directed by john ottman . screenplay by paul harris boardman & scott derrickson , based on characters created by silvio horta . starring jennifer morrison , matthew davis , loretta devine . running time : 100 minutes . rated r by the mfcb . reviewed on october 2nd , 2000 . two years ago , the original " urban legend " was a surprise , proving to be the most worthy of the litany of " scream " rip-offs . although by no means classic cinema , it was entertaining and boasted an entertaining premise , taking typical slasher-film shenanigans and dressing them up in the context of popular urban legends . aided by good performances and energetic direction , " urban legend " turned out to be ideal popcorn fare . now comes the sequel of sorts , " urban legends : final cut " . instead of being a continuation of the first movie , this one is intended to be more of a thematic successor . its events are inspired by the original , and only two characters carry over . most notable is security guard reese ( loretta devine ) , now working at a university whose film students compete for the prestigious and lucrative hitchcock prize . one night , reese encounters amy mayfield ( jennifer morrison ) , who is casting about for a topic for her thesis film . reese tells her about the events she endured at pendleton in the original picture ( " but that's just an urban legend , " amy protests in one of the more clever lines of dialogue ) and this inspires amy to make her own movie about a campus killer who bases his murders on urban myths . but as production gets under way , somebody seizes on the pendleton " legend " in a far more literal manner , and begins killing film students in the same style . or , at least , that's what's supposed to be happening . but " urban legends " is so ineptly written by paul harris boardman and scott derrickson that the central motif is virtually forgotten about , or treated more as a crutch . although boardman and derrickson go through the motions of dressing their murders up in " urban legend " style , this is largely just used as an irrelevant backdrop while the killings are carried out in typical slasher style . there is a startling dearth of imagination here : even the deaths , usually the high points of any movie of this genre , lack invention . there is a similar lethargy to many of the other plot points . characters are introduced who are so obviously intended to be potential suspects -- a rival movie director , a mysterious twin brother , an eccentric movie groupie -- that they deserve little flags . having introduced such characters , boardman and derrickson make little effort to heighten the suspense by developing them further ; they are pretty much just thrown out there , and it is expected that the viewer will generate his own mystery trying to figure out which one actually did it . " urban legends " , though , is so thoroughly unengaging that there is no cause to contemplate such things ; there are far greater mysteries , like why a studio would greenlight such a paltry , third-rate script . " urban legends " has the feel almost of a serialised drama , with each incident happening seemingly in isolation . characters appear just so that they can serve as the next victim . people die and are not mentioned again for huge stretches of time . the movie evokes the sense of filmmakers going through the motions -- murders and other scary incidents occur not because the plot demands it , but just to fill time . this is moviemaking at its most mechanical . there is little in the way of characterisation to speak of , and few of the castmembers engender any interest or sympathy . the revelation that one character has a twin , for example , is completely defused by the fact that we knew nothing about the character in the first place . morrison proves a poor successor to " urban legend's " spunky alicia witt -- not because she doesn't try , but simply because she is given no material to work with . amy is a dull , monotonous character , and the filmmakers seem to assume that we will empathise with her simply because she's the main character , not because they have established her as somebody worthy of our interest . amongst the other characters , devine is downright embarrassing as reese , having apparently graduated from the " police academy " stable . matthew davis , who plays twins travis and trevor , is aimless in either role . perhaps the biggest name actor , joseph lawrence ( best known as the guy who says 'woah ! ' on " blossom " ) , is confined to a forgettable one-note part . john ottman's direction is unremarkable and drops the ball more than once during action scenes , where the sequence of events is frequently confusing and difficult to discern . certainly , ottman does little to cultivate an atmosphere of suspense or terror . but then , there is precious little mystery anywhere in " urban legends " -- a particularly galling fact given that the film invokes such names as hitchcock and welles . it all comes to a head with the revelation of the killer , which is done so off-handedly and absurdly that i kept waiting for the other shoe to drop ( it never does ) . indeed , it was moments like this that made me wonder if " urban legends " was perhaps intended to be more a satire of slasher films than just a standard entry into the genre . but if that is the case , then it is a most incompetent effort , totally failing to illuminate any truths about slasher movies ( except , perhaps , that they're all but exhausted ) and instead wallowing in their most dubious cliches . " urban legends : final cut " is , quite simply , badly made . the direction is hamfisted . the acting is without merit . the writing is on about the same level as that roomful of typewriter-endowed chimpanzees . it is amusing that the movie is set at a film school , because you have to wonder how much time its creators actually spent at one . the only positive thing that can be said about " urban legends " is that , in the end , it could have been a lot worse . it is never actively terrible ; it is just incredibly lazy , inducing more a sense of ennui than of critical revulsion . nonetheless , it is yet another example of how the teen slasher genre is in desperate need of either fresh ideas or a long rest . hopefully , this is indeed the 'final cut' for the " urban legend " mini-franchise . copyright © 2000 shannon patrick sullivan . archived at the popcorn gallery , <a href= " http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies/urbanlegends . html " >http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies/urbanlegends . html</a> _______________________________________________________________________ / shannon patrick sullivan | " we are all in the gutter , but some of us \ | <a href= " mailto : shannon@mun . ca " >shannon@mun . ca</a> | are looking at the stars . " - oscar wilde | \___________________________|__________________________________________/ | popcorn gallery movie reviews www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies . html | | doctor who : a brief history of time ( travel ) /drwho . html | 
