Urban Legend
Created bySilvio Horta
Original workUrban Legend (1998)
OwnerSony Pictures Entertainment
Years1998–2005
Films and television
Film(s)
Direct-to-video

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

Films

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, Michael McDonnell and Neal H. Moritz
Urban Legends: Final Cut September 22, 2000 (2000-09-22) John Ottman Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson Gina Matthews, Neal H. Moritz and Richard Luke Rothschild
Urban Legends: Bloody Mary June 19, 2005 (2005-06-19) Mary Lambert Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris Aaron Merrell, Louis Phillips and Scott Messer

Urban Legend (1998)

Main article: Urban Legend (film)

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

Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)

Main article: Urban Legends: Final Cut

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

Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)

Main article: Urban Legends: Bloody Mary

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

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

Key

Principal cast

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

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

Reception

Box office performance

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

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Urban Legend 27% (64 reviews)[10] 35 (15 reviews)[11] C[12]
Urban Legends: Final Cut 10% (86 reviews)[13] 21 (19 reviews)[14] D+[12]
Urban Legends: Bloody Mary 40% (5 reviews)[15] — —

References

  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.
  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.
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