I was trepidacious about seeing this one; the first underwhelmed me (though I loved the ending, and thought Rebecca Gayheart had great fun camping it up as a Southern Gothic bimbo). Mostly because Joshua Jackson had so little to do (he was funny in the opening, post-credits scene), and Alicia Witt was so obviously miscast as the "good" girl heroine. Please, that chick has [w]itch villain written all over her. She survived several seasons of Cybil, didn't she?
Basically, the reason I went was that a) I see most horror movies and b) it was directed by a gay guy. Not to stereotype, but I do think there's a certain affinity between gay guys and scream queens, dating from the repressed heroines (one lesbian) of the Haunting maybe, or probably further back. Gothic and gay goes together well, and the director of this one definitely brings a certain sensibility to the film.
One, the campus (an eerily modern one in Canada, but made of stone and concrete to look sort of like an old castle) truly has a feeling of fear for people wandering alone at night (which of course they often do). It's surrounded by woods and a lake, and offers easy access to both subterranean tunnels and a spooky belltower/musuem. What else do you need, really?
Second, the actors are good to look at, and not that bad. The guy playing male hunk Travis/Trevor is pretty sorry, but the main female and her friends are reasonably adept at drama and comedy, and we've also got some interesting lesser male cameos from Joey Lawrence (as the cynical Hollywood type at this film school) and Marco Hofschneider of Europa Europa, (as the suave and horny foreign cinematographer). Both have a penchant for shiny black leather, adding a layer or two to their pretty boy appearance. The adult presence in the film is provided by campus mentor Hart Bochner, a handsome rogue who holds a special fascination for me in these sorts of films ever since Apartment Zero.
Third, director Ottman makes some unusual choices. His camera follows the men as much as the women, especially in an unusual sex scene that shocked the audience I was in by showing the man's buttocks (nude) before showing the woman's (still in panties). Yes, people are still ridiculously easy to shock, and all it takes is treating a guy like a sex object, apparently. One supporting player is openly lesbian, rebuffing male advances and apparently with an unexpressed crush on the lead Amy.
Loretta Divine is funny (if pretty ineffective) as the security guard fired after the debacle of the first film and rehired by this new campus. Her obssesion with Foxy Brown is hilarious and right on the money, if a distraction from her police work. The gore factor is not too high, and the killer (while pretty predictable in action; apparently fencing masks work as well as Bill Shatner's face or hockey masks to engender terror) is not revealed until a series of red herrings are debunked. The ending is especially clever, really several endings in one. Though the movie mentions Hitchcock repeatedly, the real thefts seem to be more from Brian DePalma and the Scream films. This movie is like a better version of Scream 2, but not really as good as Screams 1 or 3.
Product DetailsOriginal Title:Urban Legends - Final CutActors: Hart Bochner - Jennifer Morrison - Joseph Lawrence - Loretta Devine - Matthew DavisCon...More at iNetVideo.com
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