Buffy’s Scariest Scene: Anya’s Disturbing Face-Cutting Moment

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I really enjoy rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but there’s one scene that always makes me cover my eyes – it’s surprisingly scary! Even though the show features vampires, demons, and all sorts of dark creatures, it’s generally not a frightening series.

While Buffy the Vampire Slayer is known for its creepy weekly villains – like the unsettling Gentlemen from the episode “Hush,” or the often-overlooked Gnarl who terrorizes Willow in season seven – the show’s most genuinely frightening moment actually happens without any monsters present.

Anya Cutting Her Face Is The Scariest Scene In Buffy The Vampire Slayer

One of the scariest scenes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer happens in Season 6, Episode 3, “After Life.” The gang has just brought Buffy back to life, and she’s getting used to being back on Earth. But a series of disturbing events shows that the spell used to revive her created a creepy creature that takes control of people.

One particularly unsettling moment shows Anya slicing her face with a knife, all while laughing maniacally with her eyes turned up. It’s not a typical jump scare, but it’s completely unexpected and the image is so shocking that it’s stayed with me ever since.

It’s particularly disturbing to see a demon drive someone to hurt themselves, even more so than witnessing a typical possession where the person attacks others. Anya’s laughter while she’s self-harming makes the situation even more frightening.

What’s even more unsettling is that when the demon exits Anya’s body, all her cuts vanish. It’s as if the attack never even occurred, but we can’t possibly forget something so horrific.

I can handle most of the intense fights and violent moments in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even something awful like Warren being flayed alive doesn’t bother me too much – honestly, he deserved it. And while seeing Gnarl eat pieces of Willow is pretty disturbing, I can still watch it. But when Anya cuts her own face? That’s where I have to look away and cover my ears. It’s just too frightening.

Buffy’s Anya Face-Cutting Scene Plays With Horror Tropes

The Anya face-cutting scene isn’t just disturbing to look at – it’s truly frightening because it plays on what we expect from horror movies. Usually, after a jump scare, horror films have a calmer moment, letting the characters (and the audience) recover. This scene subverts that expectation, adding to the terror.

Okay, so right before the scene with Anya, things got seriously creepy. Buffy, clearly possessed, barged into Willow and Tara’s room, just unleashed a string of awful insults, and then poof – she was back in her own room, totally asleep. It was so unsettling! That’s what led Willow to call Xander and fill him and Anya in on what had just happened.

As a fan, I always saw this part of the episode as a breather – a moment where the group collected clues and figured out their next move. It really felt peaceful, which made Anya suddenly being possessed even more shocking! We, the audience, were just as surprised as Xander because we weren’t expecting it at all.

Body horror is unusual for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but when the show does explore it, the results are often truly disturbing and memorable. A prime example is the season 2 episode “Go Fish,” where members of the Sunnydale High swim team undergo a terrifying transformation, turning into fish-like creatures as they shed their skin.

For a long time, the scene of Gage painfully peeling his skin in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was considered the show’s most shocking moment, but that changed immediately when Anya started cutting her own face.

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2025-10-24 23:48