Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
A Valley Californian cheerleader discovers that she belongs to a lineage of vampire hunters, much to her dismay.
Liked
Its weird charm.
Thoughts
Not great, but odd and entertaining.
I definitely found the bizarre cast amusing, with with a hot Kristy Swanson, an undiscovered Hilary Swank, practically-unrecognizable Paul Reubens, Stephen Root, and old fogies Rutger Hauer, Donald Sutherland, and of course, Luke Perry at his zenith. Composer Carter Burwell was recognized for artsy scores for artsy movies in the 2000's, so I was shocked to see his name in the credits.
In my opinion it was intentionally trying to be campy, and it worked for me. The actors played it straight, but the whole atmosphere of the film felt like it was winking at me. In any case, I enjoyed the overall silliness, teenage dialogue, and the 1990's fashions.
Since I never watched the more successful show, I cannot compare the two Joss Whedon creations.
The biggest problem for me was how predictable it was, from the boy-meets-girl arc, the old master-young pupil dynamic, and everything climaxing at a school dance. Another problem was that Buffy's implausibly quick transformation and acceptance to her situation. Lastly, I got confused by the "ripe" dialogue between Sutherland, Hauer during a key scene.
It was fun and goofy, and that was entertaining enough for me.
What I would change
Add some creative twists to the predictable parts.
