Urban Legend (1998)

A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.

Director:

Jamie Blanks

Writer:

Silvio Horta

Stars:

Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Urban Legend tells the story of a group of pretty college students at a remote New England university. The focus of the story is Natalie, a beautiful, academically-gifted student at the fictional Pendleton University. Natalie and her friends are all involved in the Folklore class being taught by Professor Wexler. Wexler regales his class with urban legends, which include Pendleton's own urban legend about a Psych professor who murdered six students at Stanley Hall 25 years ago. Natalie is the first one to suspect there's a killer on campus, especially after she has ties to all of the victims. No one, including her friends, Wexler, Dean Adams and security guard, of course, believes her until it's too late. Now she finds that she and her friends are part of the killer's ultimate urban legend.

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Plot Keywords:

urban legend | college | slasher flick | gothic | orchestral music score | 

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Taglines:

Urban legends can kill

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA France Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Urban Legends

Filming Locations:

Humber College - 3199 Lake Shore Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,515,444, 27 September 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,072,438

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,455,157

Company Credits

Production Co:

Phoenix Pictures, Canal+ Droits Audiovisuels, Original Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to this film, The Skulls (2000) and Gossip (2000) (both starring Joshua Jackson) were also filmed at the University of Toronto.

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Goofs

There is not only no way that Natalie's roommate could have written such a lengthy note without collapsing from blood loss, but also no way that anyone would have assumed that 'no foul play' had taken place; additionally, a security guard from the school would not be sufficient to make that sort of pronouncement in any case, and actual police investigators would be involved in the case of any such violent death. Natalie even mentions the message, which would seem to showcase a tremendous oversight in writing.

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Quotes

Damon: Hey, we're going down to Parker's dorm. Hootie's gonna pierce his nose.
Natalie: Hootie's a dog, Damon.
Damon: That's no reason why he can't be hip.

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Alternate Versions

The version of the film shown on the USA network keeps onscreen violence to a minimum. All violence is shown very quickly, while the sound effects during killings have been removed entirely, and any shots of a dead body have been trimmed to show only a flash of what the body looks like.

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

Comin' Back
Written by Ken Jordan, Scott Reiss, Trudy Reiss
Performed by The Crystal Method

User Reviews

You Mind Telling Me What the Hell You're On?

Scream copycat slasher that uses the "hook" of having its killings tied into urban legends. The biggest asset Urban Legend has is its cast. Jared Leto, Joshua Jackson, Tara Reid, Alicia Witt, Michael Rosenbaum, Rebecca Gayheart, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Danielle Harris, Loretta Devine, Brad Dourif, and Robert Englund. One of the key differences between the '80s slashers and the post-Scream ones is the former had casts of nobodies, a few of which went on to bigger things, but the latter casts actors who have already established themselves somewhat. It's an enjoyable enough film of its type. Avid fans of slasher films will enjoy it more. To everybody else it will seem like an old car that barely runs but has a nice new paintjob.