Buffy The Vampire Slayer - 25th Anniversary

There wouldn't have been a seven-year prime time TV hit series if this film hadn't existed first. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comes out in yet another home entertainment version, following the Blu-ray edition from 2011. If you do the math, this makes "Buffy" 25 years old.

So why is the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" such a letdown? Yes, the movie itself borders just on the surface of fun, featuring dim-witted characters and sometimes hokey special effects. The quips and one-liners can be fast and furious too, but they're only sometimes laugh-out loud funny.

Kristy Swanson plays the perfect blonde ding-dong known only as Buffy, who gets recruited by Merrick (Donald Sutherland) to fight off murderous vampires. Buffy's friends include future Oscar winner Hilary Swank, and many other revered actors (Ben Affleck, Rutger Hauer) show up in this 1992 low-budget horror/comedy. Faring best is actor Paul Rubens ("Pee-Wee's Big Adventure") as the king of all the vampires. His kooky performance outshines all of his peers in the film.

But back to the 25th edition Blu-ray of "Buffy"... it's the exact same version as the prior Blu-ray, just with different packaging. And this means the same extras that were on the 2011 Blu-ray are on this version, and those were brought along from the DVD edition. That's a major bummer for big fans of "Buffy" who might have been hoping for some new interviews and/or behind the scenes drama.

Instead, the three special features are something simply called "Featurette" (a four-minute promo), the theatrical trailer, and TV spots. As Buffy would say, "what's your damage 20th Century Fox"?

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
Blu-ray
$16.99
www.foxconnect.com