It�s Hallowe�en again, and as every Buffy fan knows, that means it's time dress the regulars up in daft costumes and have some fun.

This time around the set-up (a haunted house, and a costume party) provides a great backdrop to David Fury�s inventive and fast-moving script. Viewers will be forgiven, though, for feeling a sense of d�j� vu. It feels as if elements of Halloween and, especially, season one�s Nightmares have been recycled.

Fury has even said that Fear, Itself is a companion piece to Nightmares, and that he decided not to directly revisit the fears that were portrayed in that episode. Having acknowledged that the gang had matured considerably in the two years since Nightmares, he felt that their fears would have changed accordingly.

Viewing the episode with that in mind gives it a lot more depth. The rather random fears of season one have now been replaced by a much more mature set of worries - about friendship, value and self-control amongst others. Buffy may be growing up, but its doing so gracefully.

Of course, none of this really matters. The episode gets an unreserved ten out of ten anyway simply because of Anya's bunny costume.