Urban Legend (1998)

Following a series of strange murders, a group of students at a college campus set out to investigate the crimes and their seeming connection to the killer when they find out the killer is basing their crimes on urban legends and set out to stop the rampage.This is far better than its reputation would have it. Among the better features here is the fact that back when this movie came out the gimmick of using the deaths based on urban legends allowed for some pretty inventive and original kills. The opening backseat driver decapitation is a great one to open a film on, the dead boyfriend suspended over a fleeing car in the woods offers some rather nice suspense with the killer appearing and continually trying to break into the car and the sex/strangulation misidentification is really cool mainly because the circumstances needed to make it true, from the back-story needed to make sure she shouldn't see anything, the killer gaining access to the room without violent means, and the actual sounds of the incident, are all mixed together and makes a marvelous scene. These here really work nicely due to the way they incorporate the whole mythology of the premise into their stalking and work incredibly well at bringing these together. Other great scenes, where she watches someone in the killers known attire stalk one of her friends in a swimming pool while she is helplessly trying to get her attention or the tense stalking of the DJ in the radio station during the thunderstorm make for some additional tense, thrilling scenes, and the way it works out due to knowing what the killer is dressed like is effective enough. That also leads into the twist about the identity of the killer and how their secret is kept, as the way there are so many different red herrings involved and all of them given good alibis to clear them, so by gaining more clues to their identity, it broadens the suspense by making an extra clue for the people to solve. These here really work nicely for the film as there isn't a whole lot really to dislike here. The main problem with this film is that it was aimed for the masses to consume, so it has a lot of toned-down gore. Many of these killings should've been gorier, and it will probably disappoint many out there looking for a good gory slasher film. It also falls into the realm of those films where they're trying to poke fun of the genre at the same time as trying to scare, and here is one example that having a ton of cheap scares aren't that frightening. What makes it worse is that many of the jokes aren't funny, so it is a bit flat in some places. The pacing is a little off in the first half with all the build-ups to the class and what they all mean, but there's not a whole lot else wrong here.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, some alcohol use, a scene with a dog drinking and a brief mild sex scene.

Urban Legend leans very heavily on slasher tropes. Think of any slasher movie cliché and it's probably in this movie. There are cheap jump scares, a twist ending, and inept authority figures. In spite of all this, I really loved this movie. The kills are brutal and mean, and they're very creative for the most part. The opening scene put a huge smile on my face. The characters are standard, but I liked them. Natalie is our final girl, but she was probably the most boring character in the movie. Jared Leto plays Paul, the campus reporter, and he doesn't even look much older nowadays! Other characters include Brenda, Natalie's best friend; Damon, the practical joker; Tosh, the goth roommate; Reese, campus security; Parker, the frat guy; and Sasha, the sexy radio DJ. The movie is a whodunit, so we're constantly guessing who the killer might be. Apart from the opening, I'd say my favorite scene would have to be Sasha's chase at the radio station. It's the classic scene with a hot girl in a tiny dress being chased through the hallways by the crazy killer. There's an urban legend twist though, because her screams for help are broadcast over the radio so all her friends hear her die. It's an awesome scene with good camera-work and lighting and music. All in all, Urban Legend is a fun watch, with some classic scenes and a few famous actors in cool roles. Give it a chance!

This movie opens with Michelle Mancini (Natasha Gregson Wagner) driving in a rainy night and gets killed by an ax killer hiding in her backseat. At Pendleton University in New England, Professor William Wexler (Robert Englund) teaches a class about urban legends. Paul Gardener (Jared Leto) writes about Mancini in the school paper enraging dean Adams (John Neville) and security guard Reese Wilson (Loretta Devine). Mancini and Natalie Simon (Alicia Witt) were high school cheerleader co-captains. Then Damon Brooks (Joshua Jackson) is killed while he's with Natalie but his body goes missing. She suspects the killer is focused on her. Her goth roommate Tosh Guaneri (Danielle Harris) gets killed. She and her friends Brenda Bates (Rebecca Gayheart), Parker Riley (Michael Rosenbaum) and Sasha Thomas (Tara Reid) are stalked by the killer. Also there's a weird janitor (Julian Richings).This is a functional horror although it's nothing terribly original. In fact, the whole movie is about all the horror clichés. It plays it seriously. The cast is full of good young photogenic actors. It's a routine slasher movie and nothing more. Unlike other films, this does lack a sense of humor.

Someone has set out to make a book of urban legends come true. A woman (Natasha Gregson Wagner) in the film's effective beginning is driving in a heavy rain storm to the college where the film takes place. She thinks she has escaped a Psycho (Brad Dourif) at a gas station only to find the real killer in the back seat with an ax. The film centers on a small group of friends and Natalie (Witt) seems to be at the center of it as her room mate (Danielle Harris) is killed while she is going to sleep. Half the time this slasher film delivers quite nicely. Director Jamie Blanks and Cinematographer James Chressanthis make the film look great with interesting framing and effective moody atmosphere. Like the opening sequence, and the pursuit and death of Sasha (Tara Reid), the film delivers with solid suspense and good kills. Unfortunately, the film is also unbalanced. The deaths of professor Wexler (Robert Englund) and Parker (Michael Rosenbaum) are weak and unconvincing. The movie bounces back and forth between some really good set pieces and some clumsy ones. Blanks is going for a classy horror film here but he seems to be unsure if he is pulling it off. There are many times when the audience must throw logic completely out the window or the plot doesn't work at all. The scary looking killer wears a big coat with a hood, yet we see no less than 4 other characters with the exact same coat in their possession. This cheapens the movie and so does the lapses in logic of the script. The overall effectiveness of the film still works with above average suspense and some great kills. These nice moments are mixed in with cheap effects like a friend coming up behind another character and creating a false scare. This is "Urban Legend" in a nutshell. There are a lot of good things and some bad ones. At its best, it has some good scares and some solid slasher action; you just have to take the more immature moments as well.