Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Sometimes a hot spec script can be sold that prior to the actual production itself, a producer on the creative end of things or maybe even the director starts to realize that the concept in and of itself is really completely absurd and coupled with the fact that the original screenwriter fully intended for that same concept to be presented in an almost solemn and entirely serious fashion, it sometimes results in the correct decision being made to literally alter the very tone of that same absurd script and story into that of a comedy and hence make it more palatable for most audiences at that time. This was exactly the case for this 1992 release, a fun horror comedy for which its modest box office success and name recognition would later ironically allow that original spurned screenwriter (Joss Whedon) the opportunity to not only remake the same concept into a full fledged TV show which incorporated his intended serious take on the material, but he was also allowed to build his own entire mythology over the course of that show’s run filled with not only vampires, but also demons, werewolves and whatever else tickled his imagination while writing it, which again was only made possible by the success of the much more comedic cinematic release earlier which Whedon had disowned but at least it had established the franchise brand if nothing else than in name only. The movie is notable not just for being pretty damn funny, but also for some offbeat casting that saw a good number of future stars in the mix. First off, you have Kristy Swanson beating Sarah Michelle Gellar to the punch as Buffy Summers, a typical blonde high school cheerleader type complete with an utterly shallow, airhead attitude who suddenly discovers that her true destiny is to be The Chosen One (a Slayer), a female endowed with special genetic gifts that enable her to defeat and destroy what appears to be the greatest scourge in our dark world which is the emergence of vampires. Swanson not only looks the part of the stuck up brat with a greater calling perfectly, she actually shows some superb comic timing when it comes to many of the funny lines and moments she gets here (mostly of a disbelieving and incredulous nature) in what was supposed to be her breakthrough mainstream Hollywood lead role, a development that didn’t pan out due mostly to some personal problems on her part. Then we have Donald Sutherland (a guy who belongs to that distinct club of having never given a bad performance no matter how bad the movie) as Merrick, the “watcher” who approaches and recruits Buffy for her training, at first appearing to be a scruffy (and creepy) old man to the obnoxious teen and her friends, but eventually convincing Buff that her predestined life’s mission is more important than shopping. Sutherland provides the one anchor of dramatic gravitas in this otherwise goofy production, and he also got on the nerves of screenwriter Whedon extensively, altering and rewriting whole entire scenes to more emphasize the Slayer’s mission as being more part of a Holy War (or Crusade) in God’s name, a conceit that wound up driving the atheist Whedon completely around the bend. After that we also get Luke Perry who bravely attempts and semi succeeds in subverting his image at the time as the most popular male heartthrob in the country on 90210 in playing the role of Pike, a total misfit loser who nonetheless becomes the sidekick / hero of the movie alongside Buffy herself. As for the villains, things become a little more problematic when we look at Rutger Hauer (said to be Anne Rice’s longtime choice for the role of Lestat) as Lothos, on the surface a (very) generic rehashing of your conventional vampire king harkening all the way back at times to Lugosi’s Dracula (and one who has apparently beaten and humbled all of the female Slayers in the past prior to Buffy), but nonetheless here played completely for laughs as a smooth yet silly comic villain, a parody and a spoof for sure of that character archetype, but still a nice excuse to have such a legendary star in the movie. But easily the most offbeat bit of casting has to go to Paul Reubens (fresh off his notorious porno house scandal that all but killed off his Pee Wee Herman persona) as Hauer’s second in command of the vampire ranks, deliriously and deliberately turning the creepiness levels up to 11 and making perhaps the best impression of all despite limited screentime (with his protracted “death” scene being the comedic highlight). Having those names alone at the top of the cast would make this worthwhile, but then the list of notable (and at that time, mostly unknown) names in the supporting ranks is pretty impressive, including David Arquette, Sasha Jensen, Stephen Root, Thomas Jane, Ricki Lake, Ben Affleck and best of all future two time Oscar winner Hilary Swank coming dangerously close to stealing the whole damn show as Buffy’s friend who is easily the most vacuous valley girl character in movie history, succeeding at being in equal parts hilarious and adorable while doing so. The film appears to have gotten muddled at times during the filming and editing stage (mostly revelations about the vampires learning Buffy’s true identity) which feel like such basic story mistakes that it must have come out of the various script rewrites which were changing it from Whedon’s epic fantasy to the much more accessible comedy that it became, but as a fast paced exercise in goofball humor of which absolutely none of it is meant to be taken too seriously, one could do a lot worse considering the wealth of talent involved here (even future TV show cast member Seth Green shows up as a vamp whom Swanson’s Buffy kicks the shit out of) and for which fans of the show should be grateful that it at least laid the foundations down upon which its original writer would build his empire…
8/10