Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer

PG-13,

1992,

1h 26m,

Comedy

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36%

56 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

250,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

36%

Tomatometer

56 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

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

Mar 26, 2019

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.

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Jay Boyar

Orlando Sentinel

Mar 26, 2019

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.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

Mar 26, 2019

2/4

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

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Sep 25, 2025

3/10

The story isn’t particularly original, since plenty of fantasy films before it have utilized a grizzled elder training a skeptical, naive pupil to do extraordinary feats.

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Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

Sep 23, 2025

4/10

The dialogue is top notch, creating compelling characters while placing it squarely in 90s LA. Where it has problems is when it comes to establishing stakes (no pun intended) and establishing the lore in a compelling way.

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Cheryl Eddy

io9.com

Feb 21, 2025

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.

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Draco R

Mar 4, 2019

Giving a good rating to cheesy-fun film from forever ago that everyone else loves to hate. Luke Perry, we watched this one in your honor tonight. Rest well.

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Aug 15, 2018

Teen inspired comedy

Anakin W

Jul 15, 2018

1992's original Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Kristy Swanson as the title character, isn't exactly a great film... it's a little too fast-paced, and the characters are mostly one-dimensional. The central romance is confusing and uninspired, and even the action sequences aren't necessarily very entertaining. The saving grace of this mostly pretty bad film is the nostalgia, which is stupid for me to say, because I wasn't alive in 1992. The way more successful TV show is far better and believable than this cheesy mess.

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Hagrid W

Jun 28, 2018

Its a bit uneven at times but "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" can still manage to be goofy vampire fun with a bit of satire. Kristy Swanson really steals the show and manages to make it work. For those who love the television series this is something you'll probably despise but think of it as its own piece and just go with the flow.

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Jan 25, 2018

Still hilarious after all these years. Apparently those who did not see it as a late teen or early 20-something when it came out cannot grasp just how perfect it was at the time. ??

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Luke W

Jan 13, 2018

I like it more than the show.

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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

Lothos

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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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