One in all ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Creepiest Episodes Will Paralyze You With Concern

With its dated results, campy tone, and emphasis on emotional storylines over pure scares, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, is never really scary regardless of being a horror present. Buffy usually simply makes use of horror ideas to dramatize on a regular basis life experiences. In Season 6, a demon that kills quick meals staff is a metaphor for the hopelessness one feels at a dead-end job. Season 7’s “Identical Time, Identical Place” nonetheless follows this formulation, presenting an emotional story about how onerous it’s to reconnect with associates after you’ve made a extreme mistake — whereas together with a very chilling monster. What makes this episode so scary is the way in which during which it faucets into the sensation of a paralysis nightmare.

“Identical Time, Identical Place” Isolates Willow From Her Associates

Surprisingly, “Identical Time, Identical Place” was written by Jane Espenson, who additionally penned some of the funniest, most lighthearted episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and went on to put in writing for reveals like Gilmore Ladies, Battlestar Galactica, and As soon as Upon a Time. For this Buffy episode, nevertheless, Espenson put her typical love of comedy apart and delivered a narrative with haunting scares and a deeply unhappy emotional core. In “Identical Time, Identical Place,” Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) returns to Sunnydale after taking a sabbatical in England to get her magic underneath management. However, when she returns, she’s unable to see her associates Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon), and so they’re unable to see her. From the very starting of the episode, Willow’s isolation units a nightmarish stage.

Nevertheless, the episode quickly reveals that the explanation Willow and her associates cannot see one another is due to a spell that Willow subconsciously forged as a consequence of her fears about being judged after her abuse of magic in Season 6. The episode cleverly illustrates this reveal by first following Willow’s associates, who’re unable to see her, then rewinding to depict the identical time and place from Willow’s perspective, as she seems to be for her associates. The viewers is aware of one thing supernatural is occurring, however for Willow, it simply appears like she’s been deserted.

The Demon Gnarl Is Really Terrifying in “Identical Time, Identical Place”

Nevertheless, it is the monster-of-the-week that makes “Identical Time, Identical Place” actually scary. The demon, Gnarl, is performed by the late actor Camden Toy, who was identified for his monster performances on each Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off collection Angel. Most notably, he performed one of many Gents in “Hush,” another Buffy episode that stands out for its real chills. Not solely is Toy’s efficiency splendidly creepy, however the demon swimsuit he wears on this episode seems to be extra convincing than most of the prosthetics on Buffy‘s earlier seasons.

What makes Gnarl so memorable is his technique of killing: he paralyzes folks and slowly eats their pores and skin one piece at a time. When he slowly begins to strip items of pores and skin off a paralyzed Willow, it is arguably essentially the most haunting scene in all of Buffy‘s seven seasons. Toy’s creepy efficiency and sluggish, torturous technique of inflicting ache could be unsettling sufficient, however, the paralysis and the disgusting visuals as Gnarl peels and eats items of pores and skin make this scene much more horrifying.

This ‘Buffy’ Episode Makes Acquainted Emotional Territory Uniquely Scary

The concept of utilizing isolation and the nightmarish feeling of not with the ability to talk with others isn’t a brand new one for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On an emotional degree, “Identical Time, Identical Place” can be paying homage to “Concern, Itself,” the Halloween episode in Buffy‘s fourth season. In that installment, the monster-of-the-week separates the characters, leaving them unable to speak with one another, and preys on their fears of abandonment. “Concern, Itself” options scenes the place Xander tries to talk to his associates however finds they’ll’t hear him, whereas Buffy can be taunted along with her best concern that everybody will abandon her. However “Concern, Itself” options plenty of humor to undercut the seriousness of what is going on on; in contrast, “Identical Time, Identical Place” goes a lot additional, by no means letting up on the nightmarish feeling.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is remembered much more for its humor, wonderful character work, and inventive episode ideas than it’s for real horror, so it’s price revisiting “Identical Time, Identical Place” to recollect how creepy the present may get. The emotional misery Willow is put by, Camden Toy’s wonderful efficiency, and a paralyzing technique of killing all come collectively to create an episode of Buffy that can maintain you up at evening after watching it.

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