Screenwriter Joss Whedon is now the author of a lot of popular television projects, mainly working in the genre of fiction, supernatural and even superhero direction. His children have gained an army of fans. And he began with a story about the vampire slayer, having previously worked only as a hired screenwriter for several episodes in two sitcoms. The novice screenwriter invented a story about the eternal conflict of generations, wrapping it in the aggravating gloom of horror, where almost every adult is a potential monster, an average school is an abode of evil, a solid director - a ghoul, a physical assistant - turns children into demons, a beautiful teacher - a mantis, eating trusting young people, around sacrifices, werewolves, sorcerers, zombies, monsters, passages to hellish worlds, and graduation will become a whole bacchanalia with a huge carnivorous venom under the roar... All this is hidden behind the decent facade of the most ordinary American sleeping area, where the chosen one is forced to fight against many-sided evil. By day she is a simple schoolgirl, surrounded by studies and friends, and at night she is a lively person with a aspen stake. Yesterday she was fragile, the most ordinary, like any TV viewer on the other side of the screen, but now every night goes out to hunt for hellish creatures in various crypts. The studio was very interested in the concept, the script formed the basis of the film, but soon Whedon left the project, disappointed that his key idea was not implemented, simplifying and simplifying for the benefit of the rating and public availability of the tape. And only after a couple of years, the writer will have the opportunity to unleash the full potential of his idea in the hit series of the same name, which for most comes to mind first when they hear about the brave girl Buffy.
The thing is that the film turned out not so much girlish (good and directed by a woman), but how much simple youth horror story, avoiding drama and any gloom. Oh, there's even fake blood with a gulkin nose, and a vampire movie, by the way. It is very bright, juicy, musical and not serious at all. Pardon the conflict of generations – the threat does not come from adults, where even the director is a comic character. Everything is believed around the school in sunny Los Angeles: popcorn, gum, soda, neon lights, desks, studies, pranksters-boys tend to girls, and they rehearse dance in support of the sports team in between trips to the shops for cool outfits. And suddenly in this carefree young movie world come vampires, whose appearance and habits are more like pale eccentrics or rock musicians with strange hairstyles that run around, but not hellish creatures. The most central cheerleader turns out to be – well, naturally! – the chosen one, so her dance-acrobatic skills will come in handy to give tumacs to fang-scoundrels. Kristy Swanson already had good experience in horror films and youth comedies, so she was perfect for the lead role. Being a girl, not only attractive, but also athletic, she easily passed physical training, harmoniously feels in action scenes, deftly performing some of the tricks without the help of a stunt double. Buffy is such a restless motor, which will certainly cause sympathy in any schoolgirl, because for sure every girl-viewer dreams of being strong, strong-willed, purposeful, and also cute in fashionable outfits, which is constantly in the center of attention, will save everyone, will win, will skillfully tumbling in the air, throwing a aspen stake, not forgetting to weigh a no less sharp phrase. After that there will be a romantic dance and a motorcycle ride with the lover somewhere in the sunset. What you wanted was a girl movie. But this is his beauty, because the beloved must first be protected from a pack of bloodsuckers and shake off the debris. Luke Perry, on whom the studio was betting - he was a rising star in the very popular youth series "Beverly Hills 90210", portrayed a school loser who grew up in a real hero, who gained the courage not only to fight back fang monsters, but also to hit on the local beauty. What was easier was difficult to say. He is funny, romantic and fragile at the same time, playing in contrast to his brave girlfriend. Also here you can see a scattering of still quite green actors and actresses, which after Hollywood will make stars. In any case, the caliph for an hour is certainly.
Honored adult artists who took an episodic part in the film, alas, do not have much to play. There was a chance to just fool around. Donald Sutherland embodied on the screen the mysterious mentor of the heroine, now and then overtaking her in the locker room, creating a comic effect in reference to sinister stories about vampires and her fateful destiny. Rutger Hauer, who portrayed the main villain, approached the matter frankly with self-irony. In appearance, he is a ruthless ghoul, an insidious seducer, an ancient aristocrat with fangs, the birth of nightmares, but lyceums are undisguisedly amused. He did not try to become a second Dracula, more like a powerful merry man who ceased to perceive life, death, joy and grief, poking fun at himself and others at any moment. What to say, if in the climactic exit in the signature vampire coat and cape sparkle samurai sword, jokingly speaking, left by inheritance from the action movie "Blind Fury"! The villain Hauer here is not at all terrible, but simply cool, building funny faces even falling to the ground, getting on the gingerbread from a brisk student. Yes, exactly, all this is in the spirit of a carefree atmosphere of a light-hearted vampire, where the positive and negative die somehow pretended and after a moment everyone forgets about them. Successful jokes a little, however, some turned out hurly in coloring black humor. Other gags pass by, being some strain. In humor, something is ridiculous, something is out of place, and something is easy and funny. The main thing is to tune in to an unpretentious youth horror movie with a bunch of fake fangs from the souvenir department, when the climactic prom turns into a noisy mess with monsters, screaming guys, loud pop and rock music, somewhere sounding in the distance old Ozzy Osbourne, comic director, sharp stakes, jokes and acrobatic elements. For something bigger, it is advisable to go to the TV series of the same name, which has not accidentally grown into many episodes and seasons. But this is a different story from which it began.
I know who you are!
- What a coincidence, I also know who I am.
In the '90s, I was a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. This series was not bad for its time. But I didn’t even know there was a full-length movie that came out long before the series came out. I started looking at it right away.
Buffy Summers lives the life of an ordinary schoolgirl. Participates in the local basketball team support group, goes shopping with friends and meets a guy. At night she has strange dreams. When she meets a man named Merrick, she discovers the nature of these dreams - Buffy is the chosen one. Its purpose is to protect ordinary people from evil. Fight vampires, demons and other creatures of darkness. Merrick becomes her Observer and begins to train.
I didn't really like the movie. The series was much more interesting, and better in everything else. I know that the main target audience of the full-length and series are teenagers (mostly girls), so vampire themes suddenly turned from horror to teenage fantasy. Something between Van Helsing and Twilight. I'll start the film.
At the time of 1992, this was an unusual topic. Vampire horror films were already so worn out that it was difficult to come up with something new. It was necessary either to give the masterpiece, or put them in an unusual environment. The choice fell on the second. So the vampires ended up in a normal school. And, of course, it was necessary to come up with an atypical hero that everyone would like. What if a support group girl fights them? That's how Buffy appeared.
The plot of the film is original, but built on ordinary patterns. And these templates were taken from a variety of genres of cinema. Starting from horror, ending with sports militants. It was a very unexpected mixture that, strangely enough, worked. You'll never know what happens next. Except for the finale. Banal and very predictable. The series was also unusual, working according to the same scheme, but after the first seasons began to slide down, when the audience began to tire of monotony.
Many people remember the TV project as a good cast. Joss Whedon assembled an excellent team of actors, many of whom later became stars. But the full-length film with the cast was not so lucky. Christy Swanson played the lead role, and I don’t think it’s a good choice. Throughout the film, she tried to get into two images - girls from the support group and a formidable fighter of evil spirits. In the end, she was unable to show either. The rest of the cast in the acting was even worse. Then they overplay, somewhere they do not play, and some are completely lost in the general mass. Like Hilary Swank.
Waiting for a $7 million movie to have some cool special effects is useless. It turns out. The visual (if it can be called a visual) consists mainly of simple makeup. So simple and primitive that even Bela Lugosi from the movie “Dracula” of the 30s looks more frightening than all the vampires from “Buffy”.
In 1992, a few months later, the masterpiece Bram Stoker Dracula was released. Of course, the original Buffy was forgotten. However, she later returned in the form of a good teenage series, which turned out to be much more interesting than a full meter. The series is recommended by me to watch, and the film is better not to watch, so as not to spoil the impression.
4 out of 10
How Donald Sutherland taught Christy Swanson to fight Rutger Hauer!
Buffy is the Vampire Slayer
The main character of the film is a young girl Buffy. All day hangs out with his girlfriends in the mall (the beginning really reminded of the comedy “Chicken” with Faris and Schneider), dances in a support group and does not blow in his mustache. But one day, Buffy meets a very strange man in a cloak who talks about vampires. Yes, ostensibly the baby chosen, should save the world, because bloodsuckers do not sleep.
Hand on heart, the film needs to hammer the aspen stake in one place and send it to a warehouse of expired vampire parodies. But I was lucky enough to watch Buffy when I was a kid on TV. That's nostalgic. Once again, you will have to regret the old junk from your favorite 90s, a-ha-ha. And seriously, the movie was criticized without me. Let the review speak on a gray background.
What was the main problem with Buffy in 1992? She was wrong for a decade. A belated movie one hundred percent. A futile attempt to revive youth comedy horror films turned into a failure. Just so you understand, the brutal “From Dusk to Dawn” will be born in three and a half years. And then, in general, Blade will come with a dentition action. A simple picture of the director Kuzui is banally lost.
When was Buffy supposed to be released? In the days of Wolf with Michael J. Fox and Once Bitten with Jim Carrey. Yeah, '80s! Then they loved to cross horror with comedy, a real boom. Even my favorite dead Romero was poshly ridiculed (The Return of the Living Dead). “Buffy” would not have turned into a masterpiece, of course (the director needs to be changed), but it would have looked a little better, definitely.
Hauer plays (surprisingly) poorly, clearly didn't care about the movie. Sutherland back and forth. Swanson is a very beautiful girl, but her sexy figure can not stir up the aspirational production. One of her friends is Hilary Swank. Years will pass, Swanson's career will bend, playing now in various cheap nonsense, and Hilary will receive two Oscars at once (by the way, both deserved). Such miracles!
The failure of the full-length film did not disappoint screenwriter Joss Whedon, 5 years later he sent baby Buffy on TV. And judging by the ratings with reviews, the format of the series went to her benefit. Everyone has their own way. . .
American high school graduate Buffy leads the typical life of a teenage girl: shops, parties, a support group of the school sports team. But then she meets a strange guy named Merrick and says that she is a vampire slayer. Now, after training, she goes on a hunt against dead creatures.
At one time, I was a fan of Buffy, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar. The story begins shortly after the events of this film. There's a couple of references at the beginning. So it was interesting to see where it all started.
Director Fran Rubel Kusui tried to concoct a kind of comedy with horror elements, combining school and vampire themes. The screenwriter was Joss Whedon and his vision of the film was different from what it turned out to be. And at the exit we have a kind of thrash, sometimes funny, but absolutely not terrible. The local vampires don’t scare even a child and are more like clowns. But lured into the cinema a great cast: Rutger Hauer, Donald Sutherland, Luke Perry, David Arquette, in small roles lit up very then young Ben Affleck and Hilary Swank.
Well, the main character is very different from the serial Buffy, such a typical blonde with only aspen stake. She is very mediocrely played by a certain Christie Swanson, who in terms of charm and acting Sarah Michelle Gellar is not suitable for sweeping, not to mention her attempts in battle scenes.
You can laugh at the absurdities of the plot, weak acting and perceive the picture as such a thrashka, which it is in fact. But the idea itself was tenacious and later Joss Whedon will much better embody it in the series of the same name. So if you are a fan of the series, you can safely pass by this film.
4 out of 10
The name Buffy means a lot to those who are fond of vampire hunting movies. There is a whole series, thanks to which it was possible to enjoy interesting adventures together with attractive characters for a very long time. And there is a full-length film, where a seemingly ordinary girl Buffy also defeats vampires. Comparing the series with the film, it should be borne in mind that for an hour and a half of screen time it is impossible to tell and show as much as will fit into a long sequence of series. Therefore, the film automatically loses to the series in the sense of its eventful completeness, but it is characterized by a compact plot and has its important advantages.
The film is interesting about the personality of the main character, clearly explaining that she is an ordinary person, and did not want to become elected. This contrast between the routine life of a schoolgirl and the gifted “fighter” of evil forces feels right. Importantly, those plot elements where Buffy hasn't yet learned the truth about himself aren't boring. Like all scenes where nothing mystical happens. There is no excess in the field of dialogue with girlfriends and such routine, and the film does not become too “teenage” or “girlish”. Such elements are available only in permissible and necessary amounts, but do not go beyond the limits. Even more – they fit well into the overall action. If you compare with the series, then you can recall a longer and even sweeter relationship with peers, which sometimes slow down the action of the mystical component. But here it even creates funny moments in the case. After the beginning of the battle with vampires. For example, when Buffy tells his girlfriends that he has “meeted a man.” She meant one thing, and they didn't know that this man was a 50-year-old bearded uncle teaching Buffy the art of bloodsucking, and at first they suspected quite another. In general, humor here plays a good role in creating a versatile and flexible mood. Having watched this film for the first time as a child, I still can’t forget my delight at the scene where the phrase is pronounced: “Pike, I’m hungry!” Characters are interesting, and important for the whole plot, and are not necessarily ballast. So with the mundane side of the picture everything is fine, but in a vampire movie you also need a supernatural part, and there are problems too, in general, no.
The mystical mood works by creating the necessary aura that accompanies the entire action of the film, becoming most distinct and intense in those places where the most important thing is the fight against vampires. And it is very interesting that the film manages to achieve a tenacious attitude without bloody excesses and generally without any abominations. Sometimes, when the movie is not able to attract the attention of spiritual power, it puts into action bells and whistles in the field of pictures, but fake blood still does not work if there is no sense, and here with such cases everything is fine. If there’s violence in a vampire movie, and it looks believable and proportionate, it’s a plus, if it’s made cheap and only makes you laugh and disgust, it’s a disaster, and let it go. Let, as in this case, everything is decided by intuition. It is even possible to scare well, and this contributes to the effect of surprise, coupled with the appearance of vampires. They don’t seem to be scary at all – just pale faces with “false” teeth, threatening voices and gloomy clothes, but with the right presentation, this material works as it should. It is especially good when there is a contrast between ordinary life and mysticism. For example, when Buffy goes to bed and has a dream where the phrase sounds: “Wake up, sunshine, you will be late for school.” It seemed such a peaceful and sweet line, but the actor can speak ominously, as if with a mockery, and it produces an impressive effect. Combining humor with fear is very successful. The film has a good sense of darkness and night. And vampires do look and act like entities from another world, not meant for humans. In terms of Buffy’s fights with them and, in general, the spectacle, the film is weaker than the series, but hardly inferior to it in terms of atmosphere and character quality. Here interesting and the main character, and her wise mentor, and another important figure of action by the name of Pike. The plot develops slowly, but without braking, measured, progressively, with escalation and climax. And vampires themselves, it is worth saying, make a mythical impression.
Good mystical entertainment with interesting characters, a fascinating plot and a good mood. It does not claim to be a harsh and truly terrifying horror movie, but a vampire movie is built not only on generous bloodshed, it also has an inner side, spiritual, night. It's here, and it works well here. Choosing between a movie and a TV series makes no sense, because they are different things with their advantages and disadvantages. To each his own.
Interesting fact: almost many, at the mention of "Buffy" recall the eponymous series, released since 1997, but only few know that the origins of the series takes from one atypical low-budget film to a vampire theme.
The plot is quite simple: a simple schoolgirl Buffy one day encounters a stranger who claims to her that she is called for a higher purpose, namely to exterminate vampires who live among people. The most dangerous thing is that the old vampire Lotus begins to hunt for her, who wants to destroy all the fighters. Thus, between a simple, but rather strong schoolgirl and an ancient vampire begins a real battle not for life, but for death.
I will say right away – this masterpiece clearly does not pull on a serious film. Although in the first minutes you can not tell where we are waiting for the presentation of a simple story, but with a dark and slightly creepy shade. It's the first half. The second half, when the heroine finally decides to take revenge on the vampire, begins a total confusion that has nothing in common. It’s simple – from a thriller, the film dramatically turns into a black comedy, albeit quite funny. Watch how vampires begin an attack on schoolchildren during the graduation without laughing can not watch.
Is that good? I would say no, not if the other half was really funny. Of course, abruptly change the genre is bad, but everything happens quite skillfully and interesting.
The cast for such a film is certainly impressive. Christy Swanson isn’t Sarah Gellar, but she’s doing a great job when you consider that the movie Buffy is very different from the serial prototype. I liked Sutherland’s performance and Hauerr’s rather funny role. Plus.
And yet, the film is ambiguous. It seems like I want to scold the crooked attempt of the creators to create a truly vampire thriller, but if we take into account that this alteration is the plan of the creators. Yes, the scripts are weak, but you can watch it, quite fascinating, and besides, a good mood guarantees. But if a fan of the series, you can safely skip the film - a portion of hatred is guaranteed.
7 out of 10
This picture is very similar to the Thai trap (if you do not know what it is, then it is better to Google ). If you are in Thailand, this information will be very useful! First, we are offered to look at the confrontation of a young girl and vampires. It is clear that such films in cinema are not a luxury, but this creation has a very, even very good cast, which actually attracts viewing!
Purely theoretical. For many hundred and millennia, nomadic vampires led by Rugter Hauer waged war against a generation of vampire slayers. These days, these guys are in the U.S., and then they have to face another vampire killer named Buffy! In its flexibility and perseverance, Buffy can only compare with Lara Croft, but vampires have noticeably aged over such long years of life. They may not get sick with sciatica, but their speed and agility are clearly outdated, for even an ordinary schoolboy can cope with them. But during that year, these same vampires learned to bite their victims so carefully that their bites leave no trace! Or the vampires are so hungry they suck all the blood out of their victims, they probably haven't seen the Snickers commercial. In addition, the head vampire is simply a surgeon in essence! He struck the character of Donald Sarzeland with a aspen stake, so that Sarzeland did not shed a drop of blood!
And in general, all the vampires in this film are strange, they do not burn up after death, they are equal in strength to ordinary people, they do not regenerate limbs, they are all somehow not!
Pretty much.It's a shame I didn't like this movie. By and large, I watched it because of David Arquet, but there is very little of him in this film, and he plays the bad guy. Christie Swanson looked good in the role of a fighter of evil spirits, but alas her bitchy nature is disgusting. In addition, this picture was recruited Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Hilary Swank, Thomas Jane, and in the process the entire budget was poured on them, finally forgetting about the beautiful special effects, and no well-made EKSHN.
If it were one of the fakes of ASYLUM, I would put this miracle 8 out of 10, but all the footage is owned by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation and therefore you have to automatically put the rating stricter.
It makes no sense to talk about the plot, and it is so clear how everything will begin and how everything will end, and it is for this that you need to focus on visual effects.
Purely meaning. I bet the director wanted to say vampires are wimps and humans are heroes! Therefore, you should be proud that you are a man and be a philanthropist, then no vampire will dare stand in your way!
Pure in its own way.Frankly, films with a similar idea are most often successful and make you return to viewing more often, a good example of this is Blade. This movie has problems with drive, such films should charge, show all the adrenaline, and instead everything here is very sluggish.
In the end, I will say that the film is very weak, despite the names of the actors, I will put this dreamy vampire kingdom.
4 out of 10
