By Nathaniel Battle
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER kicks off Volume 3 of IPH’s Terror at the Picture House series. Buffy Summers is a high school cheerleader who wants nothing more out of life than to shop at the mall, graduate, marry Christian Slater and die. But there’s a problem: She is the “Slayer.” In every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one, born with the strength and skill to hunt vampires, to stop the spread of evil … blah blah blah. You get it. It’s standard fare. One day Buffy is at cheer practice; the next day she’s saving the world, on a weekly basis. Wait — that’s the TV show.
The film, a 1992 horror comedy, is a bit different. Buffy (Kristy Swanson) takes to slaying fast, in the way that only a ’90s movie montage can show. Her main foe is Lothos (Rutger Hauer), but the vamp who steals the movie is played by the late, great Paul Reubens. Yes, Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, is a vampire in this movie. The cast is wild, with lots of cameos by actors who would go on to become famous. (Ben Affleck and Seth Green are among the uncredited actors in bit parts.)
This film is a great starting point to enter the Buffyverse. Yes, it’s an entire universe. It includes a TV show that ran for seven seasons, a spinoff show, novels and a series of comics that are still going strong. Buffy’s legion of fans will consume any form of Buffy media they can get their hands on. Take it from me, the owner of a stack of Buffy trading cards.
For longtime, diehard fans, this film is mandatory viewing whenever it plays. But even if you are new to the Buffy world, it’s worth checking out. I hope you take this chance to see the film that started it all on the big screen.