Urban Legend (1998)
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A series of murders on a university campus appear to be modeled after popular urban legends.
The story
Michelle Mancini is murdered in a car accident, sparking a series of mysterious deaths at Pendleton University that mirror popular urban legends. Journalism student Paul Gardner and his friend Natalie Simon begin investigating the truth behind these occurrences, specifically a rumored massacre at the abandoned Stanley Hall dormitory. As the campus police and administration attempt to suppress the news, Natalie and Paul uncover a dark history involving a past tragedy and a local professor. They must navigate a web of folklore and fear as a killer begins systematically reenacting terrifying legends to target the students.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Michelle Mancini is murdered in a car accident, a string of deaths occurs at Pendleton University, mimicking urban legends. Natalie Simon, a student, and Paul Gardner, a journalist, investigate the deaths, discovering that a past massacre at Stanley Hall involved Professor William Wexler. The killer targets students, including Sasha Thomas, a radio host, and Parker Riley, a fraternity member. Natalie eventually discovers that her friend Brenda is the killer, seeking revenge for a death caused by Natalie and Michelle in a past accident. Brenda attempts to harvest Natalie's kidney, but is stopped by the police and Paul. In a final confrontation, Brenda attacks Paul and Natalie in a car; Paul crashes the car, and Brenda falls into a river. The film ends with a group of students recounting the story as an urban legend, while Brenda appears, claiming the story was told incorrectly.
- First release year
- 1998
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States; Canada; France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jamie Blanks
- Writers
- Silvio Horta · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jared Leto · Paul Gardner; Alicia Witt · Natalie; Rebecca Gayheart · Brenda; Joshua Jackson · Damon; Loretta Devine · Reese; Tara Reid · Sasha; Michael Rosenbaum · Parker; Robert Englund · Wexler
- Genres
- slasher; horror
- Themes
- revenge; folklore; urban legends
- Tone and mood
- horror; edgy
- Premise and plot tags
- slasher; revenge; campus murder; urban legends
- Franchise connections
- Urban Legend film series
- Reception
- The film was a commercial success but received generally negative reviews from critics, who often compared it to Scream.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Toronto, with the University of Toronto serving as a stand-in for Pendleton University.; The opening sequence was filmed at a gas station outside of Toronto using artificial rain machines.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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