This “Underappreciated” 90s Slasher, Once Panned by Critics, Is Now a Streaming Hit
The slasher movies of the mid-to-late 1990s are experiencing a resurgence. The seventh Scream film is on the way very soon, featuring the return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, and I Know What You Did Last Summer just got the legacy sequel treatment with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. along for the ride.
All that, plus the rise of recent slashers that hearken back to that ’90s vibe, like Heart Eyes and Clown in a Cornfield, means that other slashers from that post-Scream boom are getting their own, however brief moments in the sun. And for proof, look at the streaming charts.
Throughout August, one late ’90s slasher movie earned some extra love from streamers, particularly over on AMC+. It might be that the Scream and IKWYDLS enthusiasm is rubbing off, or it might just be plain old nostalgia. Whatever the case, Urban Legend has been climbing the streaming charts, giving fresh attention to one of the best slashers of its era.
What’s the deal with Urban Legend?
For those who still might not know, the plot of Urban Legend is precisely what you’d expect from the title. The film follows a group of college students, led by a cast that includes Alicia Witt, Jared Leto, and Rebecca Gayheart, among others, as they become entangled in a whodunit mystery. Someone in town is murdering people in the manner of famous urban legends, and anyone could be next.
One of the reasons other late-90s slashers sometimes get stuck with a “mid” label, I think, is simply because they’re not Scream. That’s a generation-defining slasher. The films that followed it were just trying to play catch-up, but that’s no reason to count those movies out. Urban Legend, in particular, is one of my favorites of this era. It’s packed with clever kills playing on all those scary stories you used to hear in your school cafeteria. It features special guest star Robert Englund, and it all culminates in an entertaining killer reveal that allows one particular star to make a meal out of the scenery.
The film has thankflly undergone a positive reassessment in recent years, with critic Jim Vorel at Paste even calling it “An underappreciated piece of top-tier popcorn entertainment from the late 1990s.”
So, is Urban Legend as good as Scream? Probably not, but few slasher movies are. Is it still a movie worth your time, especially if you’re looking for that ’90s vibe? Absolutely. As Dread Central’s Tyler Doupé noted last year, it’s one of those slashers that was unfairly panned by critics at the time, but just keeps finding its audience.
Categorized: News
