Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Top 5 Monsters

Television

A Slayer’s got to slay something, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a host of monsters for Buffy and her friends to fight. For this list, I’m focusing on the one-off villains, not the season-long antagonists. I’m also not including vampires because those are, on a beastly level (though certainly not on a character one), all more or less the same. These ones are unique, and each is special in its own way, either contributing to the themes or overarching storylines of whichever season in which they appear despite only being in a single episode or offering a particularly difficult challenge for Buffy. The monsters are in chronological order, and there are spoilers below.

The Judge (Season 2, Episodes 13 and 14,“Surprise” and “Innocence”)

“No weapon forged can stop me.”

“Surprise” introduces Spike and Drusilla’s new evil plan: to assemble the Judge, a demon who can burn the humanity out of people. But the Judge is no ordinary demon; he can’t be killed. If you touch him with any part of your body – your fist, for example – he destroys you. And to make it worse, as the research books say, “no weapon forged” can kill him. In other words, Buffy can’t fight him. Centuries ago, an army rose up to face him, and while most of them died, they eventually dismembered him and locked his various body parts in boxes that they separated and buried all over the world. When the Judge is revived, he slowly grows in power until he’s able to burn the people without even touching them. Drusilla and a returned Angelus (these are those episodes) bring the Judge to a mall to begin purging the world of humanity. But Buffy has planned ahead, with Xander deducing that advancements in technology may have lessened his resiliency to mortal weapons – which leads to Buffy pulling out a bazooka liberated from a nearby Army base and blowing him to pieces once again.

Aside from his cool look and immense power, what makes the Judge such a good monster is how he reveals truths about various characters on the show. When he reawakens, he looks at Spike and Drusilla and says they “stink of humanity” because they share “affection and jealousy.” One of the ways Buffy evolved was by showing that the dichotomy between vampires and humans is not as black and white as initially thought. Vampires are dead human bodies possessed by demons, with the memories and personalities of their former selves but no soul. However, they display very human traits, such as Spike’s ability to love so deeply, first Drusilla and later Buffy. The Judge confirms that this gives them humanity, makes them slightly more than the monsters they were once thought to be. He eventually kills one of Spike’s recurring henchmen, Dalton, whose love of books and knowledge gives him enough humanity for the Judge to burn. However, when Angelus returns to the fold and Spike, assuming this is Angel, tells the Judge to burn him, the Judge realizes he can’t, saying, “There is no humanity in him.” Angelus is pure evil, more so than the complexly human Spike and Drusilla (though they are evil), so much so that not even the Judge can find a scintilla of good in him. It sets the stakes for the rest of the season with Angelus as Buffy’s enemy as it humanizes his partners in evil.

Der Kindestod (Season 2, Episode 18, “Killed by Death”)

“You can’t fight death.”

Der Kindestod translates to “child death,” which is an apt description for this demon. Der Kindestod feeds off children, sitting atop them and using creepy suction tubes that emanate from his eyes, killing them as they scream in terror. The problem is that his feeding leaves no sign of violence, so he targets sick children, and everyone thinks the kids died of natural causes. And to make it even worse, he’s invisible… that is, unless you have a bad flu. That means the children see this monster coming. Fortunately for the kids at Sunnydale Hospital, Buffy has the flu as well, and she’s got it so bad that she collapses during a fight with Angelus and has to be admitted for a few days. While she recovers, she sees Der Kindestod walking with the children, glaring at her as if he’s daring her to try to stop him. At first, everyone thinks her fever, mixed with the helplessness she feels at being sick and seeing kids die from something she can’t fight, is making Buffy hallucinate a demon. But eventually, they all realize Der Kindestod is real – but so is Buffy’s heightened healing ability, and after her first night, she can no longer see her enemy. Her only chance is to reinfect herself with the flu, letting her see Der Kindestod but compromising her fighting ability for the final showdown.

Der Kindestod works so well for a few reasons, the most apparent of which is his look. (For horror fans, he was played by James Jude Courtney, who portrayed Michael Myers in the last three Halloween films.) He’s got a ghoulish face with white, rheumy eyes, tusk-like bottom teeth, and stringy hair, and his hands are elongated and clawed. He’s also got a twisted grin, making sure everyone knows he enjoys killing children. He also puts Buffy at a disadvantage because she can only see him if she’s got a bad fever; she can either match him in strength but not see him or vice versa. And Der Kindestod is willing to murder adults, as he does with the doctor who’s found a way to cure the kids of their severe flu. He’s also a personal enemy for Buffy; when she was a child, Buffy saw her cousin Celia die screaming in a hospital, which made her afraid of them, and now she realizes that it was Der Kindestod who murdered Celia. But his real strength is in how he brings out the very best in Buffy; she is determined to save the children, even when she can barely stand up because of her own illness, and she readily makes herself sick again so she can stop Der Kindestod from killing them at the end (with a satisfying neck snap). The final shot of the episode is touching, as the little boy who first gave her a drawing of Der Kindestod sends her another, this one of Buffy killing the monster and saving them all.

Hansel and Gretel (Season 3, Episode 11, “Gingerbread”)

“Some demons thrive by fostering hatred and persecution amongst the mortal elements, not by destroying man men but by watching men destroy each other.”

For most of “Gingerbread,” the monster (which is never named) takes the form of two small children, a boy and a girl, who were murdered. The sight of their dead bodies whips the parents of Sunnydale into a frenzy over the potential for violence, and it grows as the children appear to the townspeople as what they assume are ghosts, egging them on as things get worse. Mass hysteria is the real evil of “Gingerbread,” with the town’s parents, led by Buffy and Willow’s mothers, going on the warpath against the occult, eliminating anything that looks even slightly mystical, a dark road that ends with them trying to burn Buffy, Willow, and fellow student Amy at the stake. (There’s a funny plot point with Amy that continues through the next few seasons.) But the kids are not real, and they’re not ghosts; they’re a manifestation of a demon that uses moral panic and the resulting mob mentality to foment chaos and violence. The name of the episode comes from Giles’ discovery that this demon and its childlike apparitions were the inspiration for the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.” It isn’t until the very end that the demon shows its true form, a huge, hulking monster that’s ready to visit real violence on the town that is no longer in its thrall. Buffy’s coup de grâce on this one is hilarious; still tied to a huge stake, she manages to snap it in half, then leans forward, using it as a javelin to spear the demon through the neck. (“Did I get it? Did I get it?”)

The demon of “Gingerbread” only appears at the end, but it’s suitably monstrous, serving now as the embodiment of the ugly sentiment it foments in ordinary people, a contrast to the children giving the appearance of innocence. But its presence is in virtually every scene as the madness among Sunnydale’s parents grows. Their insane reactions escalate from town hall chants to school locker raids to book confiscations to actual public executions for suspicion of witchcraft. (And it’s not an accident that they use books for kindling when they try to burn Buffy, Willow, and Amy at the stake.) What’s wonderful about “Gingerbread” is that this mania could stand in for virtually any instance of real-world hysteria; direct references are made to Nazi Germany and the Salem Witch Trials, and the iconography of the Satanic Panic of the 80s is evident, but you could easily swap in things like gun control or the 90s crusade against music and video games. Viewpoints range from Buffy’s mother demanding police action to Willow’s mom applying hippie pseudo-psychology to a daughter dabbling in witchcraft. And the people themselves are not judged (outside of Oz telling them they’re nuts and Cordelia blasting them with a fire hose); their fear is the villain, made manifest in Hansel and Gretel, and whatever demon they mask. But it’s creepy seeing mothers commit violence against their own children with surprising ease, all while these two haunting kids assure them it’s the right thing to do. There’s nothing scarier than what we’re capable of when we’re afraid.

Gachnar (Season 4, Episode 4, “Fear Itself”)

“Don’t taunt the fear demon.”

Gachnar is not even mentioned until the last few minutes of “Fear Itself,” but he’s present throughout the episode, if only in spirit. “Fear Itself” revolves around a frat house Halloween party Buffy and her friends are attending. One of the fraternity leaders (played by the original Black Ranger, Walter Jones) finds a creepy symbol in an old book and draws it on the floor of the attic; later, we learn that this is the symbol of Gachnar, an Irish fear demon. While setting up the party’s sound system, Oz accidentally cuts himself and bleeds on the symbol, anointing it and beginning a ritual that will bring Gachnar forth. He’s still in hell, or wherever he resides, but Gachnar can now affect our world, and he turns the frat party into a house of horrors; the props begin to come alive, zombies rise from beneath decorative tombstones, and one fraternity member who broke his neck running down the stairs is reanimated to act as the demon’s mouthpiece. And once Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Oz enter the frat house, the exits disappear, locking them in and forcing them to face the fears that have been festering for the past few episodes (and will continue to plague them all season). It isn’t until Giles cuts his way into the house with a chainsaw and translates the Gaelic text of the book that they find out about Gachnar – and Buffy’s impetuousness accidentally calls him forth. But in person, the monster is not all he’s cracked up to be.

Gachnar is a one-off monster that advances the season’s themes, if not its plot. The main thrust of season 4 is Buffy and her friends feeling adrift and alone, separated from each other and fearing losing each other forever. Gachnar’s demonic influence over the frat house amplifies these fears and causes the heroes to fight with each other. Buffy, having just been burned by a guy, is suffering from severe trust issues and closing herself off from her friends; in the house, she tells them to find an exit and go, leaving her to deal with the evil alone. Willow is trying to become a more powerful witch but meets resistance from Oz and her friends, who are concerned that she could get hurt and remind her that her spells don’t usually go well. While they’re trapped, Willow suggests she call forth something from another realm that will guide them, and she gets defensive when Buffy argues against it. But when she performs the spell, it goes awry, and she’s attacked by dozens of balls of light. Xander feels isolated from the others because he’s the only one who isn’t going to college, and when Gachnar’s horrors begin, he turns invisible, with Buffy, Willow, and Oz unable to see or hear him as he frantically tries to get their attention. Oz feels a distance between himself and Willow over his werewolf instinct maturing, so his fear manifests in his turning into the wolf despite it being nowhere near the full moon. Gachnar has turned their fears into reality and, in doing so, has removed Buffy from her greatest strength: her friends. Even Giles is a part of this theme because, at first, he’s not at the party, physically removed from the people he fears no longer need his guidance. When he does get there, Buffy acts without waiting for him to explain how to stop the ritual and ends up completing it, seemingly justifying his fear. This leads to a hilarious sight gag where Gachnar turns out to be only a few inches tall. It’s funny, but the underlying message is perfect: their fears are petty and insignificant next to the power of their friendship, just as the diminutive Gachnar is nothing when faced with the mighty foot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (I won’t ruin the final lines of the episode in case anyone reading hasn’t seen it, but it’s one of the funniest buttons the show has ever had.) Unfortunately, Buffy and the others don’t learn the lesson they should from their experience with Gachnar, and the season’s main villain, Adam, will exploit their fears again later (see tomorrow’s list for more on that).

The Gentlemen (Season 4, Episode 10, “Hush”)

“Can’t call to mom; can’t say a word;

You’re gonna die screaming but you won’t be heard.”

I’m big on personal taste, but let me make an exception: no list like this is complete without the Gentlemen. Their coming is heralded in one of Buffy’s prophetic Slayer dreams, where a little girl sings a haunting nursery rhyme (in the vein of “1, 2, Freddy’s Coming for You”) while holding a small box. Soon enough, the Gentlemen arrive in Sunnydale, using the box from Buffy’s dream to steal the voices of everyone in town. Suddenly, no one can speak, including Buffy and her friends. When Giles finally figures out what’s going on, he explains (via notes on a projector) what they are; the Gentlemen are monsters from a fairy tale who go from town to town collecting hearts. They steal everyone’s voices because a loud human voice is the only thing that can kill them; the fairy tale ends with a princess slaying them all with a scream. We see them in action once, as their underlings hold down a college student, and the Gentlemen cut out his heart with a scalpel. It isn’t until their box is smashed and everyone’s voice is returned that Buffy is able to let out an ear-piercing shriek that explodes their heads and saves Sunnydale’s hearts.

The Gentlemen are marvelously monstrous creations. They look like demonic cadavers, with wide, lidless eyes and rictus grins, floating around town in suits fit for undertakers. Their slow, ethereal movements are creepy and unsettling even before they start plying their trade. Their henchmen are also disturbing, a brutish bunch with open straight jackets moving like wild apes as they do their masters’ bidding. Their evil is on full display as they kill with glee while their helpless victims scream in vain for help, their voices gone before their hearts. But the Gentlemen’s actions also complement the narrative of the episode. “Hush” finds several characters unable to communicate: Buffy and Riley must lie to each other about being monster hunters, Buffy as the Slayer and Riley as a member of the Initiative, the government program that studies demons; Willow and Tara are the only serious members of a Wiccan group, but are drowned out by the phonies when they try to raise concerns; Xander is unable to express his feelings for Anya; and Spike just likes to annoy people. When the Gentlemen take their voices, everyone must work extra hard to communicate in the simplest ways, and through this, they find it easier to say the bigger things, sometimes inadvertently. Buffy and Riley reveal themselves to each other by accident while fighting the Gentlemen; Xander thinks Spike has killed Anya and attacks him, demonstrating how much he cares rather than saying it; Willow and Tara use their burgeoning magical abilities to protect themselves from the Gentlemen. Actions speak louder than words, and thanks to the Gentlemen, everyone can move forward in their relationships. (Except Spike, of course; he learns nothing, and he’s fine with that.)

Honorable Mention: Balthazar (Season 3, Episode 14, “Bad Girls”)

“There is one deal: you will die quickly, or you will die slowly.”

For the first half of “Bad Girls,” Balthazar is only spoken of, and in the past tense, because he’s presumed dead. He “was” a demon who took command of an order of vampires called El Eliminati and brought them to America. Balthazar possessed an amulet which, when he supposedly died, was taken by a wealthy landowner named Gleaves. Wesley, Buffy’s new Watcher (who makes his debut in this episode, and none of us could have guessed he’d end up being one of the most fascinating characters in the Buffyverse), deduces that the remaining members of El Eliminati are searching for the amulet because of its sentimental value to them. But when Buffy recovers the amulet from Gleaves’ grave, it’s revealed that Balthazar is very much alive and still commanding his vampire henchmen. But he was injured by someone he refers to only as his “rival,” a competitor for the amulet; Balthazar is now immobilized, confined to a massive water tank, and he needs the amulet to recover. He still has some of his old power left, though, specifically telekinetic abilities that allow him to pull his enemies closer to him so he can finish them off. In the final battle, Balthazar uses his telekinesis to draw Angel to him and prepares to pull off his head; fortunately, Buffy thinks quickly enough to yank on a large wire and drop an overheard light into Balthazar’s water tank, electrocuting him and killing him once and for all.

Balthazar isn’t thematically relevant, and he doesn’t reveal anything about the characters or society. The reason he’s here is because of his excellent creature design. Balthazar is an absolute grotesque, with skin the color of a drowned corpse, a batlike face, and a corpulent body that would make the Blob feel better about himself. In the years since his near-death experience, Balthazar hasn’t been able to get up and walk around, and he’s grown incredibly fat in the meantime. He’s even unable to wash himself, forcing his vampire underlings to pour water over the upper half of his body with a ladle. (A kidnapped Giles requests death over having to “scrub those hard-to-reach areas.”) But he proves surprisingly formidable in battle despite his handicap, almost killing Angel. He does contribute one minor clue to season 3’s ongoing story, though: his “rival” ends up being the Mayor, the season’s main villain who wants Balthazar’s amulet as part of his Ascension. Later, the Scoobies will discover that the Mayor is over a hundred years old, having disguised himself as his own offspring to keep up appearances; that’s why he was able to battle Balthazar so long ago. Just before he dies, Balthazar offers Buffy and her friends a final warning about the nemesis they’ve yet to identify: “When he rises, you’ll wish I killed you all.”

Fun fact: I was today years old when I learned that Balthazar was played by Christian Clemenson, a terrific TV character actor who, among many other credits, starred on Boston Legal. He’s unrecognizable under Balthazar’s considerable makeup and prosthetics, something which has allowed certain actors to play several monsters on Buffy and Angel.

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Feel free to share your own favorite monsters in the comments! More Buffy lists will come, along with a review of Slayers: A Buffyverse Story at the end, and if you haven’t read it, here’s a link to the first in this series, the Top 5 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.