Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) Movie Review
Written By: JEH
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: John Ottman
Producers: Gina Matthews, Neal H. Moritz, Richard Luke Rothschild
Writers: Paul Harris Boardman, Scott Derrickson
Date Released: September 22, 2000
Cast:
Jennifer Morrison as Amy Mayfield
Matthew Davis as Travis Stark / Trevor Stark
Hart Bochner as Professor Solomon
Eva Mendes as Vanessa Valdeon
Loretta Devine as Reese Wilson
Joseph Lawrence as Graham Manning
Jessica Cauffiel as Sandra Petruzzi
Rating = 1.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Amy Mayfield (Jennifer Morrison) is unsure about her film thesis. But after learning about a series of murders inspired by urban legends, she finally has an idea for a film. Things are going well with the film, but strange things begin to occur. One by one, her crew members fall victim to fatal accidents and mysterious disappearances. Suspicious, Amy investigates and discovers a much more sinister hand at work. Amy must unmask the killer before she becomes the next victim of an urban legend.
Gore Factor
Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) is a slasher film that delivers decent gore when it wants to. Practical effects are believable, especially for a movie made in the early 2000s. However, after a few well-done violent scenes, the gore factor falls flat. As the movie goes on, the kills become tamer and forgettable. It makes one wonder, did they lack the budget for more gore, did they get lazy, or both?
The Grave Review
Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) is a sequel to a decent slasher film, Urban Legend (1998). It could’ve improved on the errors made by its predecessor, but it only adds to the problems of the series (and maybe the slasher genre as a whole). There is no issue in utilizing commonly-used plots and inserting horror movie tropes. However, it becomes a problem when you have nothing new to offer. The film’s predecessor offers a semi-original story, which reintroduces urban legends to the public, and manages to stand out from other slasher franchises. Unfortunately, this sequel completely misses the point and decides to blend in by playing safe.
Ironically, despite playing it safe by following Horror Scares 101, the film fails to build tension and suspense. The atmosphere is not creepy, eerie, or mysterious; it’s just confusing. Most of the time, the film relies on jump scares to hopefully build fear. However, the jump scares are not only predictable but they’re also very ineffective. Also, there are instances where the movie thinks it’s cleverly tricking the audience. But it is proven to be unsuccessful when the “twist” and “big reveal” at the end do not shock.
There are only a handful of memorable moments in the film. The first one is the infamous kidney harvesting scene, where one of the characters wake up in a tub full of ice with her kidney extracted. Another decent scene is the inclusion of Sandra’s (Jessica Cauffiel) snuff film in the crew’s demo reel. Other than these scenes, everything is just a blur.
Overall, Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) fails to impress. It will only entertain when watched with friends looking for something to laugh at while drunk. But if you’re a fan of the slasher genre and you’re looking for something new to try, watch Urban Legend (1998) instead. You can skip the sequels, Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) and Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), to save time. But if you’re still interested in watching the sequels, we won’t judge.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) one and a half graves out of five graves.
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