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Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer

PG-13

Released Mar 10, 1992

1h 26m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

37%

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54 Reviews

43%

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250,000+ Ratings

For Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson), nothing is the same after she meets Merrick Jamison-Smythe (Donald Sutherland). Merrick tells the teen that he's been sent to train her to fight vampires, and he proves himself by displaying his supernatural powers. Buffy is a quick study, and soon takes fellow student Oliver Pike (Luke Perry) under her wing, repeatedly saving him from fierce bloodsuckers. But, when a very dangerous vampire (Rutger Hauer) gets rambunctious, she must go to war again.

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Critics Consensus

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's supernatural coming of age tale is let down by poor directing and even poorer plotting -- though Kristy Swanson and Paul Reubens' game performances still manage to slay.

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Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

While it would be a mistake to oversell "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the sad and/or happy truth is that you could do worse on a warm summer night. A lot worse.

Mar 26, 2019

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Jay Boyar

Orlando Sentinel

The idea of mixing vampires and modern teens has, of course, been tried before... But it has never been done with so much sophistication - yes, sophistication.

Mar 26, 2019

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

''Buffy'' shuffles through a number of styles and approaches, from the satirical to the Grand Guignolesque, but never treats its material with much respect.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 26, 2019

Full Review

Cheryl Eddy

io9.com

Buffy is still funny as hell—the lines are zippy, as much as it makes a person cringe to hat-tip Whedon, and the physical comedy is still there too.

Feb 21, 2025

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

There's ultimately never a point at which Buffy the Vampire Slayer is entirely (or even partially) able to live up to the seemingly foolproof nature of its high-concept premise...

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 3, 2020

Full Review

Victor Dwyer

Maclean's Magazine

As silly as its title suggests, Buffy the Vampire Slayer manages to deliver a sly message about female strength and the fragility of sexual stereotypes.

Mar 26, 2019

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Gary G

Don't expect high drama, big frights, or epic acting. Buffy is just big, dumb fun. We just revisited it for about the 4th time, and it still satisfies for switching off the brain and having some laughs. Kristy was a perfect 10 in the looks department, and she was perfect as the air-headed vampire slayer. Rutger Hauer looked like he was having the time of his life, and Paul Reubens had a hilarious (and lengthy) death scene. There are gag lines here you'll drag out of the closet for years.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/25

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Emma F

Buffy’s supernatural coming-of-age story could have benefited from better direction and plot development.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

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Horror fan 4

What a delightful little dark comedy. I love the cast and story. Tim Treakle

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/30/24

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Tim M

Its light and fluffy. I thought it was fine to pass the time. I never watched the TV show, so don't have that influence.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/29/24

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alan g

Bad plot worse acting.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/26/24

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J B

To be honest, its rubbish, but not because of the actors. It's just that no tension is built up through clever camera work and there is hardly any music. It's not scary at all, and merrick's death is the most underwhelming death scene I've ever seen, ever. It sucked. I enjoyed it though. Kristy Swanson is damn attractive. I blame the producers. Good cast though.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

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Fran Rubel Kuzui

Director

Kristy Swanson

Buffy Summers

Luke Perry

Oliver Pike

Donald Sutherland

Merrick Jamison-Smythe

Paul Reubens

Amilyn

Rutger Hauer

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Synopsis

For Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson), nothing is the same after she meets Merrick Jamison-Smythe (Donald Sutherland). Merrick tells the teen that he's been sent to train her to fight vampires, and he proves himself by displaying his supernatural powers. Buffy is a quick study, and soon takes fellow student Oliver Pike (Luke Perry) under her wing, repeatedly saving him from fierce bloodsuckers. But, when a very dangerous vampire (Rutger Hauer) gets rambunctious, she must go to war again.

Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Producer: Howard Rosenman, Kaz Kuzui
Screenwriter: Joss Whedon
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 10, 1992, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.1M
Runtime: 1h 26m
Sound Mix: Surround

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