Parents' Guide to

Urban Legends: Final Cut

By Beth Pratt, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Don't waste your time.

Movie R 2001 98 minutes
Urban Legends: Final Cut Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

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.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (4):

This repulsive film 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."

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • 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?

Movie Details

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