A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Videos1
Vince Corazza
- David Evansas David Evans
- (as Vince Corrazza)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe killer's outfit is based on the fact that the film was originally planned to be set in the middle of winter. When the weather was too warm, it was decided to drop the winter aspect of the storyline, rather than fake snow in all the outdoor scenes, and dress all of the extras in winter outfits, but they kept the killer's costume.
- GoofsIn the final scene, the lead character's abdomen is seen being cut open with a scalpel. We then see her scream in pain. Minutes later, she is no worse for wear, considering the major incision in her stomach. There is no more mention of this "pain" for the rest of the film because the scene was added at the last minute.
- Quotes
Paul Gardener: Hey, how about some interviews? You know, students react to the tragedy on campus.
Brenda: Okay. I am saddened, and moved by the tragic...
Natalie: This was someone's life Paul. Did you even spend one minute thinking about that?
Paul Gardener: No, I didn't. But because of my story, three-thousand five-hundred students will. I think that's enough to help me sleep at night.
- Alternate versionsThe 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Ronin/Pecker/Clay Pigeons/Urban Legend/Shadrach (1998)
- SoundtracksTotal Eclipse of the Heart
Written by Jim Steinman (as James Steinman)
Performed by Bonnie Tyler
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Top review
Good premise wasted in tepid horror film
The days of low-budget slasher films appear to be back with Urban Legend, a mildly entertaining but mostly lame variation on Scream with an attractive cast of young TV stars.
The plot centers on a series of campus murders in the mold of urban legends, most of which will be familiar even to the younger audience this is pandering to. What little suspense there is comes from the anticipation of these scenes, since the surrounding story is almost as ridiculous as the film itself.
If the screenwriters had concentrated less on incorporating the whodunit aspect into the plot and more on the legends themselves, they might have had something here. Experienced viewers will spot the killer's identity (and motive) early on, and those that don't will be fooled only because the conclusion is so completely ludicrous, not to mention mostly impossible.
Of course, most of this would be easily overlooked if Urban Legend was scary, but time and again, director Jamie Banks telegraphs the surprises far ahead, and doesn't know how to time the shocks. Over and over we get the sudden burst of loud music followed by a character running into another character, but it doesn't work. And that gets annoying after the third or fourth try. Occasionally Banks does get something eerie going, but the style is more suited to an action flick.
Of the cast, most of the actors more or less get by despite a less-than-clever script, though it's disheartening to see a talented young actor like Jared Leto wasting his time with a nothing role as the reporter. Horror favorites Robert Englund and Brad Douriff pop up in cameos, adding a nice touch to their brief scenes.
What we're left with is an intriguing idea undone by cliche after cliche. The legends are potent enough to hold your attention to the end, and horror fans will find a few gruesome goodies to amuse themselves. And even though the script needs to be about three times again as clever as it is, there is a great in-joke at the end about one of the actresses and a commercial.
That clever scene might have been the first scene of a clever movie. It's the last scene of this one.
The plot centers on a series of campus murders in the mold of urban legends, most of which will be familiar even to the younger audience this is pandering to. What little suspense there is comes from the anticipation of these scenes, since the surrounding story is almost as ridiculous as the film itself.
If the screenwriters had concentrated less on incorporating the whodunit aspect into the plot and more on the legends themselves, they might have had something here. Experienced viewers will spot the killer's identity (and motive) early on, and those that don't will be fooled only because the conclusion is so completely ludicrous, not to mention mostly impossible.
Of course, most of this would be easily overlooked if Urban Legend was scary, but time and again, director Jamie Banks telegraphs the surprises far ahead, and doesn't know how to time the shocks. Over and over we get the sudden burst of loud music followed by a character running into another character, but it doesn't work. And that gets annoying after the third or fourth try. Occasionally Banks does get something eerie going, but the style is more suited to an action flick.
Of the cast, most of the actors more or less get by despite a less-than-clever script, though it's disheartening to see a talented young actor like Jared Leto wasting his time with a nothing role as the reporter. Horror favorites Robert Englund and Brad Douriff pop up in cameos, adding a nice touch to their brief scenes.
What we're left with is an intriguing idea undone by cliche after cliche. The legends are potent enough to hold your attention to the end, and horror fans will find a few gruesome goodies to amuse themselves. And even though the script needs to be about three times again as clever as it is, there is a great in-joke at the end about one of the actresses and a commercial.
That clever scene might have been the first scene of a clever movie. It's the last scene of this one.
helpful•2213
- chainsaw-8
- Sep 29, 1998
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $14,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $38,072,438
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,515,444
- Sep 27, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $72,527,595
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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