Urban Legend (1998)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Jamie Blanks

Writer (WGA):

Silvio Horta (written by)

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

It Happened To Someone Who Knows Someone You Know... You're Next.

Plot:

A college coed suspects that murders around her campus are connected to Urban Legends.

Plot Keywords:

Urban Legend | Campus | Axe | College | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jared Leto	...	Paul Gardener
Alicia Witt	...	Natalie Simon
Rebecca Gayheart	...	Brenda Bates
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Parker Riley
Loretta Devine	...	Reese Wilson
Joshua Jackson	...	Damon Brooks
Tara Reid	...	Sasha Thomas
John Neville	...	Dean Adams
Julian Richings	...	Weird Janitor
Robert Englund	...	Professor William Wexler
Danielle Harris	...	Tosh Guaneri
Natasha Gregson Wagner	...	Michelle Mancini
Gord Martineau	...	David McAree
Kay Hawtrey	...	Library Attendant
Angela Vint	...	Bitchy Girl

Also Known As:

Mixed Culture
Urban Legend (France)
Urban Legends (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence/gore, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Etobicoke Olympium, Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Canal+ Droits Audiovisuels

Trivia:

The car driven in the beginning was originally supposed to be a Land Rover. It was changed to the Ford Expedition (the largest 4x4 available at the time) because the filmmakers discovered they couldn't swing an axe inside a Land Rover.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening scene at the gas station, Michelle is wearing heeled black boots, but when she leaves the gas station, feet with different shoes are shown in the close-up of the pedals (which are the pedals of a much older vehicle). The shot is taken from later in the film.

Quotes:

Reese Wilson: Are you trying to give me a heart attack?
Weird Janitor: Boo.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '90s: Part Deux" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Every Day

Stylish addition to the teen-horror cycle

URBAN LEGEND

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Super 35)

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / SDDS

A serial killer descends on a New Hampshire college where he/she kills a number of students in the manner of various urban legends.

History has a habit of repeating itself. In the early 1980's, a series of low budget 'slasher' movies emerged in the wake of HALLOWEEN (1978) and "Friday the 13th" (1980), most of which were condemned as substandard imitators by critics and horror fans alike. The same thing happened in 1996, following the success of Wes Craven's SCREAM, a smug reworking of genre clichés which allowed 'sophisticated' multiplex audiences to indulge an attitude of superiority over those 'crappy' old horror flicks and the 'unsophisticated' viewers who once supported them. The subsequent wave of teenage horror pics were flashy, sexy and ramped to the max, and - true to form - virtually all of them were (ho hum) trashed by critics and horror fans alike. And yet, most of them made a profit, perhaps BECAUSE they were flashier and sexier than those earlier pictures, and because they were designed for a wider demographic than 'mere' horror fans.

Jamie Blanks' URBAN LEGEND is a case in point: Most reviews ran the gamut from harsh dismissal to faint praise, yet the movie is a visual treat, as creepy and atmospheric as any of the films which inspired it. Furthermore, Silvio Horta's unassuming screenplay confounds expectations with its solid narrative arc, recognizable characters and dynamic set-pieces, not to mention a climactic 'reveal' which offers a robust motive for the killer's devastating onslaught. There are a few embarrassing lapses along the way (such as the murder which takes place in full view of heroine Alicia Witt, which she ignores because she thinks it's a couple having sex!), and Horta can't resist a handful of cop-out contrivances (eg. the killer slashes the wrists of a girl known for her depressive tendencies, causing authorities to dismiss her death as suicide, though a routine forensic examination would have revealed the cuts were administered post mortem, AFTER she was strangled to death!), but these occasional blunders are redeemed by the movie's fast-paced editing, neo-Gothic visual scheme and clever plot developments. Blanks orchestrates proceedings with consummate skill, but he refuses to indulge the kind of transgressive gore that once distinguished this downmarket subgenre (where's Tom Savini when you really need him?!).

As expected, the talented young cast - including Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart and Tara Reid - is pleasingly photogenic, and there are lengthy appearances by TV favorites Michael Rosenbaum ("Smallville") and Joshua Jackson (watch out for the terrific "Dawson's Creek" gag!). Major co-stars include Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger himself!), John Neville and an uncredited Brad Dourif, who features heavily in a powerful opening sequence where Blanks and Horta pull a major switcheroo on the audience (I'll say no more). Loretta Devine is amusing as the campus security guard who views herself as a modern-day Coffy/Pam Grier (her fantasy is rudely curtailed by a climactic encounter with the rampaging maniac), and there's a brief appearance by Danielle Harris, the former child star of HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988) and HALLOWEEN 5 (1989), playing an adult character FAR removed from the angelic poppet of those earlier pictures! Beautiful, fairy-tale score by Christopher Young. Followed by the largely unrelated URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT (2000).