Urban Legend 2 : Coup de grâce

I'm just a sucker for a slasher! No matter how bad they are I usually enjoy them all even "Halloween: Resurrection" was quite entertaining in my book, although not needed one bit! "Urban Legends" was another slasher I enjoyed and although I know it's nothing special, it's certainly no "Scream", "Urban Legends: Final Cut" tries to enter the "Scream" franchise but just simply doesn't have the same balls "Scream" has.

Nevertheless it was entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable! It starts out a little bit like Wes Craven's "New Nightmare" being set on a film set, (also like "Scream 3"). If you have seen "Urban Legends" then you basically have seen "Urban Legends: Final Cut" because it's more of the same stalk and slash, only this time not all the kills are off-screen! (That really annoyed me in the first one!) It follows the same formula on the set of a top film college. Everyones trying to win the "Hitcock prize" by making low-budget crap and a Kirsten Dunst look-a-like (the real one was too expensive) is going to make a film about a killer basing his murders on urban legends (de ja vu!) Only the film comes to life and someone is killing off her crew.

That's the basic plot, it's simple and everyone can follow it. This is the type of film girls would watch after "Twilight" on a sleepover thinking its a really adult, extreme horror film after being mildly scared by "Twilight". That means that for the rest of us, the scares are minimal and the action is just enjoyable instead of heart-stopping! However, what I did like was the way it used humour.

It was really funny in some places and the black security guard was a hoot baby! So you can't say that this film wasn't fun. What was also fantastic was the ending! I thought I was being very clever in sussing out who the killer was but it took me completely by surprise! "Urban Legends: Final Cut" is a wannabee "Scream" for a more miniature audience (i.e. 12+) it tries to be clever and sometimes it is but it is fun throughout and never dull. Just don't expect an out-of-this-world slasher because you simply aren't going to get it. If you're not expecting much then give it a try. I really enjoyed it.

URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDS

Several film students at an isolated university campus are targeted by a serial killer who patterns his/her crimes after various urban legends.

John Ottman's unnecessary sequel is a disastrous jumble of humor and horror which isn't nearly as funny or frightening as the filmmakers might have hoped, and the visual references to various classic movies (most notably the VERTIGO-inspired climax) seem entirely superfluous. Most of the murders are routine, except for a grisly decapitation inspired by a similar sequence in Dario Argento's INFERNO (1980), but the rest of the movie adheres strictly to formula, as a masked killer strives to frame weak-willed heroine Jennifer Morrison for a series of brutal crimes. Only two of the characters from the original URBAN LEGEND (1998) have been retained: Loretta Devine as the campus security guard whose aspirations toward COFFY-style bravery are finally realized during a climactic confrontation with the killer, when he/she makes the mistake of trying to punch her out (Devine retaliates with the best line of dialogue in the entire movie!), and Rebecca Gayheart in an unbilled cameo which should raise a smile amongst devotees of the original film.

The supporting cast is handsome but interchangeable, including Matthew Davis (TIGERLAND) as Morrison's potential love interest, Jessica Cauffiel (VALENTINE) as a dizzy would-be actress whose final sequence resembles one of the more famous set-pieces from PEEPING TOM (1959), Eva Mendes (ONCE UPON A TIME IN Mexico) as a statuesque lesbian beauty whose fondness for Morrison lands her in a whole heap of trouble, and Hart Bochner (APARTMENT ZERO, SUPERGIRL) as an unlikely college professor. Production values are polished, but the movie amounts to little more than an uninspired rehash, and represents an inauspicious debut for former composer/editor Ottman (THE USUAL SUSPECTS). Also starring Joseph Lawrence, Anson Mount and Marco Hofschneider.

As a former film student the setting for the film had some appeal. Film students after the coveted Hitchcock Award strive to make the film that will secure them a spot in Hollywood, just like the honored alumni before them. Unfortunately the power of greed has someone taking out the competition.

It begins with an obvious film-within-a-film cliché to introduce us to all the principal characters/victims of the film. The cast, a slew of nobodies, lacks any true depth and continually stumbles through forced 21st dialogue. The only recognizable face, Joey Lawrence of Blossom fame, has matured in looks but not so much in talent. In fact, the most entertaining parts of the film are when the killer `urbanizes' his victims making the viewer happy to see them go.

The entire story is weak and too many standard horror movie conventions are tossed into the mix. Bumps in the dark, shadows in the background and masked characters that appear out of nowhere are tired repeats of films in our past. As expected, every character is given a reason to be the killer until the very next scene when they are exonerated because another character seems more deserving.

With many veiled references to Alfred Hitchcock's films, the filmmakers may have thought they were honoring the great director but in reality the idea is so poorly done that they only come across as cheap rip-offs. Stair climbing in a tower ala Vertigo and a weak wheelchair scene ala Rear Window are two that come to mind.

The whole scary movie genre was given life by Scream and now it ought to be put out of its misery with one swift swing of the ax.

2 1/2 out of 5

A typical 2nd installment in the series. I actually like the 2nd one a little better and I like all the new faces in this movie. It was not scary but a better screenplay then the first. It a slasher movie and a good script to play wih but it was so predicdible. I like Joey Lawrene but not enough screen time and the rest of the cast is going to do other and better films but just take it as it is as horror movie and nothing else. Out of 4 stars I give it 2 1/2 stars.

I recently saw this film on VHS, and I thought it was SO good, that I went out to go and buy on DVD for $35! Call me stupid, but I thought this was a very good movie with very few, if any, flaws. The death scenes were scary and creative ("kidney heist" and "cinema verite" were stand-outs), the actors and actresses were very good (especially Jenny Morrison and Loretta Devine [who always cracks me up as Reese]), and the story and killer's motive made a lot more sense than any of the SCREAM movies. And on top of everything else, this film contains many interesting and well-thought touches. All in all, I must say that this is a very good film that shouldn't disappoint any horror film buff.

PS- The ending is awesome and completely surprising!