Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) Full Reaction
Added 2025-07-20 17:20:49 +0000 UTC
Comments
The part which has lived on the most is Amilyn's prolonged death scene. That's the only thing which I have seen memed and referenced by people who haven't also seen the show. Paul Reubens just had a bit of fun with it. The cast is so shockingly stacked, because so many of the minor supporting characters became big (or at least cult) stars afterwards.
JBK405
2025-07-25 01:48:42 +0000 UTCI was one of those weirdos that loved this movie (I saw it when it first came out). I was a big fan of "deadly friend" Kristy haha. I dunno .. it was just one of those movies that stuck with me. I always watched it when it came on. Dribble .. shoot, shoot… I did not, however, like the tv series when that first came out. It took my gf at the time that introduced me to it in season 7. I just hated that she never wanted to hang on the night it aired every week haha. I told her to just come over and watch it at my house. It was the episode where spike lets buffy know he intended on getting his soul back for her. She bawled and got so emotional. I just didn't expect that. That always stuck with me. Then ten years later I gave the tv show a chance and fell in love.
Nick of Time
2025-07-24 02:56:34 +0000 UTCHalf of the movie is okay but its never really good. You can see potential in the script that just isnt realised. A few scenes where Southerland and Swanson share the screen stand out. Swanson seems to be working in every scene, must have been hard; Southerland is coasting, he's better in most other roles but even coasting he is a highlight. I hate every moment Reubens and Hauer are on screen; the vampires are so cringy. It's mostly just very dull, the music is uninspiring, the tone is inconsistent and often scenes feel like they are from different movies where they should be opportunities for juxtaposition.
The Testimony of Mushroom
2025-07-21 16:03:43 +0000 UTCI do not remember if I first saw the movie in the cinema or on VHS, I do remember liking it. When the tv series came out I did not like what I saw simply because it was different from the movie, a few years later (during season 6 I think) I gave it a second chance and loved it. Please react to the unaired pilot, you might not even have to do a watch along since it's on youtube (I'm no lawyer, do what makes you the most comfortable)
slypeartree
2025-07-21 01:40:16 +0000 UTCI think the TV Series is the only reason this film hasn’t been buried forever. I admit it’s an easy watch but doesn’t come anywhere close to the quality of the show.
Martin Gardner
2025-07-20 22:59:19 +0000 UTCWe should all give thanks to an apocalyptic 1984 sci-fi/horror/comedy movie called "Night of the Comet", because Joss Whedon says that it helped inspire his development of Buffy's character in both the BTVS movie and the TV series. Here's the trailer from the movie, which (in my opinion) is very fun 80's schlock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F13mpUTYS3E
Gaius Frakking Baltar
2025-07-20 21:52:57 +0000 UTCSorry for the long comment, but I want to share some insight from my perspective... I was a kid back in 1992/93 and I rented the Buffy movie on VHS when it first came out. I enjoyed it, it was fun and had just enough mild horror for my age. Kristy Swanson had a few big films at that point (Mannequin 2, Wes Craven's Deadly Friend, and Flowers in the Attic). Donald Sutherland as Merrick, Paul Reubens (better known as Pee-Wee Herman) as Amilyn the vampire henchman, and Rutger Hauer as Lothos were the film's big "veteran" actors. The biggest draw for the teen audience at the time was obviously Luke Perry, who was a huge heartthrob thanks to 90210. A pre-Scream David Arquette was virtually unknown, despite being a member of the Arquette family of actors (when I first saw Scream, I was like "Dewey was the guy from the Buffy movie!"). Hilary Swank would go on to be an Oscar winner. A very young Ben Affleck also has a brief cameo during the vampire basketball scene (his voice is dubbed but his face is absolutely recognizable). The movie was a flop and not well reviewed. Joss wrote the script, but "Joss Scripts" really need to also be directed by Joss (nearly every episode of Buffy/Angel that he writes he also directs). The film's director didn't understand how to interpret his unique brand of witty/snarky dialogue, so a lot of jokes didn't land because they weren't delivered in the way Joss intended. Joss didn't have much involvement in the production of the film after writing the script, so he was ultimately dissatisfied with how the final film turned out. When Joss had a chance to revive Buffy as a TV series, he treated his original script for the film as a prequel to the series. The original script had Buffy burning down the gym to stop the vampires (which the movie couldn't afford to do), but the show references this event. The show also mentions Hemery High School a few times and "Becoming: Part 1" has brief flashbacks to similar events seen in the movie. For the show, Joss de-aged Buffy from a senior to a sophomore so he could hopefully spend more time with the characters in high school. There was a three-issue comic book called "Buffy: The Origin" in 1999 that adapted Joss's original movie script, using the likenesses of Sarah Michelle Gellar and the show's version of Merrick the Watcher. Would be cool to check out if you can track it down (there may be digital scans floating around online). I remember opening up the "Winter TV Preview" issue of TV Guide in January 1997, which featured a spotlight on the upcoming Buffy series as a mid-season replacement in March (hence why Season 1 is shorter at 13 episodes). The show had very low expectations and wasn't expected to last long (rightfully so, being a spinoff of a flopped film on a very small TV network). Being a mild fan of the movie, I checked out the show when it premiered and was instantly hooked, watching every episode live (along with Angel) until its finale in 2003. The characters, their world, the lore, and the unique blend of horror/comedy/action/drama with Joss's signature brand of humor was amazing. I've never been as addicted to any other series besides Buffy/Angel. So glad to be following you on your Buffy journey and reliving the experience of watching it fresh through your reactions. Cool to see your take on the movie as well! Can't wait for you to see how Season 7 ends! Sorry for the rant (hope this info is interesting)! :)
AK
2025-07-20 20:41:49 +0000 UTCI'm not sure about this, but I imagine people wanted you to wait to watch this until after you finished season 2 of the show because we get flashbacks of a watcher (presumably Merrick) meeting Buffy in 'Becoming: Part 1'. I don't know if watching this first would have spoiled that though because there's still such a big disconnect.
Lime Pie
2025-07-20 19:30:46 +0000 UTCOh haha nice , the unaired pilot would also be an interesting reaction.
Rey R
2025-07-20 19:13:03 +0000 UTCjoss whedon wrote the original script for the movie as a first attempt to bring his vision of buffy to life but the producers made a lot of changes and he ended up being dissatisfied with the final product, so he created the show. the gym incident could've been one of these things that joss wanted in the movie but got changed/removed, which could be why in the series plot it is a canon event while in the movie it doesn't happen.
anna
2025-07-20 19:02:06 +0000 UTC
