Editorials
[We Love ’90s Horror] ‘Urban Legend’ Was One of the Best Post-‘Scream’ Slasher Films in the ’90s
The ‘90s often get a bad rap with horror fans. After the numerous successful slashers and creature effects films of ‘80s, the ‘90s offered a different variety of horror fare. Though there were plenty of hits, hidden gems, and misunderstood classics, the ‘90s usually don’t get the kind of love that other decades get when it comes to horror. It’s time to change that.
When we talk about horror in the ‘90s, there is one film that dominates the conversation: Scream. Wes Craven’s meta-parody on slasher cinema made the genre accessible to both casual viewers and die-hard fans with its rapid fire assault on all the tropes audiences felt they knew about horror movies. But, for all the things Scream does right — and it does a lot right — it still maintains an air of superiority over the genre its playing in. It acts better than the films its poking fun at.
Urban Legend, which came along shortly afterwards, has a less smug approach to a similar concept: taking familiar tales — urban legends instead of horror movies — and weaving them into a whodunit teen slasher. And Urban Legend succeeds at that goal with a level of genre understanding that never teeters into mockery. Actually, Urban Legend goes further back into slasher history and takes inspiration from the giallo genre by delivering a killer masked in something ordinary. In this case, it’s a hooded parka and it’s an almost instantly iconic look.
And while Urban Legend is obviously indebted to Scream’s success — this came out two years after our first encounter with Ghostface — it doesn’t rest on its exploitation origins like other post-Scream slashers did. There’s a desire by screenwriter Silvio Horta to craft an engaging mystery and to find a good reason as to why the killer is using urban legends as an inspiration (the horror movie motive of Scream never felt like a natural part of the story). This also leads to some great kills in the film, including deaths by tire spikes, Pop Rocks and drain cleaner, and a well-executed (heh heh) hanging that’s probably the best example of bringing an urban legend to life.
And like Scream, Urban Legend is aware of its horror legacy and doesn’t shy away from it in the casting. We get a brief but memorable cameo from Brad Dourif as a stuttering gas station attendant, Danielle Harris as the goth roommate of our lead character, and Robert Englund himself plays a college professor whose class is centered around urban legends. It’s little touches like this that give horror lovers winks and nods to horror film history as opposed to Scream’s approach of shoving everything about the genre into your face.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON!
In the end, the killer is revealed to be the best friend of the lead character and it’s a nice bit of switcheroo storytelling. We’re setup to think it’s the lead character’s boyfriend — this has got to be a direct reference to Scream, right? — and the big surprise is pulled off with an image that immediately conjures up a classic moment from Halloween. Rebecca Gayheart plays the killer and she gets to crank up the crazy in the third act. She even seems to be channeling a bit of Michelle Pfeiffer from Batman Returns. This is definitely a good thing.
You might be tempted to think that this is all a backhanded way of taking Scream down a peg or two. It’s not. Scream is great but Urban Legend pulls off a lot of the same moves without needing to draw your attention to them. It’s about as old-fashioned a slasher film as you can get but with enough brains to elevate it above being another quick cash-in. Director Jamie Blanks would go on to direct the equally underloved Valentine, so it’s clear he has a respect and appreciation of the genre. That reverence goes a long way towards making Urban Legend work so well.
When it comes to the post-Scream slasher revival, Urban Legend is easily one of the best.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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