This comes in the wave of all the Scream rip-offs,clones and what not but it's still pretty enjoyable.It's got a good,hip cast,a cool setting,has some interesting death scenes and a premise I really dug.A killer using Urban Legends to kill off students is right up my alley.
The Plot:It's fall semester at Pendleton University where according to an Urban Legend,a massacre occurred long ago.Supposedly a professor went crazy and wiped out a whole dormitory.Paul(Jared Leto) insists the story is fake but Parker(Michael Rosembaum) disagrees.The students are exposed to more urban Legends in their American Folklore class where Professor Wexler(Robert Englund) reveals the truth behind some of the more common Urban Legends.Soon after word spreads on campus that a student has been murdered and the students,in particular Natalie(ALicia Witt) believe a serial killer is loose on campus and is making these Urban Legends reality.For some reason Natalie is right in the center of all this.
Of course the film soon turns into a whodunit ,where at certain points we believe it could be one of a few candidates.Sad for me to say that I didn't see the twist coming and I was wrong about the killer.It was nowhere near as intelligent a film as Scream was but still it was fun.The film has quite a few cool scenes,the opening scene which tackles the urban Legend to always check your backseat before driving is done really well and gets you jumping a few times ,it also features a cameo from chuck himself...Brad Douriff.Another part I always got a kick out of is when Damon(Joshua Jackson of Dawsons creek fame) is taking Natalie out and his car won't start..it finally does and Paula Coles theme song from Dawsons Creek "I don't wanna wait" blasts on the radio for a second.Adding more excitement is Freddy Kreuger himself as Professor Wexler.While not on screen that much Englund is stellar as a professor who may be a bit to much into these urban legends.I also really enjoyed the aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights urban legend segment.
Acting:The acting was average at best and despite having many teens I thought most were able to come across somewhat likable. Also it had so many notables that I was able enjoy seeing some of these names before they made it somewhat big.Alicia Witt(what happened to her?)Rebecca Gayheart(Noxzema girl) is beautiful,Danielle Harris of Halloween fame playing the super bitchy goth is a trip.We also have Jared Leto(now lead singer of 30 seconds to mars)Tara Reid(pre-messed up surgeries),Brad Douriff,Michael Rosenbaum(Smallville) and Joshua Jackson(Dawsons Creek).Also Loretta Devine and John Neville.
Gore:Most of the gore happened off screen and despite that it really didn't take away anything from the film.
Rewatchablity: 7...Every once and a while when I feel like popping a 90s styled teen slasher besides Scream,this is the one I go for.
Closing:It was a cool concept that was done fairly well,managing to keep a decent level of tension throughout despite a few shortcomings in character development.It's still a fun watch.
7.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment