Urban Legend (film series)

Urban Legend
Created bySilvio Horta
Original workUrban Legend (1998)
OwnerSony Pictures Entertainment
Years1998–2005
Films and television
Film(s)Urban Legend (1998)
Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
Direct-to-videoUrban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)

Urban Legend is an American horror media franchise consisting of three slasher films. The first installment was written by Silvio Horta, directed by Jamie Blanks, and released in 1998.

Films

[edit]
Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s)
Urban Legend September 25, 1998 (1998-09-25) Jamie Blanks Silvio Horta Gina Matthews, Neal H. Moritz & Michael McDonnell
Urban Legends: Final Cut September 22, 2000 (2000-09-22) John Ottman Scott Derrickson & Paul Harris Boardman Gina Matthews, Neal H. Moritz & Richard Luke Rothschild
Urban Legends: Bloody Mary June 19, 2005 (2005-06-19) Mary Lambert Dan Harris & Michael Dougherty Scott Messer, Aaron Merrell & Louis Phillips

Urban Legend (1998)

[edit]

A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.

Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)

[edit]

A film school is the center of a fresh spate of killings based on urban legends.

Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)

[edit]

On a prom-night dare, a trio of high school friends chant an incantation, unleashing an evil spirit from the past with deadly consequences.

Future

[edit]

In February 2020, a reboot of the film was announced to be in development, to be written and directed by Colin Minihan.[1] In August, Sydney Chandler, Katherine McNamara and Keith Powers were cast in the film.[2] In October 2022, Minihan revealed that the film had been cancelled due to "bad timing".[3] In the following months, Eli Roth confirmed that it was due to the studio losing interest,[4] and McNamara reported that it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Cast and crew

[edit]
Key
  • A V indicates the actor or actress lent only his or her voice for his or her film character.
  • An A indicates an appearance through archival footage or stills.
  • A Y indicates the actor portrayed the role of a younger version of the character.
  • A C indicates a cameo appearance.
  • A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.

Principal cast

[edit]
Characters Films
Urban Legend Urban Legends:
Final Cut
Urban Legends:
Bloody Mary
1998 2000 2005
Reese Wilson Loretta Devine  
Brenda Bates Rebecca Gayheart Rebecca GayheartC  
Paul Gardner Jared Leto  
Natalie Simon Alicia Witt  
Sasha Thomas Tara Reid  
Parker Riley Michael Rosenbaum  
Damon Brooks Joshua Jackson  
Dean Adams John Neville  
Professor William Wexler Robert Englund   Mentioned
Amy Mayfield   Jennifer Morrison Jennifer MorrisonA
Travis Stark
Trevor Stark
  Matthew Davis Matthew DavisA
Graham Manning   Joseph Lawrence  
Vanessa Valdeon   Eva Mendes  
Sandra Petruzzi   Jessica Cauffiel  
Toby Belcher   Anson Mount  
Stan Washington   Anthony Anderson  
Professor Solomon   Hart Bochner Mentioned
Samantha "Sam" Owens   Kate Mara
David Owens   Robert Vito
Grace Taylor   Tina Lifford
Charlene BaptistaY
Bill "Willy" Owens   Ed Marinaro
Daniel B. CulmerY
Mary Banner   Lillith Fields
Buck Jacoby   Michael Gregory Coe
Pamela "Pam" Owens   Nancy Everhard

Additional crew

[edit]
Crew/Detail Film
Urban Legend Urban Legends:
Final Cut
Urban Legends:
Bloody Mary
1998 2000 2005
Composer(s) Christopher Young John Ottman Jeff Rona
Cinematographer James Chressanthis Brian Pearson Ian Fox
Editor Jay Cassidy Rob Kobrin
John Ottman
Michelle Harrison
Production companies Original Film
TriStar Pictures
Phoenix Pictures
Original Film
Phoenix Pictures
Columbia Pictures
NPP Productions
Distributing company Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Running time 100 minutes 98 minutes 93 minutes

Reception

[edit]

Box office performance

[edit]
Film Release date Box office gross Budget Reference
North America Other
territories
Worldwide
Urban Legend September 25, 1998 $38,072,438 $34,455,157 $72,527,595 $14 million [6][7]
Urban Legends: Final Cut September 22, 2000 $21,468,807 $17,105,555 $38,574,362 $14 million [8][9]
Total $59,541,245 $51,560,712 $111,101,957 $28,000,000

Critical and public response

[edit]
Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Urban Legend 29% (66 reviews)[10] 35 (15 reviews)[11] C[12]
Urban Legends: Final Cut 10% (86 reviews)[13] 16 (25 reviews)[14] D+[12]
Urban Legends: Bloody Mary 40% (5 reviews)[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Miska, Brad (February 10, 2020). "Screen Gems is Making a New 'Urban Legend' for the Digital Age". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  2. ^ Squires, John (August 24, 2020). "'Urban Legend': Casting Begins on Reboot from Screen Gems". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Lattila, Maria (October 31, 2022). "Urban Legend reboot cancelled, director cites bad timing and politics within studio as reasons". WhyNow. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  4. ^ "Eli Roth". Post Mortem with Mick Garris. December 7, 2022. Event occurs at 42:57. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  5. ^ Nemiroff, Perri (May 9, 2023). "Katherine McNamara Offers Update on the 'Urban Legend' Reboot". Collider. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  6. ^ "Urban Legend". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  7. ^ "Urban Legend (1998) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "Urban Legends: Final Cut". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  10. ^ "Urban Legend (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  11. ^ "Urban Legend (1998)". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. [better source needed]
  13. ^ "Urban Legends: Final Cut". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "Urban Legends: Final Cut". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  15. ^ "Urban Legends: Bloody Mary". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 26, 2020.