Taglines: Urban legends can kill.
Urban Legend tells the story of a group of pretty college students at a remote New England university. The focus of the story is Natalie, a beautiful, academically-gifted student at the fictional Pendleton University. Natalie and her friends are all involved in the Folklore class being taught by Professor Wexler.
Wexler regales his class with urban legends, which include Pendleton’s own urban legend about a Psych professor who murdered six students at Stanley Hall 25 years ago. Natalie is the first one to suspect there’s a killer on campus, especially after she has ties to all of the victims. No one, including her friends, Wexler, Dean Adams and security guard, of course, believes her until it’s too late. Now she finds that she and her friends are part of the killer’s ultimate urban legend.
Urban Legend is a 1998 American slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks, written by Silvio Horta, and starring Jared Leto, Alicia Witt and Rebecca Gayheart. The film is based on the premise that a killer is using the methods of death described in certain urban legends to kill students at a New England university. It was followed by two sequels: Final Cut, which was released theatrically in 2000, and the direct-to-video film Bloody Mary in 2005.
jh4>About the Story
At a gas station, Michelle Mancini (Natasha Gregson Wagner) fights off an apparent attack by a stuttering attendant (Brad Dourif). However, he 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 a college 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 to death in the process. As the killer recovers, Natalie tries to drive away but Damon’s body lands on top of the car, forcing Natalie to flee and alerts security guard Reese Wilson (Loretta Devine) who doesn’t believe her when they find the car and Damon’s corpse missing.
Realizing Damon and Michelle’s murders resemble urban legends, Natalie goes to the library to read up on urban legends. She runs into Sasha who tries to assure her that the murders are unrelated. While she is away, her goth roommate Tosh (Danielle Harris), is strangled to death by the killer. Thinking her roommate is merely engaging in sexual activity, 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 in blood.
After trying to save Brenda (Rebecca Gayheart) from a supposed attack in the swimming pool, Natalie reveals her past. One night Natalie and Michelle re-enacted an urban legend; they were driving with their headlights turned off and pursued the first driver who flashed them, causing him to run off the road and die in the crash. Next, the school dean Adams (John Neville) is attacked in the garage and run over by his car forcing the emergency spikes into his back. Later, Reese finds Professor Wexler’s (Robert Englund) office trashed and smeared in blood. Meanwhile, Paul has discovered the Stanley Hall massacre actually occurred and Wexler was the sole survivor.
At the party, Sasha gets annoyed at Parker for embarrassing Paul and leaves to go to the radio station. Parker gets a phone call from the killer telling him that his dog is in the microwave. After opening the microwave and seeing his dead dog, he then runs to the bathroom to vomit, where the killer ties him to the toilet and forces him to chug pop rocks and bathroom chemicals (instead of soda), 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 her aid only to see the killer hacking her to pieces with an axe.
Urban Legends Used in the Film
The following urban legends are mentioned or depicted in the film:
1. A caller to Sasha’s radio show states that she replaced her room mate’s birth control pills with baby aspirin.
2. A caller to Sasha’s radio show thinks about having her stomach pumped after performing oral sex on the school team.
3. A couple suffering from Penis captivus call in to Sasha’s radio show.
4. Michelle is killed by the killer in the backseat. This legend is also referenced by various people looking at the backseat or talking about it.
5. Brenda and Natalie try to conjure up Bloody Mary.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Damon is hung from a tree while Natalie is waiting in the car below.
9. Parker suggests placing spider eggs in Bubble Yum[9] and gerbilling as the killer’s next move.
10. 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.
11. Natalie finds her roommate strangled to death next to her with the note “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?”
12. The urban legend slasher under the car is re-enacted on Dean Adams.
13. A guest at the party claims that the song “Love Rollercoaster” contains a real murder scream.
14. Parker finds the remains of his dog in the microwave, resembling the “Old Lady dries wet dog in microwave” legend.
15. Brenda tries to re-enact the Kidney Heist on Natalie.
Urban Legend (1998)
Directed by: Jamie Blanks
Starring: Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, Joshua Jackson, Loretta Devine, Michael Rosenbaum, Robert Englund, Danielle Harris, Natasha Gregson Wagner
Screenplay by: Silvio Horta
Production Design by: Charles William Breen
Cinematography by: James Chressanthis
Film Editing by: Jay Cassidy
Costume Design by: Mary Claire Hannan
Set Decoration by: Carolyn ‘Cal’ Loucks
Art Direction by: Benno Tutter
Music by: Christopher Young
MPAA Rating: R for horror violence/gore, language and sexual content.
Distributed by: TriStar Pictures
Release Date: September 25, 1998
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