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Urban Legend

Play trailer 2:20 Poster for Urban Legend R 1998 1h 35m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
30% Tomatometer 66 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
A university is beset by a rash of gruesome murders that resemble old urban legends. When her friend Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) is killed by someone hiding in her car, Natalie (Alicia Witt) begins to notice the pattern. Her suspicions grow stronger when her own roommate is strangled to death. Soon the quiet college campus is transformed into hunting grounds for a maniac, and Natalie struggles to find the killer and stop the bloodshed before she becomes the next victim.
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Urban Legend

Urban Legend

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Critics Consensus

Elements of Scream reappear in a vastly inferior vehicle.

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Critics Reviews

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Liam Lacey Globe and Mail 04/25/2003
2/4
Like Frankenstein's monster before the lightning strikes, it's all recycled cold flesh and bolts, without a twitch of originality. Go to Full Review
Kim Newman Sight & Sound 03/03/2002
Manages somehow to be rather endearing. Go to Full Review
Bob Heisler Los Angeles Times 02/14/2001
1/5
A low-voltage drive-in movie, made strictly by the book. Go to Full Review
Josh Winning Radio Times 10/25/2024
3/5
Urban Legend deserves its place in the pantheon of pulse-raising 90s popcorn slashers. Go to Full Review
Brian Bisesi Horror Movie Club Podcast 08/14/2024
3.5/5
Urban Legend lacks captivating characters, but it does deliver on the promise of its premise by packing in a good amount of urban legend-related deaths. Props for encasing some of these urban legends in a piece of culture that may outlive the legends. Go to Full Review
Rocco T. Thompson Rue Morgue Magazine 07/03/2024
Twenty years on, Jamie Blanks’ glossy, post-Scream slasher is a tasty slice of 90s teen horror: nostalgia softening its logical flaws, caustic young people, and of-its-time-ness into charms. Go to Full Review
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Gabriel S Nov 15 I just had the opportunity of rewatching the slasher classic Urban Legend from 1998, and it was somewhat worth it. Movies were simpler back then, straightforward and predictable, but entertaining. The story follows some teens at an university where one seemingly random murder happens, but then a series of events leads Natalie and Paul to believe a serial killer is on the loose. It is your classic who/whydunit shameless and bare. Simplistic as it sounds, Urban Legend spanwed a franchise. Yup, on the same trend as I Know What You Did Last Summer — a nice book, by the way —, Urban Legend ended up spawning the Urban Legends series, so you know what to wait for here. Urban Legend is like Scream, but without trying to ethernalize a masked killer. Like most cult classics, this movie is funny and entertaining and mostly flawed, but you love to hate it. If you want a nostalgic slasher vibe, this one should be on your list. See more Liam D @Mediawatcher2003 Oct 20 One of the better scream ripoffs thanks to an talented cast and an really cool gimmick with the killer’s way of slaughter but it falls down the slasher movie cliches of a group of characters that aren’t interesting or likeable and an very obvious twist See more Melissa L @Agent99 Oct 19 Kept me guessing about the culprit to the very end. See more L. F Oct 18 One of my all time favourites! Original, funny, creepy, jumpy and twisted. It has everything you want from a good slasher with a little more to offer. They really don't make them like this anymore! See more Caleb L Oct 5 A Scream inspired film that surprisingly does quite a bit to stand out from the other imitators. See more Johnny H Aug 28 Basic slasher movie, although without spoiling anything the kills dont make one bit of sense at the end. Theres a plot one of the victims finds out why the spree happened, however as a viewer you'd like to know at the start of the movie not near the end like one of the victims. Basic slasher movie, good acting tbf however major flaws in the plot. 2/5 is a fair representation in my opinion. See more Read all reviews
Urban Legend

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Urban Legend

Urban Legend: Official Clip - Killer Car Chase Urban Legend: Official Clip - Killer Car Chase 2:27 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Chased by the Killer Tara Reid Scene Urban Legend: Official Clip - Chased by the Killer Tara Reid Scene 2:27 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Bloody Parking Garage Kill Urban Legend: Official Clip - Bloody Parking Garage Kill 2:05 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Killer in the Car Urban Legend: Official Clip - Killer in the Car 2:23 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Tortured by the Killer Urban Legend: Official Clip - Tortured by the Killer 3:23 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Pop Rocks Poisoning Urban Legend: Official Clip - Pop Rocks Poisoning 2:24 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Sexy Goths Must Die Urban Legend: Official Clip - Sexy Goths Must Die 2:29 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Attacked in the Car Urban Legend: Official Clip - Attacked in the Car 1:51 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Brutal Hanging Urban Legend: Official Clip - Brutal Hanging 2:28 Urban Legend: Official Clip - Bloody Corpse in the Killer's Car Urban Legend: Official Clip - Bloody Corpse in the Killer's Car 1:32 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis A university is beset by a rash of gruesome murders that resemble old urban legends. When her friend Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) is killed by someone hiding in her car, Natalie (Alicia Witt) begins to notice the pattern. Her suspicions grow stronger when her own roommate is strangled to death. Soon the quiet college campus is transformed into hunting grounds for a maniac, and Natalie struggles to find the killer and stop the bloodshed before she becomes the next victim.
Director
Jamie Blanks
Producer
Gina Matthews, Michael McDonnell, Neal H. Moritz
Screenwriter
Silvio Horta
Distributor
TriStar Pictures, Columbia Tristar
Production Co
Original Film, Phoenix Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 25, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$38.1M
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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