Well here ya go, this is the first screening of this flick that I have heard of, and right off the bat we start off with a split. I had a trickle of about 14 teeny tiny "good" "sucks" "ok", sorta comments. Where the writer didn't really express where they were coming from on the flick. So far it seems to be running about 50/50 on the liked it hated it bit. Of course ya have to realize this is a very early test screening and it is most likely that it can be tightened, and reshoots can occur, so just because the first reports are mixed, doesn't mean it necessarily out of the running. This is a cheap ($14 million dollar production) little thriller from Sony and Pheonix Pictures, that began filming back in April, so this is probably a very very rough cut. So take that into account and here ya go...
I was one of the few the proud the unlucky who in OIld Town Pasadena saw a test screening of this awful film by the producer of I Know What Did Last Summer and starring Jared Leto, that guy from Dawson's Creek(The dorky one who slept with his teacher), and the red headed girl from Mr. Hollands Opus. Sorry I know names would be nice but I cant remeber them because they took the little flyer and well Im not a Dawson's Creek fan. First off Harry, I would like to give PRAISE to your site, as I check it every day and read every story like the shameles geek I am. I am a very young film geek in training and believe it or not I will pass you up one day as far as film geekness goes(Hey it could happen.). So I truly feel obligated to give something back I hope this is printed. Anyways Im goint to steal the format used by so many of your spys because it works and its fast. Don't worry I plan to put some effort into this. No really!
Plot:Ughhhhhhh! The scream concept(They even have a quirky sequirty gaurd rip off of Dewey.) of a bunch of gen-x'rs who sit around "hip" coffe shops bitching about how stupid(this time)"Urban Legends" are. Of course someone takes there love of urban legends "one step too far" and then the murders start. The killer begins mimicking the most famous of bullshit school storys including the don't eat pop rocks and drink soda at the same time because your stomach will explode yada yada yada.
Climax:This is where the photocopying of I Know What You Did Last Summer comes in as the killer dresses in a similar fashion and the climax moves the same way as the last remaining cast members are terrorized around a small area simotaneously bumping into each other. Really predictable, and as I said a total carbon copy.
Casting:Where they got the idea to cast the Mr.Holland's Opus girl I havn't a damn clue. What were they thinking! Not to say she wasn't a good actress but she is BORING and I never once feel sympathy for her like I did Neve Cambel in scream as they are in nearly identical situations. She didnt kick ass, she didnt scream well (She reminded me of the girl John Trovolta has to find a scram for in Blow Out,except not big breasted and gorgeous.), she was just plain BORING! The Dawson's Creek guy wasn't bad I think he bulked up for this role or something he actualy looked like a man and not a wimpy pubescent bitch. Anyways he's under used majorly espeacialy considering he's the biggest name in this damn movie. The killer did a very good job with what they had I totaly believed it and because they were a good actor to begin with it was actualy pretty shocking to find out who it was.
Music:STOP WITH THE SHITY NINETIES POP SONGS!!!!!!! UGHHHHH!!!! I hate POP IT SUCKS (THATS FOR ALL YOU DUMB SHIT MORONIC HANSON, SPICEGIRLS, AND BACKSTREET BOYS FANS!!!!!!!!!!) It's the most vile shit of the earth. Although there was a very funny refrence to that horrible Dawsons Creek song.
Things I Liked:The directing in my opinion was superb. Not influential or truly original or anything but the person (I dont remeber who) did a very nice job with what they had. Some of the murders were kinda interesting I wont give it away but some were pretty amusing. The goth chick was interesting. Thats about it though.
Thing I Didn't Like:Where to start. Well first off I felt so targeted in that theater that I could practicaly feel the crosshairs on my head. It was an exact rip off of Scream (which I liked) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (I didn't like). When I say exact I mean EXACT as in shamefuly ripping them off. I couldnt stand the relenteless bumping into people with a crashing music and lightning man that gets old fast. I predict that in the near future the horror genre will crash and burn like the phoenix it is and rise from its ashes once again with something fresh another decade later when the new Kevin Williamson appears.
Well there you have it. If you choose to use this as I hope you do my name is Proxy X.
And here's the positive look at it...
I just got back from the screening. I would have to say it is better than Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Disturbing Behaviour. Part of me would say it is better than Scream but I think that is just because I have seen Scream so many times. Urban Legend is about the Urban Legends we have all heard such as the one about the gang members driving with their lights off and when someone flashes their high beams they kill them, a person waking up and finding out that their kidneys were stolen, and eating pop rocks and drinking a coke and the persons stomach exploding. Now I'm not going to say which ones are used in the movie but they are at least mentioned. There is a teacher who teaches a course that has some to do with urban legends so some of them are talked about in the film if you aren't familiar with many of them. Anyways someone, or some people (I don't want to say if it is just one person or not) is making urban legends come true. This works out well since we have all seen movies where people get killed all sorts of ways but at least in this one it is a little more realistic. You will see someone in a situation from an urban legend and think you will know which one it is, then something will change that will surprise you. It is weird seeing people get killed in ways you have actually heard about before. One of the most unexpected things about who is in it is that Alicia Witt (Four Rooms, Dune, Mr. Holland's Opus) is the main star. I had never seen her in much but she did a great job. All of the characters were written well and the plot line was more than just a slasher film. Like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, this one has alot of mystery which keeps you guessing who is/are behind the killings. And when you find out, it is a part of another twist. It has a cool ending that leaves it a little open for a sequel but didn't have the feeling like they made the movie just because they could make a sequel in a year. It doesn't make you expect a sequel but just that it wouldn't be a bad idea if they did. Sorry I don't go into detail that mush but I don't want to ruin anything. Overall I thought it was great but as Denis Miller says: "That's just my opinion, I could be wrong." If you want to learn some about urban legends before you see the movie, a friend by the name "Chadkin" came accross this site and passed it on to me: http://www.snopes.com/
