A New England College student becomes the victim of terror when her friends begin to die one by one based off urban legends. 

In the middle of the teen horror era comes the 1998 horror thriller Urban Legend.  With stars like Jared Leto (Panic Room), Joshua Jackson (Cursed), Tara Reid (Alone in the Dark), Rebecca Gayheart (From Dusk Till Dawn 3) and directed by Jamie Blanks, who's other film include Valentine, how can this film go wrong?  Well, let's just say the story isn't that terrible but we find ourselves yawning during the parts that are most dear to us, the death scenes.  I endured Joshua Jackson who I despise with a passion still to this day ever since his face became known from Mighty Ducks and I endured the common story that seems to just never end with teen-esque horror films.

I know that Urban Legend is suppose to have this big twist at the end but it seemed to have forgotten it's place within the movie.  Figuring out the ending before the ending occurs is a big disappointment.  Much in the same with Cry_Wolf, where made up stories become reality and we recieve hints along the way.  For example, after Natalie [Alicia Witt] tells Brenda [Rebecca Gayheart] her tragic story of the headlight/car incident, Brenda says "that's terrible, for ALL of you" or something of that nature.  Obvious hint that Brenda is connected to this accident and is also connected in the killings of Natalie's friends.

Homage to "Dawson's Creek", I thought, was quite funny.  When Joshua Jackson gets into his run-down vehicle.  When he finally gets the engine running, the radio is blasting the theme music of "Dawson's Creek".  Unfortunately, Joshua Jackson just can not act.  It's personalty that leaves him unbelieveably fake in all his films.  He doesn't have that right qualities to be a great actor.  The roles he takes are all the same, with the exception of Mighty Ducks.  A wise cracking over confident pretty boy who can't seem to portray a character in the perspective of the movie's purpose. 

Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street) surprises me by being in a film such as this magnitude.  His presence is always powerful.  This might be because he is such for the most part an ultimate horror icon where it doesn't matter what role he takes, he will always be known for his contributions to the films of fear.  Though his part in the film is rather short, it's still effective as the creepy folklore professor. 

The death scenes are mediocre hack and slash for the most part.  A couple of them stand out in being a bit over the bar of that mediocracy.  The Dean's, John Neville (The Fifth Element), fatal scene is one that stood out.  Almost like poetry in motion how the events played out.  The slicing of his ankles and then pulling of the parking break led to his demise of falling upon tire spikes attracted much of the attention of having him not struggle with the killer because his character was always trying to avoid confrontation.  Parker Riley, played by Michael Rosenbaum ("Smallville"), death scene is my favorite of the film.  His dog becomes nuked by way of the microwave and he is victim to pop rocks and drain-o.  The whole setup for that scene was well done in where he discovers what's left of his poor canine friend and just starts screaming obscenities. 

The acting as a whole is bland.  Witt's, Leto's, Jackson's, and especially Reid's acting was hard to sit through.  I did kinda like how Gayheart portrayed her insanity.  She was funny yet insane at the same time.  Those eyes of her really spark a crazy ignition.  Riley's role as the asshole fratboy is done to the extent of stereotypical nonsense much I can say from experience was pratically on target.  Frat guys, in some way, try and find a way to put you down because they themselves don't want to listen to your non-greek thoughts.  No, I don't mean all frat guys act like this either so don't complain about slander to me.  Loretta Devine's character, the campus secruity guard Reese, had this Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) personality going on.  Her smart ass wittiness and passion to become a tough cop is entertaining.

I've seen this film plenty of times on VHS back in the neanderthal age but I finally picked it up after buying the two sequels, Final Cut and Bloody Mary, which I have yet to see.  I suggest renting Urban Legend first because it's nothing really worth seeing but the same old stuff that we see in Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer type of movies.