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Urban Legend
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Urban Legend (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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Urban Legend (1998) -- A college coed suspects that murders around her campus are connected to Urban Legends.

Overview

User Rating:
5.1/10   17,113 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 29% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Jamie Blanks
Writer (WGA):
Silvio Horta (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Urban Legend on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 September 1998 (USA) more
Tagline:
It Happened To Someone Who Knows Someone You Know... You're Next. more
Plot:
A college coed suspects that murders around her campus are connected to Urban Legends. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(19 articles)
Jesus is On His Way to Nature's Grave
 (From Dread Central. 24 May 2009, 10:08 PM, PDT)

ABC Announces Primetime 2009-2010 Programming Slate
 (From MovieWeb. 19 May 2009, 6:23 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Good premise wasted in tepid horror film more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Mixed Culture
Urban Legend (France)
Urban Legends (USA) (working title)
more
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 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital | SDDS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The news reporter announcing the beheading of Michele Mancini on TV is named David McAree. David McAree is the first assistant director of the movie. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When we hear Parker say, "What's next? Spiders in the bubble gum?" his lips are mouthing something else completely. more
Quotes:
Michael McDonnell, gas station attendant: Someone's in the back... SEAT! more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Scary Movie (2000) more
Soundtrack:
The End of Sugarman more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
8 out of 13 people found the following comment useful:-
Good premise wasted in tepid horror film, 29 September 1998
5/10
Author: chainsaw-8 from Orlando, FL

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.

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Opening Scene boydr24
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