A group of college students are terrorized by a parka-wearing killer who murders them by making urban legends (killer pop-rocks, Bloody Mary, etc.) come true.
Also known as: Mixed Culture, Urban Legends
Subgenres: postmodern, action
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Basically a rip-off of Scream, this film had a lot of potential--what a cool concept!--but wound up like this. Except for the absolutely incredible prologue (a killer of an urban legend involving a great performance by Brad Dourif), there's no enjoyment to be taken from this film; it reeks of smugness and eye-winking self-knowledge. At least the acting isn't horrible, with the rather notable exception of the killer, who is supposed to be a nut at film's end, but the person in question can't make it believable. Postmodern horror-by-the-numbers. philjohn.com - approaching the unexplained 
This one is a nice little horror flic; nothing really extraordinary. The thing most obvious in the press reviews of the movie was the comparison made with Scream, saying that this one would fit into the category started with the latter mentioned film. But I would not agree totally; what I could agree to is that this is again teenie horror, but that's it. Contrary to Scream, Urban Legend is indeed a horror film, less of a comedy. A small amount of comedic elements can be found, but that's imperative for a dark story to contain at least in the beginning some cheering elements; it's just a matter of contrast. But overall, this is a horror picture - and it follows the tradition of Halloween to a certain extent, while not necessarily keeping up with that one. But it does one thing right: Unlike Halloween V, we get to know the persons who have to die - thus a more emotional level is being created which enables the horror to work in the first place. In that respect, the film works very well. Also I was quite impressed with one little detail: The picture from the beginning, the rain falling down on the wet asphalt, showing up again at the end of the showdown - I like such a kind of closure. But then, there are also some weak points. The movie has its moments, such as the kind of telling the audience (or the part of it which doesn't know about it) something about urban legends; also it contains some kind of a theme of living with past sin. But it is a plain horror movie, lacking the extraordinariness and pace and desperation of Halloween. So it might be solid work, and it is nice to watch it, if you like horror movies at least. But then, that's even more than I expected. Also, the young cast is getting some support from actors like Brad Dourif (he was uncredited, what a surprise seeing him in the movie!), John Neville and Robert Englund; and that's always a pleasure, something which was missing with Scream. (Oct 31, 1999)
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The followup, Urban Legends: Final Cut
