Urban Legend (1998)

Starring - Jared Leto; Alicia Witt; Rebecca Gayheart; Loretta Devine & Tara Reid Director - Jamie Blanks MPAA - Rated R for horror violence/gore, language and sexual content. I didn't go into Urban Legend expecting a whole lot. I figured that I was about to see your standard slasher film that would be watchable but certainly not something that was going to be very memorable. Well, I was very happily proven wrong. Apparently, films such as Scream; I Know What You Did Last Summer and Halloween: H20 have raised the bar when it comes to the quality of the once low budget, poorly acted slasher film. Don't get me wrong, Urban Legend still has its share of blood and guts which it relies of quite heavily in places for shock value, but the writing and acting are surprisingly pretty good. Continuing the trend of the afore mentioned Scream, Urban Legend doesn't take itself too seriously and pays homage to some of the horror films that have come before it. Much like Scream, it also pays tribute to pop culture with a number of inside jokes. So enough analytical stuff, what's the movie about? Like all good slasher films, Urban Legend has a killer who takes pride in his work. This particular homicidal maniac has decided to pattern his killing spree after popular urban legends. He recreates them in a particularly ghoulish and bloody way, much to the dismay of the students at a small New England university. Now I certainly wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't mention that Urban Legend doesn't have too many real scary moments. In most cases you can figure out what is going to happen before it actually does -- although, surprisingly, that fact doesn't really take too much away from the movie. The young cast is first rate. Alicia Witt plays a college student around whom most of this killing seems to be centered; Rebecca Gayheart is her best friend. Both actresses do a good job in their first major starring roles. They are joined by none other than Robert "Freddy Kruger" England as a professor who teaches a course on urban legends. Rounding out the cast is Joshua Jackson from TV's Dawson's Creek. Much of what makes the cast look so good is the first rate writing. While it is not up to the quality of Scream, it is certainly a far cry from the Halloween and Friday The 13Th movies of days gone by. Urban Legend also is a very nice looking film; it doesn't have the claustrophobic feel of some older horror films. Urban Legend is far from the scariest film that you will ever see, but it does have its moments. If you are in the mood for edge-of-your-seat terror, this isn't the film that is going to give it to you. If, on the other hand you are interested in watching something a little lighter, with a few scary scenes mixed in, Urban Legend should fit the bill nicely. 7/10 Reviewed October 12, 1998 by Joe Chamberlain