Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Urban Legends Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson December 21, 2018

When Urban Legend unexpectedly pulled in $38 million at the domestic box office (against a $14 million budget), discussions at Columbia promptly centered around making a sequel. Talk of a follow-up began as early as when opening weekend returns came in, according to co-producer Michael McDonnell in one of the new Scream Factory interviews. McDonnell was hoping the sequel would mark his directorial debut but was beat out by the multi-talented John Ottman, whose two prior productions with Phoenix Pictures (Apt Pupil and Lake Placid) helped land him the job. Ottman would also resume his regular responsibilities of scoring and cutting the picture. The writing duties for Urban Legends: Final Cut were awarded to two USC film school graduates, Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson. According to the movie's press kit, Boardman and Derrickson's treatment was considered the best out of thirty scripts from different combinations of writers. Urban Legends received a critical drubbing when it premiered in late September 2000 but audiences still flocked as it raked in $8.5 million to debut at number one on opening weekend. The film isn't as bad as the reviews lamented but it lags a big step behind its predecessor.

Urban Legends begins much like Freddy's Dead with an airplane flight that's doomed. With the opening sequence, Ottman does a commendable job of showing the film-with-a-film. This is about a privileged group of film students at Alpine University (obviously modeled after Boardman and Derrickson's alma mater) who are producing "B" horror films at the Orson Welles Film Center. They're competing against each other for the Hitchcock Prize, a $15,000 stipend, and the front-runner to a three-picture deal at one of the Hollywood majors. Brainy, pretty blonde Amy Mayfield (Jennifer Morrison) is craving the ultimate prize but she still needs an idea for her thesis film. In the blustery cold one night, she hitches a ride with campus security guard Reese (Loretta Devine, the only returning Urban Legend cast member), who was ousted from Pendleton College because she refused to cover up the slew of campus murders there. Reese essentially gives Amy the premise of the first movie and she decides to use it for her graduating film. Amy shares her idea with film Professor Solomon (Hart Bochner), who gives his blessing and she commences work on it. Among Amy's competitors and collaborators include fellow director Toby (Anson Mount); Graham Manning (Joseph Lawrence, portraying the pampered son of a Hollywood producer), Eastern European cameraman Simon (Marco Hofschneider); lesbian boom operator Vanessa Valdeon (Eva Mendes, appearing in her third film); makeup and special-effects gurus Stan (Anthony Anderson) and Dirk (Michael Bacall); and unhappy production assistant Kevin (Derek Aasland).

Are they watching a filmed murder grounded in fiction or reality?

As in the first Urban Legend, college students start disappearing but no serious red flags of foul play are raised except by Amy. Her fellow filmmaker Travis Stark (Matthew Davis) has sunk into a depression over the C- grade he received on his thesis film. He's soon reported death by suicide but Amy and Travis's twin brother, Trevor (also played by Davis), suspect that there are larger forces at work. While in the sound studio, Amy is confronted by a darkly cloaked figure wearing an outstretched skeleton mask who goes after her. Underneath, the individual dons a fencing mask and Amy recognizes the same figure on a surveillance tape attacking one of her crew members.

Urban Legends is more of a traditional thriller than it is pure horror but Ottman includes one of the urban legends that was only briefly alluded to but unseen in the first installment. (Silvio Horta was brought back to write it.) The acting by the ensemble is uniformly not as good as the more experienced thespians in Urban Legend. Several reviewers pointed out that Loretta Devine was one of the few bright spots but I believe that her part was weakened by dumbing it down for the sequel. At an important point in the story, Reese makes a critical mistake that will cost more lives. Based on what she experienced at Pendleton, one would think she would be much more observant of any predator on the loose (she has a dozen small monitors on in her office). It's also disappointing that she's wouldn't be more heedful of warning signs that Amy informs her of. I agree completely with Margaret A. McGurk of The Cincinnati Inquirer who wrote that Devine's role "is so badly written she usually appears to be halfway off her rocker." What makes Urban Legends watchable is the relatively high production values (it had roughly the same budget as the first), Ottman's score, and his homages to other self-reflective films about murder such as Peeping Tom and Dressed to Kill. Urban Legends is to date the only movie Ottman has directed and showcases several of his estimable gifts and technical skills.

Urban Legends Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Urban Legends: Final Cut makes its North American debut on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. It appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1. This transfer seems struck from the same master that Sony originally used for its 2001 DVD. There are no major print flaws, although overall sharpness is a bit inconsistent throughout. The skin tones on the Amy and Trevor characters, for instance, are pale white. Outdoor day scenes on Alpine's campus look bright with good color delineation. Much of the film is shot at night and interiors within the studio are also dark with decent black levels. Overall, the image is kind of soft but the 2K DI is in near-mint condition. Scream has encoded the main feature at an average video bitrate of 31991 kbps.

The 98-minute feature has been given the usual twelve chapter selections.

Urban Legends Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sream supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (2689 kbps, 24-bit) and a downsampled DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (1639 kbps, 24-bit). The English sound track reproduces the dialogue pretty well but conversations are a little muted. The Chicago Tribune film critic John Petrakis described the theatrical sound track as "nice and loud." There is propulsive surround activity during the airplane sequence, with thunder and turbulence accented well on the rears. In his commentary, Ottman believes that he could have made his orchestrations louder but the score rises at the most thrilling moments and in building up suspense.

Optional English SDH are available on the main menu or via remote activation.

Urban Legends Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director John Ottman - originally recorded for the 2001 Columbia Tri-Star DVD, this feature-length track finds a very chatty Ottman describing the shooting locations, what worked and what didn't during his first film helmed behind the camera, and his approach to scoring and editing the picture. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW The Legend Continues: Urban Legends: Final Cut (17:04, 1080p) - this new featurette includes interviews with producers Gina Matthews and Michael McDonnell, executive producers Nick Osborne and Brad Luff, chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures Mike Medavoy, writer Silvio Horta, and actors Loretta Devine and Rebecca Gayheart. Each interviewee describes his or her involvement on the sequel and how it measures (or doesn't measure up) to the first film. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Actress Jessica Cauffiel (16:41, 1080p) - Cauffiel plays Sandra in Urban Legends: Final Cut and delivers a wonderful interview, detailing all her scenes and choices she made as an actor based on scene situation and camera perspective. In English, not subtitled.

• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director John Ottman (8:39, 480i) - seven excised scenes culled from interlaced video. These were also on the first DVD and are presented in non-anamorphic 2.40:1. Ottman explains their placement in the story and why they ended up on the cutting room floor. Neither the sound track or commentary is subtitled.

• Vintage Making-of Featurette (3:35, 480i) - this brief featurette offers short interview snippets with Loretta Devine, Jessica Cauffiel, John Ottman, Jennifer Morrison, Joseph Lawrence, Hart Bochner, and Anson Mount. In English, not subtitled.

• Gag Reel (4:59, 480i) - five minutes of gaffes and screw-ups.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:23, 1080i) - Columbia Tri-Star's official trailer for Urban Legends: Final Cut.

Urban Legends Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Urban Legends: Final Cut is not really a worthy sequel to Jamie Blanks's box-office smash but it's a fairly entertaining follow-up that only minimally plays on the urban legend myth. Scream Factory has delivered an above-average transfer that gets the job done but doesn't dazzle. Lossless audio fares better and the new interviews are welcome additions to go with the Ottman commentary and deleted scenes. If you're a fan of Ottman's work in general, I say go for this release. Eva Mendes fans may also be interested to see the sexy starlet in one of her first roles. RECOMMENDED to series fans.