# Urban Legend (1998)

### reviewed by
Edward Johnson-Ott

Urban Legend (1998) Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Michael Rosenbaum, Loretta Devine, Joshua Jackson, Tara Reid, John Neville, Julian Richings, Robert Englund, Danielle Harris, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Brad Dourif. Produced by Neal H. Moritz, Gina Matthews and Michael McDonnell. Written by Silvio Horta. Directed by Jamie Blanks. 97 minutes. Rated R, 2.5 stars (out of five stars)

Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com

Did you ever hear the one about a young woman driving along an isolated stretch of road late one rainy night, unaware that a killer is hiding in the back seat of her car? "Urban Legend" begins with that old folk tale, adding a wry audio joke to the mix. As Natasha Gregson Wagner cruises along, oblivious to the ax-wielding loon right behind her, she pops a tape into the car's cassette player, and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" begins to play. The song's instrumental introduction comes to a close and the male back-up singer beings to croon "Turn around..."

I'm giving "Urban Legend," the latest entry in the post-"Scream" slasher movie renaissance, a qualified recommendation based on a few self-mocking gags like that, and a nice starring turn by Alicia Witt, but mostly for the filmmaker's audacious choices concerning the identity and motif of their serial killer.

Before exploring the juicy details about the murderer (have no fear, there will be no spoilers here), it's important to cover the basics of the story. Like virtually every slasher flick, "Urban Legend" involves a lunatic chasing attractive, mostly white, young people. The story is set at a picturesque New England college staffed by only three adults; a crusty disbelieving administrator (John Neville), a wise, but ominous professor (Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund) and a plucky security guard (Loretta Devine from "Waiting to Exhale"). In a recent interview, I asked Devine about the film's paucity of adults and she laughed and said "Shit, honey, kids don't want to look at grown-ups!"

There's a killer on campus, murdering students by recreating famous urban legends; those alligators-in-the-sewer, exploding-cats-in-the-microwave contemporary myths passed on by folks who invariably claim the stories really happened to a cousin of a friend of theirs.

Alicia Witt (the daughter from "Cybil") is the first to figure out the horrible pattern, but of course, no one will believe her. As the body count grows, the leaders of tomorrow cope with the carnage in the only logical fashion - - they throw a kegger party. Naturally, the killer attends and the corpses stack up, leading to the inevitable face-off between our heroine and the maniac.

Oh, and what a maniac! In a burst of idiotic inspiration, the filmmakers conceal the killer's identity by dressing the psychopath in (get ready for this) a parka with a fuzzy, face-obscuring hood that looks like it came straight out of "South Park." Instead of being frightening, I found myself fighting the urge to shout "Oh my God, Kenny's killing sophomores! You bastard!"

That's not all. When the killer is finally revealed, we're treated with an overacting exhibition of operatic proportions. Obviously, I can't mention the actor's name, so I'll simply offer my congratulations on a wild-eyed, teeth-gnashing, in-your-face performance that would make even William Shatner blush.

In the starring role, Alicia Witt deserves credit for centering the film by projecting an air of reason that makes all this nonsense seem almost credible. Even when her own behavior is illogical, there's a look of intelligence in her eyes that helps to sell the story. Look for Witt to go on to much better things.

"Urban Legend" ends with a patently unbelievable scene that sets thing up for a sequel. I hope they do one because, even with its many leaden spots, this lurid trifle is actually fun on a trashy level. Besides, there's so many urban legends left to cover. For instance, did you hear the one about a writer who turned out a screenplay for a teen movie that didn't insult the viewer's intelligence? It's true. It was written by the cousin of a friend of mine.

    © 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott

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