Wes Craven’s Scream was a cultural phenomenon that redefined what a slasher could be, exciting audiences with its self-referential edge, leading to a wave of imitators. As a fresh and clever take on horror movie stylings, it’s no surprise that filmmakers attempted to replicate its success, with a notorious ripoff hitting theaters on September 25, 1998.

Though Scream borrowed from earlier slashers like Halloween and Craven’s New Nightmare, later imitators were far less subtle, often copying its tone and structure outright. Yet one film, despite blatantly riding Scream’s coattails, managed to carve its own charm, and 27 years later, it’s still a ripoff we can’t help but love.

Urban Legend Was Dismissed As A Scream Ripoff In 1998

Urban Legend was a slasher directed by Jamie Blanks and written by Silvio Horta, and it clearly drew inspiration from Scream. With a cast full of H๏τ up-and-coming stars like Jared Leto and Tara Reid, this was an obvious attempt to cash in on the appeal of Craven’s movie and benefit from the recent popularity of these kinds of horror films.

While Urban Legend differentiated itself from Scream with a thin premise surrounding a killer who modeled their murders after popular urban legends, critics at the time felt this was enough to give it a distinct idenтιтy. Reviewers weren’t shy about making this comparison, with Betsy Sherman of The Boston Globe dismissing it outright as a “vapid Scream rip-off.”

The New York Times was kinder to Urban Legend and said it was a “teenage moviegoer’s dream” while praising its edgy humor but also commented on the danger of “an oversaturation of Scream-inspired horror films someday soon.” Urban Legend wasn’t the only film critics compared to Scream, as I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Faculty faced similar scrutiny.

Urban Legend’s Scream Comparisons Aren’t The Full Story

There’s no denying that Urban Legend owed a lot to the influence of Scream, but there’s more to this film than just that, and there’s a reason it’s still being discussed nearly three decades later. The concept of a killer turning legends into reality was a clever one, and this elevated the film’s premise into something larger than a simple knock-off.

Featuring a standout cast of rising 1990s stars, Urban Legend is a fun movie to revisit, and it channels the best aspects of Scream’s meta humor and parody style. With a college campus as its setting, the way a mysterious killer was eliminating students one by one gave this film an engaging whodunit appeal.

The most striking thing about revisiting Urban Legend on its 27th anniversary is just how underrated the movie is. While other 1990s slashers like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer have remained at the forefront of public consciousness, it feels like Urban Legend got left behind and somehow lost out on achieving more prominent cult movie status.

Urban Legend’s Car Backseat Scene Is Particularly Effective

A prime example of Urban Legend’s underappreciated greatness was its opening scene, which tackled the myth of ‘the killer in the back seat.’ With a young university student decapitated in the backseat of her car by a mysterious killer, the filmmakers didn’t waste any time getting straight to the gore.

With an atmospheric setup that evoked classic scenes, such as Drew Barrymore’s murder at the beginning of Scream, this first kill laid the groundwork for everything that was to follow and ensured audiences were hooked into its premise. While it’s easy to criticize the campy dialogue and over-the-top performances, nobody can deny the impact of this scene.

Urban Legend Has Become Something Of A Hidden Gem

While the Scream comparisons might mean some viewers actively avoid Urban Legend, they’d be doing themselves a disservice, as it’s the perfect choice for slasher movie lovers who feel like they’ve seen everything. Urban Legend even features appearances from horror icons like Freddy Krueger’s Robert Englund and Chucky’s Brad Dourif.

Tackling everything from the idea that drinking soda with Pop Rocks could be ᴅᴇᴀᴅly to the myth that the song “Love Rollercoaster” featured a real murder, those with a genuine love for real urban legends will find a lot to enjoy. Urban Legend packs in so many references and allusions that it’s hard to catch them all in just one viewing.

Urban Legend Has A Legacy Of Its Own

To the uninformed viewer, Urban Legend might at first appear to be a forgotten 1990s release without much enduring legacy, but it was actually followed by two sequels: Urban Legends: Final Cut from 2000 and the direct-to-video film Urban Legends: Bloody Mary in 2005. Both were panned by critics, and that’s where the franchise came to an end.

However, the renewed appreciation of Urban Legend means that the film might follow in Scream’s footsteps once again, as there has been talk of a reboot. It was announced in 2020 that a reboot was in development, although this was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s only now in 2025 that this discussion has been reignited.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Urban Legend might return, as Sony is in early development of a new film with Shanrah Wakefield hired to write the script and Gary Dauberman to produce. While plot details are under wraps, reports state the new Urban Legend would examine what urban legends look like in the digital age.

Source: The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter