OK, so how come the majority of the vampires on BtVS always seem to be in permanent “game face” mode- all fangy and “grrr”? I mean, aside from the vamps who are regular or semi-regular characters on the show (Angel, Spike, Harmony, Mr. Trick, even the Annoying One,) the vampires in the show never seem to show “human face”. The Mayor’s henchvamps, Spike’s minions, Harmony’s minions… even when they’re hanging out at Willy’s Bar, not really expecting any action, always game face. The only exceptions I can think are those rare occasions on the show when a vampire is seen picking up a meal at the Bronze.
I can understand while they’re fighting Buffy, or feeding, but really, at Willy’s, if they just looked human, ordering, or beingseen drinking, a glass of blood would get the point across the the guy ain’t living.
Is there some plot related reason that the vamps on the show don’t just “suit up” when they’re about to feed or fight, or is it strictly bugetary (transformation scenes cost money to shoot)?
I think it’s vampire pride. Vampires aren’t human, they’re better than human (at least, in their own minds). Humans are prey. Sometimes vampires can make themselves look like humans, but their “game” face is also their “real” face.
Angelus’ group are exceptions (in a lot of ways). I’d guess that Angelus prefered to appear humans for ascetic reasons. Aside from simply being more handsome, he liked the way humans jump when he changes. Spike still had a lot of humanity left in him, hence his recent decision to get resouled. And Drucilla is a Frootloop.
(Of course, the real reason is that the morph effect is more expensive than the vampire make-up, and the show tries to avoid having Buffy kill things that look too human.)
Most of the minor vampires we see are on the feed, attempting an assassination, or otherwise ‘working’ when we see them, as well as not being in a position where they’d need to pass as human.
Spike, Angel, Dru, Darla, Mr Trick, etc, we see in more casual moments, and when they’re trying to pass while on the hunt.
Then, of course, there’s OLD vamps like The Master and Kakistos - who CAN’T pass any more, because of their age-related animalistic traits.
::Snork:: Good thing I put down my Coke before reading that post.
Actually, expanding on this thought - some of the minor vampires are also fairly old - perhaps they’re stuck in permanent ‘Game Face’ mode, on the way to becoming Master-like.
And, of course, there’s the ones that are terribly, terribly young, and the demon isn’t completely sure what it’s doing yet.
For some reason I always got the impression that by putting on its game face a vampire was able to access more of its power. Vampire in game face is stronger than Vampire out of game face. This makes sense in the contexts in which we’ve seen Angel put on his game face (either by choice or when goaded). The old vampires stuck in game face mode are also the most powerful (possible exception to the rule: Dracula).
Of course, the “vampire looks human until Buffy pops him in the face and vampire’s in game face when he turn back to the camera” bit is a wicked-cool dramatic effect so tht probably has something to do with it.
It seems to me that, at least with the vamps who are regulars or make frequent appearances on the show, appearing normal is their normal appearance. Angel did, even when he had just returned from Hell and Buffy had him chained up in his mansion, and Spike, when shown alone in his crypt, always looks pretty much like James Marsters without vamp makeup on. Also, vampires are demons, but they’re demons inhabiting human bodies, with human faces. It seems like it takes some effort for a vamp to get the “game face” on. And if an old vamp is no longer able to appear human, it would make hunting difficult. Sary face, dinner runs away. In which case, you had better be wicked powerful so you can control your minions, otherwise you wouldn’t have anyone to bring you carryout meals.
In which case, Miller’s “vampire pride” theory might come into play. Some wicked powerful vamps with minions might keep the game face on at all times in order to maintain a fearsome appearance, and eventually their face *would *freeze like that.
As for the Mayor’s hench vamps, who have game face on when they are not ether feeding or fighting, well, it’s probably Joss’s way of letting us know that a lot of the Mayor’s henchmen are vampires.
Or, maybe it’s just because transfomations cost money to shoot.
I agree with what Otto says, but I think there is another possibility on top of that. My theory is that the game face is the natural condition of a vampire, while the human face is, effectively, a skill, particularly a camoflauge skill. A vampire needs practice and experience to be able to comfortably maintain a human face, so the young (every time we’ve seen a vampire coming out of the grave, they’ve had their game face on) or stupid vampires are almost always in game face (they can do human face, but it’s annoying/difficult/whatever), while the more experienced vampires can maintain human face without much effort.
The truly ancient vamps are so powerful that they don’t need camoflauge to hide/hunt, so they don’t bother with human face, or the skill has atrophied.
OTOH, it’s possibly because the extras are on the set for just a couple hours, so they can handle the itchy, goopy makeup, while the regulars would go insane if they had to wear the gunk day in and day out.
SuaSponte, I disgree. I think the human face is the normal/natural condition, as it is the normal condition of the human body. The reason vamps come out of the grave with game face on, is that, after probably at least twenty-four hours of being dead, plus having to dig their way out of the grave, they’re pissed off , freaking hungry, and probably disoriented (remember the Vampire With The Power from “Lessons”, struggled for quite a while before he finally had the presence of mind to ask for help)so they hit the surface with game face on ready to feed, and it probably doesn’t occur to them that this is a good way to frighten off potential prey. Also, if it’s only the younger, inexperienced vamps who can maintain the human face, then explain Harmony.
I think that bugetary constraints aside, Otto’s theory is the most workable. Maybe a weaker vamp, or one who wasn’t bright enough to think of “seducing” its prey (picking up a meal at the Bronze, then asking her to go to the ice cream bar) might want to stay tapped into that demonic power because it would give them a better chance of taking their prey down by force. In other words, the game face is the external manifestation of the power that they’ve tapped into.
Of course, this would make a good case for Spike being a pretty powerful critter. The only time I can recall seeing him in game face since he fell in love with Buffy was in “Dead Things”, when he was trying to provoke her into venting her angst and (unjustified) guilt on him, giving her a monster to beat on (“Put it all on me, that’s my girl”). He’s been seen kicking some pretty serious demon ass the last few seasons without having to tap into that Big Power Source In The, well wherever that big power source is. Maybe if he’d put his game face on before he climbed the tower in “The Gift”, S5 might have turned out differently, assuming Otto’s theory is correct.
On the DVD commentary to “Welcome to the Hellmouth,” Whedon notes that in the early days, they didn’t have the dough to put make-up on all the extras so they just had folks (presumably vamps) sitting around in human guise in the first couple scenes in the Master’s den. However, as Whedon notes, it looked pretty dopey, so all these extra vamps just weren’t there anymore after the first couple episodes. Presumably, when in later seasons the show had a better budget, the extras wear the make-up so that they don’t look like dopey humans hanging around with all the crazy evil.
Y’all should really listen to the commentary on your Second Season DVD. Yes, it is mainly for budgetary reasons since it’s time consuming and expensive to put on all that makeup and to do transformation before/after shots.
There’s a psychological aspect as well. Whedon wasn’t comfortable with Buffy stabbing “human” looking creatures, even if they did dissolve. So if you notice, everyone she kills has his game face on.
The Master never changed and Whedon explained it by saying that the older ones can’t change back.
Somewhat related: There was a scene in an ice skating rink in Season 2 where Angel turned into game face in order to save her (even though he ended up in a heap, IIRC). They debated whether or not Angel should have his game face on when he and Buffy kissed. Not only were they afraid David would accidentally stab Sarah but Boreanaz had trouble speaking with the fangs in. “Are you thure you want to be with me, Buffy. I am tho complicated.”
I disagree with your disagree! There’ve been several times when Angel went to his vampire face when he was distracted or surprised – in a recent episode of “Angel”, when Cordelia gave him a handful of rosaries; and in the episode of “Buffy” where she first discovers he’s a vampire. That implies to me that maintaining a human face takes concentration, or at least some manner of control that gets disrupted when the real “vampire nature” comes out.
I’ve always been under the impression that the appearance a vampire chooses to have is based on whom he spends most of his time with. The main characters that have been mentioned spend most of their time around other humans, while the roaming gangs of vampires spend most of their time around other vampires.
I agree with this. However, I’ve poisoned my mind with so much fanfic that sometimes I can’t remember if I have an opinion due to the show or to the fanfic, so I was hesitant to post. But hey, obviously my thoughts must have some basis in the actual show, because somebody agrees with me! (I’m assuming nobody else has even read close to the quantity of fanfic I have, if any at all…)
SolGrundy, I disagree with your disagreeing with my disagree. I don’t watch *Angel{/i], so I don’t really want to refer to the series, but I can see how being handed a handful of rosaries could cause a vampire to reflexively go into game face mode- kind of triggering the vampire equivalent of the “fight or flight” response. And I always saw the scene in Buffy’s bedroom where Angel goes game face as a confession of sorts. He realized that Buffy was falling in love with him, he didn’t quite know how to tell her he was a vampire, so he showed her the game face, then dove out the window.
And I don’t have any of the DVD’s, it will probably be a good long while before I can fit them into my budget.
