Customer Reviews

Urban Legends: Final Cut

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I don't see why "critics" have given this movie such poor reviews, or why it flopped at the theaters. Urban Legends : Final Cut, to me, was a very good suspense thriller. Although the only connection it has with the original Urban Legend is the security cop Reese (who is hilarious), the movie lives up to be better than the first. Of course, there isn't much originality (It's got to be hard to think of something new after all these teen horrors have been released), but the acting is well done, and the effects aren't the worse in town. Jennifer Morris was awesome as struggling film student Amy. All the other cast members looked as if they really knew where their characters were coming from, and dove right into them. I also liked the way the whole Hitchcockian theme was used. Especially the cute little diddy that happened at the end of the movie. As for the DVD itself, picture and sound quality is excellent, and there is a great amount of supplements (inc. 9 deleted scenes, audio commentary, gag reel, ec.) found on the DVD. Even though some people think it is entirely stupid to recommend this movie, I do recommend it.

Sequels that surpass their predecessors are a rarity in the movie business. In the words of Randy in Scream 2, "by definition alone they are inferior movies." But does the same apply for non-sequel sequels? Apparently not, for Urban Legends: Final Cut is a truly remarkable film, let alone sequel.

UL2 has a very sophisticated edge which gives the movie a far more adult feel, and John Ottman's direction is on par with the veterans of the genre as he demonstrates a great knowledge of both how to create good scares/jumps, and also how to make the images on screen look good without being too crowded. In truth, the entire movie reeks of visual style, and the settings are beautifully shot. For a low-budget film, it definitely doesn't look it.

All of the cast members are a joy, including Jennifer Morrison - who brings the heroine Amy to life on the screen - and the viewer can't help but like her from the start. There is something very fresh and original (in truth, this can be said about the entire movie) in her performance, and when paired up with Matt Davis the film becomes something very special. Additional cast like Jessica Chauffiel (whose bubbly energy fills all her scenes with a gritty humour), Joseph Lawrence (who is under-used, but makes a good red herring) and Anthony Anderson & Michael Bacall (who play Dirk and Stan respectively, and are hilarious with their geeky one-liners) are all nice departures from the cliched bit-parts of most Horrors. Another nice addition is Eva Mendes, as Amy's best friend, who strays from the typical "heroine's timid field-mouse best friend" cliche as a loud-mouthed lesbian. It's a shame that she didn't have more screen time (although, granted, for a movie of this genre she gets her fair share), as the scenes that she is a part of are all filled with some nice banter between characters.

Director Ottman's subtle score is another bonus, as the combination of his already-spread composer wings and unique visual penache create something that is genuinely creepy the entire way through. The combination of quite, music-less moments and loud crescendos give the film an off-beat ambience.

The killer's costume itself (a fencing mask doubled with a long trench coat) is very different to most outfits, and added little touches - like the killer's breathe steaming through the mask, and electric sparks rebounding off the metal - give our weapon-weilding maniac a very human-yet-sterile feel, which immediately invokes fear.

Despite many viewer's criticisms that no urban legend deaths (save the first) were involved in the film, this is not true - how could this movie be called Urban Legends unless it had that feature? All deaths cleverly used legends that most of us have heard of (although perhaps not many have heard the 'Tunnel of Terror' story...), and there is a gritty realism to them. Most use only sound alone rather than graphic detail in order for the audience to use their imagination (what's in the mind is always far scarier than what we see on-screen), and for once the motive behind the deaths isn't hugely ambiguous!

There are some brilliant scenes to be found in UL2. The first and second death are both some of the scariest moments ever put onto film - again, Kudos to Ottman for his clever direction and editing! - and a scene in which the killer plays the keys on a piano Amy is hiding under was extremely unsettling, and for some reason really gets under your skin (maybe it's the out-of-control emotion that the chords stir inside us). As well as these more action-based scenes, there are some very nice character scenes, including the moment that Amy discovers Trevor in the bell tower, and the first time Amy meets Reese. The climax is excellently-worked, and provides a memorable ending to the film.

I recently purchased the DVD, and after watching the deleted scenes footage, it was a shame that some of the more emotional scenes were not kept in the final print. A scene which demonstrates first Amy's writer's block (before encountering Reese), and then her guilt at straying from documentaries gives an often-ignored insight into her character, and could have done a lot more to let the audience see what makes her tick. I can understand that for the younger audience who are only interested in seeing blood and guts, the deletion of these scenes would have been no problem, but for the more mature audience we would definitely have liked to have seen these scenes involved. A director's cut someday please, John?

Other than this quibble (which probably only affects the DVD-viewing audience of this movie) Urban Legends: Final Cut is an atmospheric, character-fuelled movie that cleverly mixes Hitchcock-ian-style mystery with scary scenes that will have your skin crawling. Congratulations to John Ottman for a masterful movie debut, and let's hope we see more from you in the future!

The only reason I saw "Urban Legends: Final Cut" was because it was free. I would like to now express to the makers of this "film" that I require compensation. If you would be so kind, please write me a check for 100 minutes. The acting is horrid, the script is bland and midway through takes a turn for the absurd, and the look of the killer is just plain laughable. Why is the villain wearing a fencing mask of all things? Did the costume designers just give up one day? The story involves students being killed off while working on a thesis film concerning urban legends. Note: It has almost absolutely nothing to do with the previous film. Thus, it is not so much a sequel as a film trying to cash in on an already established (and sub par) horror title. The scares are banal stalker fare (i.e. someone pops out of the shadows) that are pathetically predictable and never haunt the viewer after leaving the film. "Urban Legends" also blatantly rips things off from numerous other films. Apart from being another "Scream"-esque potboiler, one gory death scene (which is the only gory scene) seems to borrow from Italian horror masters like Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento. Another killing borrows from the voyeur-murderer film "Peeping Tom." And, during one chase, one gets the more than distinct first person camera shakiness of "The Blair Witch Project." The characters are all one dimensional, even the villain. I didn't care that anyone died nor did I rally behind the very ridiculous looking slasher. To think that several million dollars went into this production that could have been used to fund the betterment of public schools, feed the homeless, or do research that would aid in curing terminal illnesses.

THIS MOVIE WAS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO AS GOOD AS THE 1998 ORIGINAL ONE. THIS MOVIE IS A REALLY BAD SEQUEL AND I ALMOST FELL ASLEEP, NOT EVEN SCARY, BORING, AND EXACT PLOT AS SCREAM 3! I GIVE IT 2 STARS MOVIEWISE BUT THE EXTRAS LIFT THIS UP A SMALL NOTCH. NOT A HORRIBLE DVD, BUT NOT GOOD EITHER, IT'S JUST ABOUT OK, THE MOVIE ITSELF IS UNDER OK.

The first urban legend to appear in Urban Legends: The Final Cut is probably the most famous of them all - the story of the person drugged in a bar and waking up in a bathtub of ice without any kidneys. This is also the most gruesome part of the story - like the original Scream, the most graphic death is the first. The film then falls into a fairly standard story - people wander into dark hallways and die, a walking killer moves the same speed as a frantically running victim, and everyone except the central character is a suspect (until they die, of course). Having said that, the movie is fun in its way, and there are some nice nudges to other movies and a tongue in cheek sense of the absurd which, of course, all horror movies are.
The DVD includes a director's commentary from rookie director John Ottman (who is best known as the editor/composer of Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil, among others). The commentary is fun - again, Ottman pokes fun at the genre and his budget, while at the same time praising the actors and pointing out his favourite shots and scenes. The acting is quite reasonable (luckily for us, Joey Lawrence does not sing), and the movie does look quite good (although I may be partisan, since it was filmed on my home campus of Trent University). The DVD also includes some cut scenes, with a commentary included as to how they fit in the movie and why they were cut. This is always my favourite extra whenever it's included on a DVD.
I gave this movie 3 stars, which is the same number as I gave to American Beauty. Of course, Urban Legends is not nearly as good a movie, but for its genre, it's very adequate. Check it out sometime if you want a few cheap thrills of the horror variety.

This is easily one of the worst films ever made. John Ottman's bogus entry into the slasher genere is laughable. This film isn't scary, nor does it even come close. The gore isn't even half as bad as many people say it is. There was only two scenes where the gore was somewhat high, and still, it wasn't even that bad, becuase it's really fake and only is on screen for about 3 seconds.

The first UL was an ok movie, with some good suspense scenes. This UL basically says "WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN SUSPENSE!!!!" and you're left with laughably stupid death scenes that aren't scary. Is it just me, or did the killer look so stupid, it was unbelieved? Not once in any horror film have I sceen has there been a killer that looked so stupid, then in this one, a shmuck in a fencing mask. Even in the first UL, the killer had a somewhat scary appearance. This one, nope, he isn't scary.

Another thing, In a slasher movie, aren't the deaths supposed to be slashings? Well, why don't you tell that to the screenwriters. There's only one slashing in this film, and you can barely see it happening due to shoddy direction. As for the other death scenes, they include a deranged window cil, a camera lens with a vengence , two electrocutions (also hampered by shoddy directing), and a hanging. I didn't care less about what was actually happening in the movie, since it made no sense at all. So, I found myself waiting for death scenes, and since most were drab, that didn't save the movie.

Also, this film blatantly rips off the blair witch project. It's hilarious.

And the killer's motive is laughable. I laughed my way through the pitiful finale. "Those who can't do, Teach!!!" LOL!!!!!!

A rotten screenplay, bad acting, awful directing, need I say more? This film blows, don't waste your time

This film was targeted for fans who liked the Scream trilogy and those who actaully liked the first Urban Legend (I admit I did enjoy the first one), but this one missed the mark. It could have been better. All you have to do is watch the deleted scenes on the DVD and you can see that it could have been better. Director John Ottman freely admits that he cut out the scenes that built characterization in order to get to the violence quicker. It's too bad that a story that had some potential fell victim to a mis-guided, first-time director and poor editing in order to just show the blood and guts. The plot that remains just basically puts the heroine (played nicely by Jennifer Morrison) and a freind in a situation being stalked by a masked killer. Of course, the friend is killed and the heroine lives to face the same situation but in a different location. It gets slightly repetitious. The characters, especially all the male characters seem the same and of course are left vague in order for you to suspect them as the killer. But once the killer is revealed, you don't really care because the motive for the killings is totally pointless. The special effects were pretty routine. The film within a film routine is getting a little overdone in this genre. My advice is to rent it if there is nothing else that grabs your attention .

Let me start off by saying, you know when the teen horror genre is falling apart when a movie like this comes out. This has got to be the worst movie that has come out in along time. Even worse than I still Know... At least that had a deasent plot. Here is why the movie stinks. 1.) You never see the people get killed. ( niether did hitchcock, but at least he was suspenseful) 2.) What is up with the brother? ( you will see if ou see the movie) 3.) Bad Scripting. 4.) Really predictable

With those reasons and more, please do not go see it. I made the mistake and paid... to see it in the theater where I fell asleep! That is how boring it is.

There are to many negative things to say about this movie that I have no idea where to begin. For Gods Sake this movie seriously gives a bad name to Horror. There was absolutely nothing scary about this piece of garbage. First of all, I have to agree with others and say that people were just ripping of Scream in some way when they made this, but unfortunately just made the movie 100 times worse. The plot, acting, and especially killings in this movie [was not good]! I encourage all others out there to save your money from buying this movie and even renting it. As someone has already suggested, rent or buy the first Halloween movie if you want to be introduced to a good slasher.

It's not everyday that we get an original horror movie with an intelligent plot, likeable characters, a traffic-stopping cast and chills beyond our imagination. But do you think "Urban Legends: Final Cut" is one of them? Oh, no. The film, being a sequel to the first film, is the latest in a long, long, long, long line of sequels which do no justice to the predecessor, and not only that, but it copies directly off of "Scream 2" and "3," just like "Urban Legend" had the look and feel of a "Scream" wannabe. Do the producers of these movies sit around in a room and actually think this stuff is going to appeal to anyone with the least bit of intelligence and common sense? Do they think that our lives are so jaded by originality that they must inject us with banal characters, a washed up storyline, and a mess of total stupidity? Hollywood hates us!

The movie is such a piece of undeniable trash that its story is just a pain to even look back on. We are introduced to select students of Alpine University, which is a renowned film school where, every year, one person receives the Hitchcock Award for the best thesis film. This sparks the attention of dithy documentarian Amy Mayfield, who jumps into the project after hearing a story from Reese, the new campus security guard and the sole returning character from the first film.

She writes her script, which, wouldn't you know it, is about tall tales known as urban legends, and begins gathering up her cast and crew. She has some competition, though: Toby is filming a horror thriller that takes place on an airplane (shades of "Final Destination," maybe?), and his cast and crew are much more dilligent. Others include Travis, whose film "The Gods of Men" is in the finishing stages, and Graham, whose the son of a Hollywood mogul.

And this is where our killings take place, leaving us with dead bodies, useless plot twists, and a plot that borrows all it can from just about every horror franchise it can get its hands on. The movie even goes so far as to insult its own name, because its killings, with the exception of one, are not even considered urban legends in reality. Perhaps the writers just ran out of creativity, or the legends that were left weren't bloody and stupid enough for the demographic group this film aims itself at.

And if there ever was a movie that copycats, this is it. The whole actors-involved-in-a-film-getting-killed-according-to-the-script thing has been done already, much better in "Scream 3," but "UL:FC" doesn't seem to care. It treats the material as if its new and fresh, which leaves us with a wasted six dollars for a movie that we could've rented already. And the ending is so blatantly reminiscent of the on-stage showdown in "Scream 2," which places our killer and prey on the set of some movie where they have access to all sorts of materials where they can prolong the inevitable ending in which the real killer will meet his demise. And don't even start criticizing me about giving away the ending: the plot's sky-high predictability factor will not only give away the identity of the killer, but will leave you with no surprises.

The actors are your typical ensemble of pseudo-teenage college kids who have nothing better to do than run around and corner themselves into fatal situations than to actually use their heads. Jennifer Morrison plays Amy, who never comes off as being more than the average run-of-the-mill clueless college groupie, as does the rest of the cast composed mostly of unknowns who probably think that this movie will lead them to new heights of fame (what a mislead). It's easy to see why Joey Lawrence, of TV's "Blossom," billed himself as "Joseph." Be sure to look out for Rebecca Gayheart in a surprise cameo that is the cheese atop the cracker.

There's something to be said about movies like this, movies that have absolutely no creativity and revel in that fact, but my mother taught me never to use words of that nature. In short, "Urban Legends: Final Cut" is yet another example of Hollywood wasting our money by giving us nothing new and thinking we'll be satisfied. If you must be scared, then be scared of the fact that, like it or not, this is the future of horror movies, and we're stuck with it.