Urban Legends - Final Cut
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Movie Reviews of Urban Legends - Final Cut
Movie Review: A Very Good Sequel
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is an excellent follow-up to the original "Urban Legend".
The story centers around several film production students who attend the prestigious Alpine University film school; called "the best film school in the world" by one of the school's professors. Travis, the school's top student, has just turned in a sub-par thesis film for which he receives a low grade. Amy Mayfield (Jennifer Morrison) has decided to do her thesis film about a fictional campus serial killer who kills his victims by using urban legends. She brings her idea before her film professor and he seems to think that its an excellent idea. Both Amy and Travis are vying for the all-important Hitchcock film award, which carries a $15,000 prize and a virtual guarantee of a Hollywood film career.
Amy begins working on her project, and all seems to be going well initially until, mysteriously, students begin to turn up missing and, eventually, dead. The students have been killed by using urban legends, just as Amy has in her film. Additionally, Travis has killed himself in despair over his low grade, but someone stole Travis' original film and took credit for themselves.
Meanwhile, Trevor, Travis' twin brother, has come to Alpine to help solve Travis' death. Trevor doesn't believe that Travis killed himself, so, with Amy's help, the two begin searching for answers. Meanwhile, more students have been killed by the serial killer. Will Travis and Amy solve the murders before the killer reaches them?
This is a surprisingly good movie. The plot is excellent and it keeps you guessing right up to the end as to who the killer is. There are several suspects revealed throughout the film, but the killer's identity isn't revealed until the end. It was fun for me trying to figure out who the killer was. Of course, no horror movie would be complete without blood and guts, and this movie has plenty of both.
I recommend this movie very highly. No one is safe and everyone is a suspect. The story is well-conceived and the viewer will be kept guessing until the shocking conclusion.
Movie Review: Superior Sequel
Summary: 4 Stars
I was perhaps a little too hard on the first when I reviewed it. When compared to the "I know" movies it seems much better but this sequel rocks.
Although not completely different from all the other teen (read actors in late 20s/early 30s) slasher flicks out there Urban Legend 2 seems to be fresher than I had expected. I was pleasantly surprised.
The whole execution of the plot and the action seems to be a great deal more light-hearted and realistic. The photography and the setting looks very good on the big screen and the lead heroine is easy on the eye. She's way more talented and attractive than other scream queens. Not that I want to typecast her.
The identity of the bad guy was a mystery all the way thru for me and the way John Ottman makes us point the finger at a number of different characters was done whole lot better and way more subtler than Wes Craven. And none of the characters were annoying or irritating as they normally are in this sub-genre. Though Anthony Anderson as a camp film student was pushing it a bit too much.
The humor was also spot-on. There wasn't much I didn't laugh at that I was supposed to and it didn't spoil the intense atmosphere. The way the film was self-aware and in-jokey without becoming a parody was WAY more convincing and pleasing than any of the Scream movies. And the film students who refer to other movies and movie making was the kind of gimmick Scream 2 and Scream 3 could have benefited from if it were done properly.
The presence of Joey Laurence just made a good movie even better. If you liked or hated the first I seriously do recommend this sequel to you as it way superior. The only gripe would be the lack of Chris Young's original score
The DVD is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. There are a bunch of extras for those who care.
Movie Review: Not bad for a teen slasher sequel
Summary: 4 Stars
I know I am probably going to be a minority on this but it is one of the better sequel teen slasher features. It's rare that in this genre that you have a film that is better than its predecessor. In the past only two real benchmarks really approached this threshold, Halloween came close to bettering the original with Halloween 2. Also Nightmare on Elm Street 3 became very memorable as it started the "Dream Trilogy" which shot Freddy to the top and is still considered one of the better horror trilogies. There were even some moments in the Friday the 13th series that topped the original. In that series the budget got bigger on each film and that could be the soul reason for the longevity of the series. Don't get me wrong UL2 is predictable and has some awesome scenes coupled with some real dumb ones But it's the cast and the fresh faces that breathe new life into a stuffy genre. I always hated the slasher films where they use guest appearances to further the series. (ie: The Scream Trilogy) I also liked the fact that this film did do its best to stand on its own and not appear as a sequel. Throughout the whole film there were only 2 scenes that connected it to the first. In the Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers series it was always the same guy slicing and dicing. Scream had the same mask and the killer was always related to somebody in the previous film. UL2 breaks new ground there also because it doesn't follow that trend.
If you are a slasher genre fan and love the tension, UL2 is a must. Just the kidney bathroom scene is worth the admission for horror lovers. If you need a psychological thriller where you use a lot of brain cells to keep you guessing then UL2 may feel flat. Check your brain at the door, embrace the talents of some new actors and watch the movie.
Movie Review: "Final Cut" Better Than Most
Summary: 4 Stars
The horror scene is filmed and finished. There is no where left to go, run, hide, nor scream for a slasher film nowadays. It is good to see it go, but it was fun while it lasted. That's why I believe that "Urban Legends: Final Cut" should be the "final" slasher film because it goes out on top. It is a sequel but it stands on its own. The scares are scary and the intense sequences are present. It is called Urban Legends, but the killer doesn't knock-off his or their victims with legends. So what's the point of the title? The movie within a movie is called "Urban Legends". So you see that this sequel isn't a remake of the first and only has a supporting character of the original return. It doesn't rip-off any ideas the first had and it becomes, by the end, better than most of this genre and mainly,its original. Although the whole "movie within a movie" concept was filled to the top of the glass by "Scream 2" and "Scream 3", this doesn't exactly focus on it. It focuses on the whodunit and the results are pretty snappy. To top that, the score is really good compared to others of its kind. The score to "Scream" is haunting and beautiful,and untouchable. Until now. This score challenges it. Over all, "Final Cut" is not as bad as most expect. It is just a good little film with clever highlights and interesting characters...although Amy Mayfield is no Sidney Prescott.Movie Review: Legends Never Die
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw the Urban Legend a couple of years ago, and I only just saw Urban Legends: Final Cut. I thought it was pretty good for a sequel, and you don't NEED to see the first one to get it, just like you don't NEED to see the second one if you've seen the first.Basic plot line: A girl named Amy has decided to do her College Thesis Film on Urban Legends, after hte idea was planted in her head by security cop Reese, who was one of the survivors from the first, played by Loretta Devine.
After the school's star pupil Travis is found dead, everyone assumes it was suicide. But after Amy and her film crew see soemone else's film, which shows one of the actors in Amy's movie getting horribly stabbed, Amy begins to get a little worried. After seeing her Director of Photography die on CCTV, Amy realises that the movie she had seen was in fact a snuff movie, she and Travis' twin Trevor begin to investigate. Soon, more and more of the crew die and the movie comes to the end, where there is a chilling shot of UL2's killer in a Mental Institution, being pushed in a wheel-chair by the killer from Urban Legend, who of course, was still alive.
The music was excellent, acting average, and some of the dialogue just didn't sound like the language students at a College would use.
Overall, I recommend to see both Urban Legend and Urban Legends: Final Cut, and see which one you like better for yourself.