Buffy (Kristy Swanson) is a stereotypical cheerleader at Hemery High School in Los Angeles. She is a carefree popular girl whose main concerns are shopping and spending time with her friends. While at school one day, she is approached por a man named Merrick Jamison-Smythe (Donald Sutherland). He informs her that she is The Slayer, or chosen one, and he is a Watcher whose duty it is to guide and train her. She initially refuses to believe his claims, but becomes convinced when he is able to describe a recurring dream of hers in great detail. Over the course of her training she becomes friends with Oliver pique, lúcio (Luke Perry), whose best friend has recently become a vampire. Oliver becomes the male equivalent of the traditional "damsel in distress", being rescued por Buffy or Merrick on several occasions. However, their relationship gradually becomes romantic and Oliver becomes her partner in fighting the undeads.
After several successful outings, Buffy is drawn into conflict with a local vampire king named Lothos (Rutger Hauer), who has killed a number of past Slayers. Lothos eventually kills Merrick as well, giving her the motivation she needs to face him in battle. They eventually clash during the middle of the senior dance at Buffy's high school. Through the use of her own unconventional methods, she is able to defeat Lothos and his minions.
Many of the details given in the film differ from the continuity of the later televisão series. For example, Buffy's history is dissimilar, and both the vampires' and Slayer's abilities are depicted differently. Joss Whedon has also expressed his disapproval with the movie's interpretation of the script,[3] stating, "I finally sat down and had written it and somebody had made it into a movie, and I felt like — well, that's not quite her. It's a start, but it's not quite the girl."[4]
According to the Official Buffy Watcher's Guide, Whedon wrote the pilot to the TV series as a sequel to his original script, which is why the show makes references to things that didn't happen in the movie. In 1999 Dark Horse Comics released a graphic novel adaptation of Whedon's original script under the title, The Origin. Whedon stated: "The Origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script with the series, that was nice, and using the series Merrick and not a certain OTHER thespian who shall remain hated." [5]
