Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Review By Vamp

This is probably one of the funniest vampire movies I've ever seen, and it's one of my new favorites. It's got all the elements of a good vampire movie, PLUS a hugely comedic twist. With Buffy the Vampire Slayer being one of my favorite Televison Series, I had to set out and watch this movie, and I was not disappointed.

The director of this movie was Fran Rubel Kuzui, who has not directed many films, but working with the writer, Joss Whedon, they bring this vampire comedy to life. The angles that they use to capture things is pretty cool, and overall it all seems to mesh and make for an excellent movie.

The visuals of the movie are another good aspect and it's neat to see this take on how vampires look, since it's something that varies with each new vampire film that comes out. Also some of the costumes and makeup used are pretty neat, and especially for the leader vampire. Another good thing is how the angles are shot, all the different angles they use really tie in to the effects you get during the fight scenes and it's all incredible.

The storyline is quite the original storyline. It's something a little new to the vampire line of movies. The whole slayer aspect that they put on it was just new and I liked it alot. A highschool girl, on top of everything, head cheerleader, jock boyfriend, loads of money, has it all and soon she meets a mysterious man who shows her, her true destiny as a vampire slayer, and soon she is thrust into a world of the undead where she is the enemy. I really liked it, and once you get past the whole cheerleader talk aspect it's a really gripping, fast-paced and hilarious story. It really does well, the comedy seems to come naturally and so it works out great with the whole vampire theme.

Kelly Swanson stars in the lead of this movie as Buffy. Buffy is a cheerleader who has a jock boyfriend, she has loads of money, she's the captain of the cheerleading team, and she's practically on top of the high school world. She has almost no priorities except those that benefit her and she only worries about the mall and clothes and dances. Your typical high school popular rich girl. That is, until, she meets a stranger by the name of Merrick, and he reveals to her, her secret destiny. The destiny that she is a vampire slayer from a long line of slayers. He however is mostly ignored. So when he confronts her a second time they talk and she finally decides to take this new destiny seriously. She starts to train with Merrick and soon she becomes the perfect vampire slayer. She begins to eradicate the vampires,and soon, what her friends think, and the dances, and everything that she used to think were important slowly seem to loose their importantance,and she sets her priorities straight. Then she meets a boy named Oliver Pike, a kid whom she can't stand. Then when her training starts and she saves his life, she begins to fall in love with him. Kelly Swanson, whom I don't really know, does an excellent job as Buffy in this movie. Buffy in this movie was a character who needed a lot of development, and Kelly pulls it off nicely. She's really convincing in this role, and her on screen chemistry really adds to the effect, definitely making her a great casting choice.

Merrick, the mysterious man that confronts Buffy, is played by Donald Sutherland. Merrick is a man who's lineage is to find the new slayers, teach them of their powers and help them onto the right path. Well he does this, like all of his ancestors before him, but the slayer this time, is a lot more stubborn than ones he's had in the past. Soon he confronts Buffy, and convinces her that what she thinks is important is far more trivial than she wants to believe, and basically lays it down on her that she is the key to saving the world from the vampires. He's a very funny man at times, just because he's always so serious about things, and him and Buffy soon strike up a pretty good friendship. Donald Sutherland, like he does in most of his movies, does an excellent job in this movie. He's very convincing as a serious looking person and he pulls it off nicely, another great cast choice.

Paul Reubens stars in this movie as Amilyn, a servant of the high vampire Lothos. Amilyn is a vampire that carries out every wish that Lothos requests of him, and he makes sure he gets the job done. He helps Lothos to return to his former glory so that he may rise in power. He's a very mean and menacing character, and he's constantly after the slayer and her buddies, but on one of the trips to destroy the slayer he looses an arm, but it doesn't stop him from trying to carry out the job. Amilyn always has a joke to crack and he's the main laugh inducer of this movie. Paul Reubens actually does an excellent job in this movie. He's very good at comedy roles, and that's what made him an excellent choice in this movie. The comedy just seems to come naturally and that's what is so believable about this character.

Rutger Hauer plays Lothos, the head vampire. Lothos is the strongest vampire, and he always has wishes that he relays to Amilyn to carry out. He is a very menacing character and at times a bit spooky, and when Buffy kills off some of his henchman he becomes intrigued, and immediately confronts her, but when he is stopped, his one goal soon becomes to kill Buffy, and this is what he keeps sending Amilyn to do, but Buffy prooves stronger than he thought. He also tries to seduce her and bring her to his side, but to no avail. Rutger Hauer is one of my favorite actors, and in this one he does not disappoint. Very rarely does Rutger Hauer play a good guy, and infact I STILL have not seen him play a good guy in a movie, but that's okay because I like him as a bad guy, and such is the case for this movie. He add some comedy to his character as well and it's so believable because it just comes out fluently, and his on screen chemistry with Paul Reubens, who plays Amilyn, is just hilarious, and is a great addition to both the cast, AND the movie.

Luke Perry stars in this movie as Oliver Pike, a loner in the school who really only has one friend, Benny, but soon Benny is turned into a vampire, and he begins to suspect something extremely weird is going on in the city. That's when he meets Buffy, the exact type of girl that he can't stand. Rich, snobby, and inconsiderate, but when he sees her kill a vampire, and her general attitude change, he begins to fall in love with her. Soon he becomes sort of a crusader and helps Buffy to slay the vampires. Luke Perry, who I don't really know, does a pretty good job in this movie, and he really adds to the characters air and makes his jokes more funny. It's really a believable and convincing role.

All in all, this is another good vampire movie. It's filled with comedy, suspense, and some touching moments, which make it a great movie. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes vampire movies, or anyone just looking for a good laugh!!!!!