Watch Urban Legend
- R
- 1998
- 1 hr 39 min
-
5.6 (71,306)
The 1998 horror film Urban Legend features a star-studded cast, including Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, and Rebecca Gayheart. The movie takes place on a college campus where a group of students become entangled in a series of murders that seem to be based on popular urban legends. The movie opens with a creepy scene set on a dark, deserted road outside the campus. Two students, Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) and Parker (Michael Rosenbaum), are lost and trying to find their way back to campus when they are chased by a man in a parka who appears to be trying to kill them. Michelle escapes, but Parker is killed, setting the stage for the rest of the film.
Natalie (Alicia Witt), a journalism student, is assigned to write a story about the recent murders on campus. She becomes friends with Paul (Jared Leto), who is studying film and has a fascination with urban legends. Natalie begins to suspect that the murders are connected to a series of urban legends that she and Paul have been discussing.
As the body count rises, the students start to become paranoid, wondering if the killer is one of them. Brenda (Rebecca Gayheart), a sorority girl who becomes one of Natalie's friends, begins to behave erratically and is suspected of being the killer. Other suspects include the creepy janitor (Robert Englund) and the strict professor (John Neville) who teaches a class on urban legends.
The movie is filled with twists and turns, with each murder seemingly based on a different urban legend. There's the legend of the babysitter who receives menacing phone calls, the legend of the killer in the backseat, and the legend of the killer hiding in the dorm room closet.
As the students try to unravel the mystery, they become more and more isolated from each other, with each character becoming increasingly suspicious of the others. The tension builds to a climax as the killer is finally revealed, leading to a dramatic and bloody conclusion.
Urban Legend features solid performances from its young cast, particularly Leto and Witt. Gayheart is also strong as Brenda, playing against type as a character who is both sympathetic and potentially dangerous. The movie is directed by Jamie Blanks, who creates a tense and atmospheric mood that keeps the audience guessing until the very end.
One of the highlights of the movie is its use of urban legends as the basis for its murders. These legends have been passed down through generations, with each telling becoming more embellished and terrifying than the last. The movie plays with these legends, using them as a way to build tension and set up its scares.
Overall, Urban Legend is a fun and suspenseful horror movie that deserves to be seen by fans of the genre. Its use of urban legends as a narrative device is both clever and effective, and the performances by its young cast are strong. While it may not be a classic of the genre, it's definitely worth a watch for those looking for a scare.
Urban Legend is a 1998 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 39 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.6 and a MetaScore of 35.