| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this movie feautures a costumed killer who stalks and chases his victims. Several jump scenes--the killer suddenly appears, bodies fall unexpectedly from the ceiling. Bloody messages on mirrors and walls. Frequent extreme profanity throughout. Every character acts questionably, from the murderer who kills many students to Amy, who insists on investigating the murders alone at night. Several characters drink and smoke. Frequent sexual references, ranging from sexually transmitted diseases to porno movies. A couple on an airplane decide to enter the "mile high club," and the man performs oral sex on the woman. In a dream, Trevor and Amy have sex--his nude rear and her back are visible. Several close-ups of a realistic-looking naked female mannequin. Blood galore. A woman's kidney is removed, then eaten by a dog. When she tries to get away, the killer pulls apart her open wound and decapitates her. Characters are stabbed, bludgeoned, pickaxed, shot, knifed, electrocuted, and hanged. A fake dead dog hangs with its intestines hanging out, plus several dismembered plastic babies.
This slasher sequel gets rolling when film student Amy (Jenny Morrison) chooses a horror film about urban legends for her final project. But a masked killer haunts the set, and, one by one, members of Amy's cast and crew are brutally murdered. The survivors must uncover the identity of the killer before it's too late.
It's fairly obvious why the creators of Urban Legend would make a sequel: To capitalize on the success of the first movie and to push cinematic violence and gore to a new level. Whether or not they meet the first goal remains to be seen, but they can easily claim victory on the second point--even a seasoned horror movie fan hid her eyes during the revolting kidney-removal scene.
URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT blatantly borrows from just about every popular horror movie that's come before. As Scary Movie demonstrated, spoofing tired plots and clichéd characters from the horror genre can be amusing. Unfortunately, these inexperienced actors take their shallow characters far too seriously and play them straight--which caused some teens to roar with laughter during some of the most "suspenseful" scenes. Cinema buffs will appreciate the many movie references, but many won't be amused by poorly executed respects paid to Hitchcock classics. A seventeen-year-old slasher movie fanatic groaned during the requisite killer confession scene. He and his girlfriend agreed that the character's motivation for brutally murdering so many people was "incredibly lame and unbelievable."
Families can talk about what makes a good horror film. Does more gore always mean a better film, or can suspense be just as scary?
| Studio: | Columbia Tristar |
| Director: | John Ottman |
| Cast: | Eva Mendes, Jennifer Morrison, Matt Davis |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 98 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | June 26, 2001 |
| DVD release date: | June 26, 2001 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | violence, language, and some sexuality |