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URBAN LEGEND (Columbia Tristar) Cast: Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Michael Rosenbaum, Loretta Devine, Joshua Jackson, Tara Reid, John Neville, Robert Englund, Danielle Harris, Natasha Gregson Wagner Director: Jamie Blanks Screenplay: Silvio Horta Australian theatrical release: January 28, 1999 Reviewed by Luke Buckmaster
On the Buckmaster scale of 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 2 stars
Melbourne born newcomer Jamie Blanks delights in telling spooky modern fables; the kind which are told by children in tree houses on Halloween. These are urban legends, stories that evoke fear from people because a friend of a friend of someone you know has experienced one. There's a killer in your back seat, or a maniacal driver chasing you down a deserted road - whatever the story may be, Blanks has a visual illustration. Urban Legend milks that gimmick for all it's worth, which is the best and worst reason to see this film. Those interested in this ever so slight twist of the standard shock-horror formula should by all means take a look, but ultimately, this is yet another horror film that misses its mark considerably.
The way Jamie Blanks directs is interesting in comparison to someone like Wes Craven. Craven has been around long enough to know exactly what works and what doesn't, and although many of his pieces are far from perfect, they provide calculated shrieks and squeals. Blanks doesn't have that same knowledge, so the most he can do is give it a gutsy effort. Consequently, some moments of Urban Legend are dumb and boring, whilst others are exciting and strangely compelling. Like its final few scenes, which are remarkably more satisfying than the endings of both Scream and Scream 2. But this is escaping the fact that Urban Legend fails to complete even the most basic requirements for a scary movie: it just isn't scary.
At New England's Pendleton College, somebody is bringing urban legends to life. As students begin die off, the assertive Natalie (Alicia Witt) attempts to make sense of the frightening scenario. Helping her is Paul (Jared Leto), a selfish and conniving journalist for the school paper. Natalie's best friend Brenda (Rebecca Gayheart) is dis-interested; she is more concerned in flirting with Paul. Natalie and Paul primarily suspect their American folklore teacher Professor Wexler (Robert Englund), but there are lots of other suspects - Natalie's sex crazed room mate, the eerie school janitor, a Pam Grier look a like security guard, a dim-witted practical joker, and many more.
Blanks keeps us guessing who-done-it is by creatively cheating - the same jacket that the killer wears appears in almost everybody's wardrobe. On one occasion he uses an entire scene to bluff the audience, and on others he uses the shock-horror formula which Scream 2 did so well (music builds up, then a character bumps into somebody else who is - much to our disappointment - not trying to kill him/her). It works to reasonable success, although the line up of suspects are an uninteresting bunch and for that matter, so are all the characters. The identity of the killer should have evoked a fun guess-then-guess-again game with the audience, but after not long I just wanted to get the revealing process over with.
Alicia Witt's performance is a change in character for most horror heroines. She offers something that Neve Campell and Jenniffer Love Hewitt haven't: Witt seems to have a reasonable idea of what's going on. Though appearing as moderately aggressive, Witt doesn't have the sexual flamboyancy and zest that is an assumed trait of these type of roles. Portraying intelligence is not enough; she lacks excitement. Rebecca Gayheart gives flamboyancy and confidence to her part, but she suits a more eccentric thriller like Scream (although she did have a small part in Scream 2 as an annoyingly cheerful student). Veteran John Neville - famous for his role as "The Well-Manicured Man" in The X Files movie and television series - can be seen in a small and unrewarding part as the Dean.
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