Issue date: Oct. 23-25, 1998

The sexiest vampire slayer alive

TV's "Buffy" leads a new wave of intelligent chills.

In this article:
Why we all love a good scream

By Jennifer Mendelsohn

he premise of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is so preposterous that it's hard to imagine just how the producers managed to sell the fledgling WB network on the show.

The hook? Buffy Summers is just a typical teen who's been reluctantly endowed with a rare talent for, well, killing vampires. ("Sorry, it's, like, the duty, yada, yada, yada," she once explained before stepping out to do in a demon.) And because Buffy's generic suburban high school just happens to be located over a "hell mouth" - a kind of portal to the dark side - there's more than enough diabolical activity afoot to keep Buffy in business well into the next century.

If it sounds like a clunker, think again. The show's unique combination of X-Files spookiness leavened with a hip, ironic sense of humor has made it a darling of the critics and attracted a major cult following. And with her take-no-prisoners attitude and killer clothes, vampire-slaying Buffy Summers has become nothing short of a cultural icon - a feminist hero who's smart, tough and self-reliant, but, in a very '90s twist, isn't ashamed that she also cares about boys and hair.

"Feminism sort of has a negative connotation. It makes you think of women that don't shave their legs," explains Sarah Michelle Gellar, the 21-year-old actress who plays Buffy with a kicky aplomb. "But feminism is just about not being weak. It's about being able to take care of yourself. ... Just because you might care about what you look like or what the opposite sex thinks of you, it doesn't make you not a feminist."

Does Gellar consider herself a feminist?

"I hate the word," she replies, almost apologetically. "Do I consider myself a strong female individual? Uh-huh. Can I take care of myself? Yeah, sure."

hatever you call her, it's clear Gellar has hit a nerve. With appearances in two of last year's blockbuster teen slashfests (I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2), Gellar secured an ironclad place on young Hollywood's A list; dubbed the "femme fatale of the Home Alone generation," she already has hosted Saturday Night Live and inspired the requisite gaggle of Web sites.

"She has the irony that makes you work in today's youth culture," says Matt Roush of TV Guide, a stalwart Buffy fan. "She's turned most skeptics around who would want to dismiss Buffy out of hand. Take a look at how she brings the character of Buffy to life in a very funny and smart and sexy way. You realize there is a star there."

But ask Gellar about making People's "50 Most Beautiful People" list and she all but winces; she's more eager to talk about the fact that she's been rereading the Greek tragedies. "I think of myself as smart before I would ever think of myself as beautiful," she says. "It's annoying because sometimes you meet people and they think, 'Look! Another cute little blond actress.' That's not who I am."

Why we love a good 'Scream'

Lurking evil means boffo box office: Over the past decade, tales of terror have raked in well over $1 billion. Both Scream and Scream 2 have grossed $100 million-plus.I Know What You Did Last Summer and Halloween H20, the latest in the impossible-to-kill Halloween franchise, are stalking close behind.

A good cinematic scare has three stages, says University of Delaware psychology professor Jeffrey Rosen, an expert in fear response. First is anticipation: As the heroine makes her way up the darkened
staircase, we become hypervigilant. "All our senses are sharpened. Heart rate slows. Muscles tense up."

The moment the monster leaps from the shadows, we experience a startle response. The heart races; we "jump out of our seat."

Last comes relief at staring down danger - at least until the sequel.

- Peter Jaret

Photo Credit: PURGE 1998