Urban Legend

1998

1h 40m

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

1.4K

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14 Videos

60 Images

Horror

Mystery

A college campus is plagued by a vicious serial killer murdering students in ways that correspond to various urban legends.

Directors

Jamie Blanks

Writers

Silvio Horta(screenplay by)

Stars

Alicia Witt

Jared Leto

Rebecca Gayheart

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Top cast

Natalie Simon

Paul Gardener

Brenda Bates

Parker Riley

Reese Wilson

Sasha Thomas

Dean Adams

Damon Brooks

Weird Janitor

Professor William Wexler

Natasha Gregson Wagner

Michelle Mancini

Danielle Harris

Tosh Guaneri

Brad Dourif

Michael McDonnell, Gas Station Attendant

David McAree

David Evans

Felicia

Blake

Jenny

Directors

Jamie Blanks

Writers

Silvio Horta(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Urban Legend is a movie I watched during a long weekend marathon of older slasher movies that seem to have been forgotten, or at least aren't as heralded as the more well-known movies of the genre (Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, etc.). Among these lesser known movies, I would have to say that Urban Legend deserves to stand above, as it is more entertaining, more enjoyable, and more slick than you would expect. The concept here is more important than the story. Whereas Scream created a slasher movie where the characters and the killers were horror movie obsessives, Urban Legend does the same for...well, urban legends. The concept is inherently clever, as urban legends are stories and bedtime tales that are meant to induce a sense of fear and paranoia about whether they're true. As our final girl learns the hard way, convincing people to believe in these stories is a difficult task. The main attraction here apart from the premise is the cast. Ignoring their late-90s star power, the cast is still packed with beautiful people knowingly playing up the qualities that the audiences will enjoy the most. Fans of Jared Leto will enjoy guessing whether his mysterious character is the killer or just a red-herring. Alicia Witt and Rebecca Gayheart prove to be believable and relatable best buddies who each keep a dark secret from each other. Meanwhile, Joshua Jackson shows up long enough to deliver the movie's best laughs and a fresh-faced Tara Reid gives the teenage boys bouncing cleavage while she runs. Lastly, Loretta Devine gives us an authority figure who is absolutely worth rooting for. The movie is not shy about its self-awareness. It knows it's silly, it knows it's preposterous. It knows that you know this as well, and it takes that knowledge and runs, well aware that you can keep up. And the kills are fun, exciting, and clever, which is what everyone wants most of all from a slasher movie, right?

jon9901 Feb, 2019