Urban Legend Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Urban Legend Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson December 18, 2018

The mid to late 1990s witnessed a revitalization of the teen film in such diverse genres as the comedy, romantic drama, thriller, and horror. Scenarist Kevin Williamson spearheaded this resurgence in his screenplays for Scream (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Scream 2 (1997), The Faculty (1998), and Teaching Mrs. Dingle (1999). Disturbing Behavior (1998), H20 (1998), and Cruel Intentions (1999) continued this trendy pattern. Although Aussie director Jamie Blanks's feature debut Urban Legend (1998) was recognized as part of this group, I was surprised in reading the original reviews how much pop critics thought it tried to imitate Scream's formula. While Urban Legend contains some plot gimmicks derivative of Scream, it is more of a serious campus slasher movie than it is a self-reflexive satirization of the genre.

Michelle Mancini (Natasha Gregson Wagner) is on her way to Pendleton College but gets caught in a heavy downpour in the late evening hours. Her SUV needs gas and at a convenience station she's met abruptly by an eccentric, stuttering attendant (Brad Dourif) who fills it up. But the attendant returns to Michelle's car window, explaining that her credit card company needs to speak to her about the transaction. Michelle seems to be lead into a trap within the station's garage. She sprays mace on the attendant and upon taking off in her vehicle, she thinks she's in the clear. But Michelle doesn't heed the attendant's warning that an assailant is hiding in her back seat (with an ax). The following morning, the local newscast announces that Pendleton is the safest campus community with the lowest crime rate. Nestled in Melbourne, New Hampshire (a nod to Banks's home city), the university has a student population of 2,500 with only one security officer, the Pam Grier wannabe Reese Wilson (Loretta Devine). Co-eds Natalie Simon (Alicia Witt) and her best friend Brenda Bates (Rebecca Gayheart) are comfortable in their environ and enjoy intermingling with Fraternity members such as Parker Riley (Michael Rosenbaum) and Damon Brooks (Joshua Jackson). Nothing of significance happens around Pendleton but chatter develops in an urban folklore course taught by Professor William Wexler (Robert Englund). Wexler delivers a lecture about the most infamous and popular legends and invites a volunteer to come up for a demo simulating Little Mikey and the Life cereal commercial. Legend has it that the boy ingested Pop Rocks candy along with Pepsi Cola and later imploded. Damon voluntarily consumes this combination and collapses on the floor with gargle oozing out of his mouth. It turns out to be a joke by Damon but he won't have the last laugh.

Best friends.

Students gradually start disappearing and there's a rumor that a dark figure dressed in an oversized L.L. Bean parka with faux fur protruding along the hood's lining (which conceals his/her face) is re-staging the legends. Ambitious campus newspaper reporter Paul Gardener (Jared Leto), whose coveting a Pulitzer, takes the legend with the upmost seriousness but struggles to convert believers out of students and staff. Paul and Natalie sneak into Wexler's office and find a Parka stashed behind one of the side doors. Wexler is a prime suspect for the killing spree because he's one of the last survivors from the 1973 dormitory massacre in the now boarded-up Stanley Hall. He also seems to know all the secrets behind the legends. A creepy janitor, whose modeled after "Crazy Ralph" from the first two Friday the 13th films, also appears to be in close proximity to the murders. Banks and first-time screenwriter Silvio Horta also aren't exempting Pendleton Dean Adams (John Neville) from the case. Film critic Jack Garner incorrectly claimed: "There could be another potential suspect, except viewers aren't provided any clues until the final frame." There are clues in an expository backstory/flashback but that doesn't make the killer's identity explicitly obvious. The film's casting directors made shrewd decisions in casting horror icons Robert Englund and Brad Dourif because the genre baggage that they've carried throughout their storied careers gives added weight to their characters and only furthers the mystery.

Urban Legend Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Urban Legend, Scream Factory has unleashed a two-disc Collector's Edition with a slipcover and reversible cover with the original artwork. A decade ago, my colleague Marty Liebman reviewed Sony's single-disc BD-50. Scream's MPEG-4 AVC-encoded transfer looks quite similar to it. The image is a bit soft with a veneer of grain present throughout the film. Shadow and background detail is solid but not spectacular. Skin tones appear natural without any excessive manipulation done in post. For the flashback scene sampled in Screenshot #15, cinematographer James Chressanthis employed the bleach bypass process in the lab. You'll notice the very bright car lights accented in the windshield and windscreen. There's some dirt and minor specks on the print but this is a largely clean presentation. Banks endorsed the image quality on Scream's new commentary: "I'm very happy with this transfer...beautiful." Scream has encoded the main feature at a mean video bitrate of 30998 kbps.

Scream has given the 99-minute feature twelve chapter markers.

Urban Legend Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (3127 kbps, 24-bit) and a downconverted DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (1604 kbps, 24-bit). The Sony release has a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix and boast an average bitrate of 1490 kbps (16-bit). I think Scream's lossless 5.1 track is louder and more aggressive. The thunder and pitter-patter of the rain are spread out and given nice separation on the satellite speakers. Reproduction of dialogue is sharp as spoken words are almost always intelligible. Christopher Young's score couldn't be more different from the jazz music he wrote for Norman Jewison's The Hurricane, which was released the following year. Rising crescendos from the orchestra hang over the soundscape.

Scream delivers its typical English SDH and they're optional.

Urban Legend Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Sony Blu-rays have a group commentary track and a ten-minute featurette for its extras. Scream has retained both and went the extra mile by producing a new two-and-a-half-hour documentary retrospective covering nearly every aspect of Urban Legend. It all started when filmmaker Edwin Samuelson reached out to Banks about releasing a new Blu-ray set and the Aussie gladly agreed to participate. No less than twenty-six new cast and crew interviews were recorded, including director Jamie Blanks, writer Silvio Horta, executive producers Brad Luff and Nick Osborne, producers Neal Moritz, Gina Matthews, and Michael McDonnell; chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures Mike Medavoy, production designer Charles Breen, director of photography James Chressanthis, editor Jay Cassidy, assistant editor Edgar Pablos, composer Christopher Young; actors Alicia Witt, Michael Rosenbaum, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Robert Englund, Loretta Devine, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, and Danielle Harris. Inexplicably, there is no "Play All" option! The user has to play each segment individually and either revert to the main menu or pull up the pop-up. Additionally, there is seventy-five minutes of excised interview material you can watch in two parts.

DISC ONE: Feature Film

NEW Audio Commentary with Director Jamie Blanks, Producer Michael McDonnell, and Assistant Edgar Pablos; Moderated by Author Peter M. Bracke - Bracke does a very good job of asking questions and keeping this filmmakers' chat going without any gaps. In English, not subtitled.

Audio Commentary with Director Jamie Blanks, Writer Silvio Horta, and Actor Michael Rosenbaum - Recorded three weeks after the theatrical release in the fall of '98, Blanks, Horta, and Rosenbaum are jovial as they recount production anecdotes and laugh about things that happened on and off set. In English, not subtitled.

Theatrical Trailer (2:28, 1080p) - the primary trailer that Columbia TriStar screened in theaters to promote Urban Legend.


DISC TWO: Special Features

NEW Urban Legacy 8-Part Documentary Plus Deleted Scenes (147 mins., 1080p)
1. "The Story Behind Urban Legend" (9:37)
2. "Assembling the Team" (17:44)
3. "A Cast of Legends" (18:46)
4. "There's Someone in the Back Seat" (15:42)
5. "Stories from the Set" (28:39)
6. "Campus Carnage" (23:30)
7. "A Legendary Composer" (16:29)
8. "A Lasting Legacy" (17:01)
9. "Extended Interviews" (39:44)
10. "Extended Interviews: Part 2" (36:00)

Behind-the-Scenes Footage (480i)
1. "Part 1" (17:00)
2. "Part 2" (16:20)
3. "Part 3" (20:00)

Archival Making of Featurette (10:09, 480i) - this is the same promotional program that Sony debuted on its 1999 DVD. In English, not subtitled.

Deleted Scene (2:40, 480i) - this is excerpted in the recycled featurette above and presented in full here. In English, not subtitled.

TV Spots (1:36, 480i) - a handful of spots advertising Urban Legend that aired on network TV in autumn of '98. They're presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. In English, not subtitled.

Gag Reel (2:14, 480i) - a collection of brief outtakes. In English, not subtitled.

Urban Legend Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While Urban Legend doesn't quite reinvent the teen slasher film, the clever and ingenious screenplay by Silvio Horta kept me guessing who the murderer was and the moves s/he would pull on the next victim. Scream Factory has rehashed the same fine HD transfer that Sony used ten years ago but greatly amplifies the 5.1 sound track with a robust DTS-HD MA mix. The new Urban Legacy documentary is comprehensive and thorough. For franchise fans, it's worth the price of this set. There's also a rock-solid group commentary track that exceeds the older one (which is also included here) and archival B-roll footage that will satisfy the most ardent collectors. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to series fans as well those of Jared Leto's.