Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dead Man's Party (1998)

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Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) has returned to Sunnydale after running away for the summer and there's palpable tension between her and her mom, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). Buffy's friends also seem to have moved on without her dressing up as military commandos to fight vampires -- Xander (Nicholas Brendon) now goes by "Nighthawk." Then, Buffy meets Pat (Nancy Lenehan), Joyce's friend from a book group she joined while Buffy was gone. Buffy begins to realize how much stress she put her mother through. Later, at home, Buffy discovers a dead cat in her basement and she and Joyce bury it in the backyard. Then, the glowing eyes of Nigerian mask on Joyce's wall seemingly raise the cat from its grave. The next day, while looking for the zombie cat, Giles (Anthony Head) comes across the mask. Later that night, Giles discovers the mask is possessed by Ovu Moboni, a Nigerian demon who raises the dead and at a party at Buffy's house, the dead interrupt a performance by Oz's (Seth Green) band, Dingoes Ate My Baby. In other plot lines, Buffy is not admitted back into Sunnydale High. Savvy fans won't miss the title's cheeky reference to Oingo Boingo. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi