BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson
85 min., PG-13, Comedy, 1992
Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Cast: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens,
Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry
Donald Sutherland goes to high school cheerleader Kristy Swanson and tries to convince her that she is the chosen one to fight vampire Rutger Hauer and his assistant Paul Reubens. After he convinces her that she is the chosen one he tries to teach her in the ways of vampire slaying.
If you are in the mood for a serious film or a horror film, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is not for you. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is mainly a teenager/college student comedy film. Most adults, unless you are stuck in the Peter Pan Syndrome, will find this film a waste of time, and money. I highly recommend this film to high school and college students, but not to adults. If you are a Peter Pan adult, I suggest matinee prices only. On a scale of zero to five, I give BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER a four. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is rated PG-13 for adult situations, explicit language, violence, and adult humor.
I have always thought that Luke Perry, "Beverly Hills, 90210," had no acting ability, and after seeing this film I have seen nothing to change my mind. The only reason that I can see that he was put in this film was to attract teenage girls so they can "oh" and "ah" him when he is on the screen. Thankfully his part is well-written and he isn't a key actor in this film.
Paul Reubens, the famous Pee-Wee Herman (who I don't think will ever work as Pee-Wee again), shows signs of becoming a real actor. I have never been a fan of Pee-Wee Herman and I hated Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I also extremely disliked his acting in Cheech and Chong's NICE DREAMS. He looks and sounds nothing like Pee-Wee, and thankfully, acts nothing like him. If he keeps it up he might have a future in films!
Kristy Swanson does a good job as Buffy, and I think that she is the cutest vampire basher you will ever see. She does an exceptional job in the beginning of the film as the "I'm better than everybody else cheerleader." Donald Sutherland, I think, has one of the best characters in his career. Usually I am not taken with his characters, like the college professor in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE, but I liked his character in this film. There isn't much to say about Rutger Hauer. He is not on for much time at all and never really got any character development. The film could have spent a little longer on him.
The film was well written, and towards the end Paul Reubens has one of the best scenes in the film. The film was not scary. I will assume that it was not meant to be. If it was, they messed up. Who ever wrote the part for the principal must have just come out of high school. His "Don't look at me as administration, look at me as a party animal" speech is very typical, at least in my high school, of those in power. I wish that the film had been longer. Just about the time I really started to get into it, the film was starting to wind down.
One last note, you should stay through the beginning of the end credits because they contain a few funny scenes.
Ken J. blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
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