URBAN LEGEND (1998)
Starring Jerold Leto and
Alicia Witt A slick "Scream" rip-off from Sony, this flick is skillfully designed to
appeal to that niche market that film folks yearn so much for: teenage girls. With a big budget, a high
class orchestral score and gorgeous teens, it's an accessible piece of moviemaking that
virtually anyone can enjoy, particularly fans of the TV series "Friends." It's too bad Brad isn't in the
rest of the movie. The plotline: When they're not
accidentally bumping into each other and scaring themselves, a group of college kids joke
about urban legends, such as the myth that if you say "bloody Mary" too many
times you'll be slaughtered or that pop rocks and cola can kill you. When a college
professor, played by Robert Englund, gives a lecture about modern folklore, they really
get into the game. It's totally unrealistic. Kids
like talking about horror movies, not urban legends, but suspending disbelief for a moment
... Naturally a homicidal maniac
shows up and start killing students, basing the murders around modern myths. Wouldn't you
know it! It's a pretty cynical attempt
to make a "Scream" copy, this time substituting legends for other horror movies
as the basis of the film. It doesn't come close to duplicating the satire of Wes Craven's
masterpiece. It's also heavily derivative of the infinitely superior "Candyman." Despite its weak, grotesquely
imitative storyine, "Urban Legend" has some creative killings and a mildly
surprising (but silly) ending. The flick beats most in the
"Friday the 13th" series, which isn't saying
much—but it's something. Worth catching. Avoid the sequel. 
Directed by Jamie
Blanks
It does have a kick ass
opening, however, featuring Brad Dourif as a stuttering gas station attendant, that's
almost better than the shock delivered at the beginning of "When a Stranger Calls."
