Urban Legend

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2:20

Urban Legend

R

1998

1h 35m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

31%

Tomatometer

67 Reviews

38%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

A university is beset by a rash of gruesome murders that resemble old urban legends. When her friend Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) is killed by someone hiding in her car, Natalie (Alicia Witt) begins to notice the pattern. Her suspicions grow stronger when her own roommate is strangled to death. Soon the quiet college campus is transformed into hunting grounds for a maniac, and Natalie struggles to find the killer and stop the bloodshed before she becomes the next victim.

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Critics Consensus

Elements of Scream reappear in a vastly inferior vehicle.

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Apr 25, 2003

2/4

Like Frankenstein's monster before the lightning strikes, it's all recycled cold flesh and bolts, without a twitch of originality.

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Kim Newman

Sight & Sound

Mar 3, 2002

Manages somehow to be rather endearing.

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Bob Heisler

Los Angeles Times

Feb 14, 2001

1/5

A low-voltage drive-in movie, made strictly by the book.

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Jordy Sirkin

Jordy Reviews It

Feb 5, 2026

It is certainly not the greatest slasher to have come out in the 90s, but it definitely doesn’t get enough love, in my opinion.

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Josh Winning

Radio Times

Oct 25, 2024

3/5

Urban Legend deserves its place in the pantheon of pulse-raising 90s popcorn slashers.

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

Aug 14, 2024

3.5/5

Urban Legend lacks captivating characters, but it does deliver on the promise of its premise by packing in a good amount of urban legend-related deaths. Props for encasing some of these urban legends in a piece of culture that may outlive the legends.

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Timothy T.

@tntompkins27 May 31, 2026

She really just had a whole ass power point presentation ready for her evil villain reveal monologue

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Alex D.

@RT24918759 May 24, 2026

The urban legends in this movie are scary but the when we find out who the villain is the acting is really good

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Pedro Henrique C

@Pedro2005 May 21, 2026

Urban Legend (1998) This movie is a mix of several others in the teen horror genre. It manages to be entertaining, but it's nothing special.

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Charles T.

@CharlesGaming1000 Apr 3, 2026

This movie is a good time good shots scary scenes pretty tense movie to me loved it!

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Gabriel S

@Sanarel Nov 15, 2025

I just had the opportunity of rewatching the slasher classic Urban Legend from 1998, and it was somewhat worth it. Movies were simpler back then, straightforward and predictable, but entertaining. The story follows some teens at an university where one seemingly random murder happens, but then a series of events leads Natalie and Paul to believe a serial killer is on the loose. It is your classic who/whydunit shameless and bare. Simplistic as it sounds, Urban Legend spanwed a franchise. Yup, on the same trend as I Know What You Did Last Summer — a nice book, by the way —, Urban Legend ended up spawning the Urban Legends series, so you know what to wait for here. Urban Legend is like Scream, but without trying to ethernalize a masked killer. Like most cult classics, this movie is funny and entertaining and mostly flawed, but you love to hate it. If you want a nostalgic slasher vibe, this one should be on your list.

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Liam D

@Mediawatcher2003 Oct 20, 2025

One of the better scream ripoffs thanks to an talented cast and an really cool gimmick with the killer’s way of slaughter but it falls down the slasher movie cliches of a group of characters that aren’t interesting or likeable and an very obvious twist

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Jamie Blanks

Director

Jared Leto

Paul Gardener

Alicia Witt

Natalie Simon

Rebecca Gayheart

Brenda Bates

Michael Rosenbaum

Parker Riley

Loretta Devine

Reese Wilson

Urban Legend: Official Clip - Killer Car Chase

2:27

Now Playing

Urban Legend: Official Clip - Chased by the Killer Tara Reid Scene

2:27

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Bloody Parking Garage Kill

2:05

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Killer in the Car

2:23

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Tortured by the Killer

3:23

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Pop Rocks Poisoning

2:24

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Sexy Goths Must Die

2:29

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Attacked in the Car

1:51

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Brutal Hanging

2:28

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Urban Legend: Official Clip - Bloody Corpse in the Killer's Car

1:32

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TRAILER

for I Know What You Did Last Summer

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Urban Legend: Trailer 1

2:20

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Synopsis

A university is beset by a rash of gruesome murders that resemble old urban legends. When her friend Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) is killed by someone hiding in her car, Natalie (Alicia Witt) begins to notice the pattern. Her suspicions grow stronger when her own roommate is strangled to death. Soon the quiet college campus is transformed into hunting grounds for a maniac, and Natalie struggles to find the killer and stop the bloodshed before she becomes the next victim.

Director: Jamie Blanks
Producer: Gina Matthews, Michael McDonnell, Neal H. Moritz
Screenwriter: Silvio Horta
Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Columbia Tristar
Production Co: Original Film, Phoenix Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 25, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $38.1M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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