Urban Legend (film)

Urban Legend
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jamie Blanks
Produced by	Gina Matthews Michael McDonnell Neal H. Moritz
Written by	Silvio Horta
Starring	Alicia Witt Rebecca Gayheart Jared Leto Joshua Jackson Loretta Devine Tara Reid Michael Rosenbaum Robert Englund
Music by	Christopher Young
Cinematography	James Chressanthis
Editing by	Jay Cassidy
Studio	Original Film Phoenix Pictures
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release date(s)	September 25, 1998
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$14 million
Box office	$72,527,595

Urban Legend is a 1998 horror film starring Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Jared Leto, Michael Rosenbaum, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Loretta Devine, Robert Englund, John Neville, Joshua Jackson, Regina King, and Tara Reid. The film is based on the premise that a killer is using the methods of death described in certain urban legends as a means to kill the victims.

The film was followed by Urban Legends: Final Cut, which was released in theaters in 2000, and Urban Legends: Bloody Mary, which went direct-to-video in 2005.

Plot

The film opens at a gas station where Michelle Mancini (Natasha Gregson Wagner) fights off a supposed attack by the stuttering gas attendant (Brad Dourif). However, the attendant was actually trying to warn her of an attacker in the back seat, and as Michelle drives off, the attacker in the back seat decapitates her with an axe. On campus, student Parker Riley (Michael Rosenbaum) relates how one of the campus halls, Stanley Hall, had been the site of a massacre in 1973. The story is discredited by school journalist Paul Gardner (Jared Leto).

As Natalie Simon (Alicia Witt) is shaken by Michelle's death, Damon Brooks (Joshua Jackson) offers to talk and the two drive into the woods. Damon is attacked by the killer, who hangs him from a tree with the rope attached to the car. As the killer approaches Natalie, she attempts to run him over, strangling Damon in the process.

Realizing Damon's and Michelle's murder resemble urban legends, Natalie goes to the library to read up on urban legends. While she is away, her goth roommate Tosh Guaneri (Danielle Harris), is strangled by the killer. Thinking her roommate is merely engaging in rough sex, the returning Natalie doesn't turn on the lights and goes to bed. In the morning, a shocked Natalie discovers her corpse and the words, "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?" scrawled on the wall.

After trying to save Brenda (Rebecca Gayheart) from a supposed attack in the swimming hall, Natalie reveals her past, one night Natalie and Michelle re-enact an urban legend; they were driving with their headlights turned off and pursued the first driver to flash them, causing him to run off the road and die in the crash.

Next, the dean (John Neville) is attacked in the garage and run over by his car forcing the emergency spikes into his back. Later, security guard Reese Wilson (Loretta Devine) finds Professor Wexler's (Robert Englund) office empty and smeared in blood. Meanwhile, Paul has discovered the Stanley Hall massacre actually occurred and Wexler was the sole survivor.

Parker gets a phone call from the killer telling him that they have put his dog in the microwave to dry it. He is then lured into the toilet, where the killer forces him to chug bathroom chemicals, killing him. At the radio station, Sasha (Tara Reid) is on air. In the background, her employee is being strangled to death. Sasha screams and runs out of the room; she is still on air and everyone can hear her cries for help. Natalie runs to save her. After a brief chase around the campus, Sasha goes back to the radio station to see Natalie enter the building. Natalie warns Sasha that the killer is behind her, but Sasha is killed.

Fleeing from the station, Natalie finds Brenda and Paul and they drive off to find help. Paul convinces the girls that the killer is Wexler. When Paul stops at a gas station, Natalie and Brenda discover Wexler's dead body in the car and bolt, thinking Paul to be the killer. Natalie loses Brenda but makes her way to a road, where the school's janitor (Julian Richings) picks her up. When the janitor flashes a car with its lights out, it swerves around and pursues them. The janitor's car is forced off the road but Natalie survives and makes her way towards Stanley Hall. She hears Brenda screaming from inside. When Natalie breaks into the hall, she discovers Brenda lying on a bed. As Natalie starts crying, Brenda sits up and knocks her unconscious.

Waking up, Natalie finds herself tied to a bed. The killer comes in and unmasks herself as Brenda. She reveals that the young man Natalie and Michelle killed was Brenda's boyfriend and she is now exacting her revenge. She begins to cut Natalie's stomach in the fashion of the "Kidney Heist" legend, when Reese rushes in and forces Brenda to get away from Natalie. Reese frees Natalie, however, Brenda shoots her after she frees Natalie, who decided to untie the ropes on her hands and ankles all by herself. Paul then appears and tries to trick Brenda. As Brenda is deciding whether to shoot Paul or Natalie, the wounded Reese reaches up and shoots Brenda. Natalie grabs the gun and shoots Brenda, who falls through a window.

Natalie and Paul drive off to get help. Suddenly, Brenda appears in the backseat and attacks them with the axe. Paul crashes on a bridge, sending Brenda through the windshield into the river below. Some time later, the whole story is told among another group of students. The other students disbelieve the tale with the exception of one young woman, who is revealed to be Brenda. The film ends with Brenda telling the group "how the story really goes."

Cast

• Alicia Witt as Natalie Simon
• Rebecca Gayheart as Brenda Bates
• Jared Leto as Paul Gardner
• Michael Rosenbaum as Parker Riley
• Tara Reid as Sasha Thomas
• Loretta Devine as Reese Wilson
• Joshua Jackson as Damon Brooks
• John Neville as Dean Adams
• Robert Englund as Professor Wexler
• Danielle Harris as Tosh Guaneri
• Natasha Gregson Wagner as Michelle Mancini
• Brad Dourif as Gas Station Attendant

Urban legends used in the film

The following urban legends are mentioned or depicted in the film:

• A caller to Sasha's radio show states that she replaced her room mate's birth control pills with baby aspirin.
• A caller to Sasha's radio show thinks about having her stomach pumped after performing oral sex on the school team.
• A couple suffering from Penis captivus call in to Sasha's radio show.
• Michelle is killed by the killer in the backseat. This legend is also referenced by various people looking at the back seat or talking about it.
• Brenda and Natalie try to conjure up Bloody Mary
• Professor Wexler mentioned the legend of the babysitter getting phone calls from an upstairs room. This legend is later referred to by Parker moments before his death.
• Professor Wexler suggests eating Pop Rocks and drinking soda at the same time. The death of Little Mikey from this is mentioned by Brenda. The killer later re-enacts this legend on Parker, substituting soda with bathroom chemicals.
• Damon is hung from a tree while Natalie is waiting in the car below.
• Parker suggests placing spider eggs in Bubble Yum and gerbilling as the killer's next move.
• Gangs driving with their headlights turned off, pursuing the first driver to flash them and running him off the road, is mentioned by Sasha in the library. It is later revealed that Natalie and Michelle did this, killing a young man, subsequently re-enacted by the killer on Natalie and the Janitor and finally revealed as central to the killer's motive.
• Natalie finds her roommate strangled to death next to her with the note "Aren't You Glad You Didn't Turn on the Lights"
• The legend of an attacker hiding under a car and slashing his victim's ankles is re-enacted on Dean Adams.
• A guest at the party claims that the song "Love Rollercoaster" contains a real murder scream.
• Parker finds the remains of his dog in the microwave, resembling the "Old Lady dries wet dog in microwave" legend.
• Brenda tries to re-enact the Kidney Heist on Natalie.

Reception

The film was not well received by critics, attaining a rating of 21% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Soundtrack

There were two soundtracks released on behalf of this film; composer Christopher Young's Original Score and The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

Track listing

1. Love Rollercoaster – The Ohio Players
2. Save Yourself – Stabbing Westward
3. Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler
4. Redefine – Incubus
5. Spookshow Baby – Rob Zombie
6. Comin' Back – The Crystal Method
7. Crop Circle – Monster Magnet
8. One – Creed
9. Twist – KoRn
10. The End of Sugarman – Roy Ayers
11. Just One Fix – Ministry
12. I Know God – David Ivy
13. Deaf Forever – Motörhead
14. Riot – Flaw
15. What Would You Do (Tha Dogg Pound song) – Ice Cube
16. Call It Something – Saliva

External links

• Urban Legend at the Internet Movie Database
• Urban Legend at AllRovi
• Urban Legend at Box Office Mojo
• Urban Legend at Rotten Tomatoes