Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) - FULL REACTION

Yeah, this movie is something I have a love/hate relationship with. It's more like I love the idea of it more than the movie itself. The execution was horrible. That said: Now that you have seen this, if you go back and rewatch parts of the show, they make more sense. For example, when Buffy is called in the flashback where Angel is watching her, now you GET who the old guy is who calls her. It was Marrick. Now, when you see in the way Buffy behaves in Homecoming, it has more impact, because you see flashes of the HER from the movie. Now, when Buffy tells Angel that she used to be more like Cordelia, which was hard for a lot of fans to imagine, now you can see it for real. She really was. That line now becomes funny instead of just words. For me, this movie does two things that help the show and make it better. One, the way the show starts works better having seen the film. I watched the movie first, so I'll never really know what the start of the show felt like for fans who never saw the film, but I imagine that for people who hadn't seen the film going in, the start of the show felt kind of...too in the middle of the action. She's already the Slayer, you don't get to see her called or understand how she became the Slayer. It probably felt to...huh? Wait, what? The movie fixes that. It isn't sudden. This movie is the origin story. And two, the movie shows you how Buffy used to be, which makes the way she is in the show more powerful. She used to be shallow and kind of ditsy, unfocused and really didn't seem to have a direction. She didn't have good friends, didn't know how to have good friends, and wasn't the kind of girl who seemed like she could take on responsibility. Now, seeing her in the show after this, her transformation into a well-rounded, capable hero who is burdened by her destiny and has a close circle of good, loyal friends she really cares about and a watcher who cares deeply for her is so wonderful to see. At least that's what the movie does for me, and for that, it will always hold a place in my heart. And, of course, it makes us appreciate the show, as you said, because of how much better the story is handled. Though, I do admit, I always wish the movie was handled better. I don't always love the idea of a remake, but this is one movie I wish they would remake in a way that fits with the show.

Raven Dark

That was smart of you. I wish I had an edible to watch this like people did with Cats.

Rachael

I've only ever watched this incredibly drunk.

KT

Even if this movie is completely cheesy and ridiculous, i love that i can see the things Joss took from this and added it to the TV show.

Christopher Nicholas

Here's how to recognize him: Quoted from imdb: "Despite claiming he was cut from the movie, Seth Green does appear in it, although it is just for three seconds, and for two of them he is seen from behind. He is the short red-haired vampire that gets kicked by Buffy outside the gym when a group of vampires, including him, are taunting her. You can recognize him by his haircut alone. "

David Boyd

Wait, you recognized Ben Affleck, but not Seth Green? ;-) I kid. I don't think there are many who would have recognized him in this movie. He played an uncredited vampire and was onscreen for less than a second.

David Boyd

I do love how our buffy does make reference to the girl she used to be (movie buffy) worse than spordelia was how she put it and that she got kicked out of school for burning down the gym that was full of vampires, although she doesnt burn it down, the big fight is in the gym

Shauni Livingstone

When I watched this at age 7-ish (along with 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It'), I thought it was a horror movie and was terrified. ;_;

cs

Me too. My mom and I used to do it back and forth to each other.

Miss Timi Fantastico

As a girl in the '90s I'm amazed and sad that THIS was actually a strong female representative at the time of my development. (Compared to now) Lots of other things can be said and pointed to on this topic but watching it here after so many years just makes me so grateful that the show came after. And then many other awesome strong females in movies and TV. 💪 Also, time gives this movie rose tinted memories I think. I remember a lot more funny parts. ( "Oh yeah? Clap!" with Vamp that doesn't die. 😂) Everything about it is so extra. I was a fan of the movie when it came out because 90s movies had nothing like this. I LOVED that Luke Perry was the damsel in distress and was ok playing that role. Other than those things, one viewing is probably enough. 👍🤓

RavenSteal

My favorite scene is when the vampire doesn't die... not gonna lie - i re-enact that scene all of the time. Complete stupid funny I think it was funnier about 10 years ago lol

Heather Flores-Ricks

I loved the movie, because it was weird in a way that I had never seen before, at the time. Today I am just grateful to the movie's existence for allowing the show to be made. While I was a fan of the movie, it never meant anywhere near as much to me as the series does now. The movie was just... fun. The series, on the other hand, is some of the greatest comedy, drama, action, and fantasy ever put on television. It makes me laugh and cry... and watch reactors endlessly.

UTU49

Movie: bad. Paul Reubens endlessly dying: good.

Thomas Hansen

I suppose we should be grateful to the movie for being just good enough to get the series made. I really liked it back then, when there was nothing else remotely like it to compare it to.

UTU49

We Buffy fans should probably just call the 1992 movie, "Spordelia, the Movie".

UTU49

Honestly, the only reason I was so hyped for Buffy when it started on TV was because of the movie. The movie was such camp fun, in a 'so bad it's good, let me grab more popcorn' kind of way. I remember being deeply disappointed that Kirsty Swanson wasn't playing Buffy in the TV series, but then season 1 was such high camp fun a lot of the time that I fell in love with it almost immediately and then never missed an episode.

Claire Eyles

Joss has spoken about how his original script was revised beyond recognition, and this is what we ended up with. I was 10 or 11 when this movie came out and I loved it then, but...yeah. It's pretty terrible. RIP, Luke Perry, though. Interesting factoid, though. Kristie Swanson was at the Alamo City Comic Con I attended a few years ago, where I got a photo with David Tennant and Billie Piper. Good times.

Aimee

I saw this movie around the time it came out and kinda liked it, but now it seems like a steaming pile of garbage compared to the amazing quality of the BtVS series that followed. As a movie it is totally missable, but one cannot truly call themselves a Buffy fan until they've seen it. Welcome to the Club! :D

Hef

Alas, one day you will be able to watch all of Passion of the Nerds videos on this film and Buffy, Angel and Firefly he does a great job breaking down the film and the differences between film and tv show. But not yet. In the meantime, it's too bad you weren't able to watch this in between Season 1 and 2 of Buffy. I think that's the ideal time because you can see where parts of Season 1 are exploring similar themes to the movie (particularly what makes Buffy unique to other slayers, including her unwillingness to follow the rules or be bogged down by ritual and her initial rejection of her destiny after Merrick's death vs the prophecy of her death in S1E12). If you watch it then I think it's a slightly easier comparison though Season 1 is still unquestionably better. By now you have been through so much with the characters of the show and seen just how far the show pushes your expectations for good tv, it's that much harder to compare. But for me the movie helps hit home one of the things that makes the show the landmark it is. TV and movies, before Buffy didn't really do mixed genre. Buffy pulls off being a comedy, drama, horror, action show with real impactful emotional weight. I think Joss was trying to achieve that with the film script-though the script doesn’t quite pull it off-and it seems the rest of the team didn't know how to do that, because it hadn't been done. It became mostly a broad comedy with strange tonal shifts held over from the script. Nonetheless, I enjoy the film in all it's ridiculous, despite having first watched it after a few season of the series. I have heard many people with the same story as Raq Miller up above. Who treasured the film so much they refused to watch the show until much later. And for me the film always reminds me of several other films from the 80s and early 90s that it may be trying to channel and possibly poke fun at like Valley Girl, Teen Witch, Heathers (an even earlier genre bender), all of which eventually influenced Clueless as well.

Miranda

He's a youth lol I can't even remember the last time I saw something with Hilary Swank in it. She's of a different time. Afflek was Batman.

Bisibia

Haven’t watched the reaction yet but surprised to see that no one has commented on Paul Reubens vampire (Peewee Herman). Loved this movie when it came out and I still enjoy it for what it is. The show is incredible but this movie holds a special place in my heart.

Miss Timi Fantastico

Wait, you recognised Ben Affleck, but not Hilary Swank? Jeez, she hasn't changed that much ;D

Claire Eyles

I'M SO EXCITED TO WATCH THIS, LIAM

Abby

I saw the movie when it first came out as well, it was so camp and over the top I loved it. And I do love that they kept or at least referenced certain elements in the TV show.

Claire Eyles

Oh gosh.... this movie and the quality difference between it and the TV show! 😂

Stephen Mintac

This movie has such a sordid history. I strongly recommend you read Joss' original script (you can find it here - https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/uploads/scripts/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-1992.pdf). It's not that long, but if you're interested in film/tv scripts it can be fun reading for its own sake. The script's still not phenomenol, or anything, but my goodness, is it so much better than the final film. By the way, the two Kuzuis who produced and directed this mess are given a producer's credit in all episodes of Buffy and Angel, despite having nothing to do with the tv shows. In other words, they took a smart and funny script, turned it into a quasi-unwatchable movie and then lived off the royalties of the successful and magnificent tv show. The Kuzuis get a lot of the blame for this film, and rightly so, though apprently Donald Sutherland was also a nightmare. For anyone interested, Joss wrote a script for an unproduced movie called Afterlife, that's also genuinely good. You can find it here - https://fdocuments.net/document/afterlife-by-joss-whedon.html

I saw this movie not long after it came out, I would've been a pre-teen back then, and I ADORED this movie for it's self-aware ridiculousness, especially because I lived in south Florida which had a lot in common with SoCal valley girl culture. I actually was horrified when I found out a TV show was being made and I refused to watch it, I thought they were gonna make some overwrought cheesy teen drama and ruin it. I didn't start watching the Buffy TV show til the 6th season when a friend showed me clips of a certain episode. :X It makes me really sad to know so many people talk badly about this movie. I think one of the biggest factors is that it's very much a product of its time. The humor style, the editing, the lack of character development in a comedy, were all pretty normal for the style of the era, and that gets lost in modern viewings with people unfamiliar with its cultural context. It's even pre-Clueless, we didn't have the standout media we do now to compare it to and know better. lol While the movie isn't considered canon for the TV show, I do like that the show kept elements of this backstory for her. Buffy has said in the show that she WAS Cordelia, or even worse, and there are some similarities in how they show her being called in flashbacks in the show. I like that the movie wasn't just scrubbed out all together.

Raq Miller

Well Buffy did once tell Angel that before she was the slayer, someone, let's call her Spordelia, looked like a classical philosopher next to her. She wasn't wrong. Also the red lollipop movie Buffy is sucking on and the red lollipop TV Buffy is sucking on in the high school flash back is a nice touch/throw back to the movie.

Claire Eyles

I think the movie is soooooo cheesy that it is fun to watch.

Sherlyn

What Joss wanted wasn't really important though, he was just the writer and that's not a particularly important position in movies. People often have a "OMG, they changed his script" reaction as if that's not completely normal when it comes to movies. They are producer and/or director driven projects, not writer driven.

Phillip Grischa

Yaaassss... Confession time: I was 7 when this came out, my grandma took me to see it in theatres, and it was my favorite movie for years. I still love it. It's nonsense, but damn it's so much fun.

Bisibia

Haha oh god the movie......you can tell the studio tampered with what Joss wanted the final product to be. Still it made the show the amazing one it is today as a result. Christy Swanson was pretty good though as a plus x

Kyle Jordan Ashley Brown