Shudder Day: Urban Legend (1998)

 After a semi-revival of '90s Slasher Films in the last few years (like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer), let's look back at a forgotten one that came out too...

In the Opening Scene, a lady (who really shouldn't sing on camera) is killed after leaving a Gas Station.

The Owner- Brad Dourif- tries to warn her, but fails (due to his stutter).

She's killed via axe to the neck (which somehow doesn't make the moving car crash).

At Pendleton College, the death sends shockwaves through the students, in spite of the Dean (John Neville) trying to suppress the news.

All of our Leads just happen to be taking a Class on Urban Legends, taught by Robert Englund.

Will this somehow play into the one murder we saw so far that was based on one?

It does!

A mysterious killer is trying to recreate the various ones that perpetuated society before Snopes went around ruining things.

Hook hand killer by a tree?  Gangs flashing lights for a hit?  Roommate killed while the lights were out?
All here.

Our Final Girl (Alicia Witt from Dune and Twin Peaks) is hiding a secret and also kind of has the hots for Jared Leto here.

Will she survive Morbin' Time?

The kills escalate (especially in Act 3) and the Plot thickens.

Why is the killer targeting (but also not Witt)?
Is her dark secret the reason?

Or did the killer just want them to stop making American Pie Films?

It was the first one.

Witt was riding with her friend and they accidentally caused an accident that killed her buddy's boyfriend.

Said girl went crazy, killed a dozen people and...lived to kill again in a different School?

Wow- dark Ending, my man!

A Film that is honestly pretty good, even if it is just my soft spot for these kinds of Films.

This one has a decent gimmick and a nice Cast of dead meats (and Genre Legends).
They also commit to the mystery of who the killer is pretty well.

Some of the jokes and references will probably fly past viewers who didn't follow '90s Culture though.  That Dawson's Creek joke, for instance.

As a whodunnit, the Film is honestly pretty fair.  You can't always say that about these Films.

The kills have a pretty visceral thrill to them and some nice variety.  Maybe it is just watching 6 Scream Films that made me tired of knife stabbings, I guess.

Was this good enough to spawn a Sequel and a spin-off (see below)?  I guess making 5 times your Budget says yes (even if a Reboot was cancelled in 2020).

While this is mostly just Scream with sprinkles on it, they are fun sprinkles all the same.

A Film that will feel very familiar in the best and worst ways.  That said, you can do far worse as far as Slasher Films go.