scant with extras which could otherwise have made it somewhat worthwhile. There is a trailer and 2 tv commercials, and the sound is only 4.0 dolby surround, inferior to many of the DVDs on the market. For those of you who want a Buffy movie sit tight. Word on the street is that Joss Whedon plans a film franchise after the seventh season, but after the X-Files and Star Trek: The Next Generation debacles he may want to rethink this. I give this film a 1.
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