Common Sense Media Review
By Kat Halstead
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Clever touches among stereotypes in violent teen horror.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Urban Legend
What's the Story?
In URBAN LEGEND, the students of Pendleton University find themselves at the mercy of a serial killer, who uses urban legends as inspirations for their attacks. Smart student Natalie (Alicia Witt) loses someone close to her and starts to make connections between the current killings and the 25th anniversary of the Stanley Hall Massacre—which most people think is an urban legend of its own. As she teams up with college paper reporter Paul (Jared Leto) to try and find out the truth, they must figure out who's doing this—and who they can trust—before their friends, including Damon (Joshua Jackson), Sasha (Tara Reid), and Brenda (Rebecca Gayheart), fall victim to slayings.
Is It Any Good?
This has all the hallmarks of a 1990s teen horror that will appeal to fans, and the urban legend angle adds even more familiarity, but there are also stereotypes and missed opportunities here. Urban Legend is smart in playing into the kinds of stories we pass through generations, friendship groups, and these days social media. As they begin, many viewers will recognize the set-ups and sit back to wait for the gory ending. The deaths come one by one and each checks off a different legend that many viewers will have at least some recollection of. It gives the movie an anthology feel and the film also pays homage to the genre by featuring Robert Englund (AKA Freddy Kreuger) in a supporting role, and you couldn't pick a cast more synonymous with teen hits of the 1990s—Witt (Cybill), Leto (My So-Called Life), Reid (American Pie), Jackson (Dawson's Creek). It's not exactly genre-defining stuff, and it definitely relies on stereotypes as a shorthand during the individual stories, but there's a level of nostalgia that will appeal now, decades on, and newcomers may still find enough to like to make this worth a watch.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the concept of stories passed on in Urban Legends. What could some of the dangers be in treating stories passed on between people as fact? Can you think of other examples in life where stories are passed on and believed to be true? How can you tell fact from fiction?
How does the movie pay homage to the horror genre more widely? Does it use any tropes of the genre? Why do you think it appeals to fans to see in-jokes or things they recognise in a film? Could it be considered a way of bringing people together?
Talk about the film's violence. Was it shocking? Thrilling? Both? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?
Discuss the strong language used in the movie. What did it contribute to the movie? Is a certain kind of language expected in a film like this?
Talk about how sex and relationships were portrayed in the film. Was it affectionate? Respectful? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
Movie Details
- In theaters : September 25, 1998
- On DVD or streaming : February 23, 1999
- Cast : Alicia Witt , Jared Leto , Rebecca Gayheart
- Director : Jamie Blanks
- Studio : TriStar Pictures
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 99 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : horror violence/gore, language and sexual content.
- Last updated : October 5, 2026
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