Urban Legends-
Bloody Mary
(Sony Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2005)
review by Brad Caffeine

Okay, so you know all those horrible movies that have come out and gone straight to video in the past five years; The ones that are basically replicas of the SCREAM formula only they lack the same sort of vision and self-awareness that made Wes Craven’s
retro-slasher such a breath of fresh air? Well guess what? This IS NOT one of them. In fact, to my own surprise, I enjoyed the third installment of the URBAN LEGENDS franchise whole heartedly.

Since the film is indeed a direct-to-video release, and features nobody that you’ve ever heard of, I was quite surprised to stumble upon it at the local Blockbuster (“I was returning video tapes.”) At any rate, there was a damn good chance that I would skim right over this one, had it not been for it’s subtitle: BLOODY MARY. When I read that on the cover, I immediately picked the DVD up to study it further. It brought me back to fifteen or so years prior, when the whole idea of an urban legend first became understandable to me. Let me admit it here for the whole world to read, I was in fact too chicken to say “Bloody Mary” into the mirror three times after hearing the myth.

The one real downfall to the film in actuality is that it does not explore the actual Bloody Mary legend in enough detail. Really the whole urban legend only acts as the setup for what will come later in the movie. This brings up one of the most interesting assets of this film; the fact that it does in fact make itself self-aware to the obvious comparison of CANDY MAN. As we all know the movie CANDY MAN itself played with the Bloody Mary idea, only it switched it around to be a deceased drug dealer who was a black man. In every account that I know of Bloody Mary she is a Caucasian woman. Perhaps to spare themselves the horror of
reading review after review of critics passing URBAN LEGENDS: BLOODY MARY off as just a CANDY MAN rip-off, the directors were smart enough to include a bit of dialogue early in the movie where somebody points out the similarities to the film CANDY MAN, but that the Bloody Mary legend was in fact what inspired that movie.

The actual plot of the film, is perhaps not even that important in some ways. The opening of the movie portrays a girl done wrong by some sleazy high school boys, and she ends up dying, her body never found. This is Mary, get it? Flash forward twenty or so years and the ghost of Mary is pissed and wants revenge upon the children of those high school boys that wronged her. Obviously this is at least a bit of a nod to Craven’s classic A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST., but thankfully it is executed with enough style and care that it doesn’t feel like a cheesy rip-off, but really just an admiring homage to 1980’s horror in general. We then follow our present-day protagonist, Samantha and her brother David as they watch in horror as their high school buddies and enemies drop off like flies at the ghostly hands of Bloody Mary. The plot remains at a steady, fast pace and keeps you both amused and interested for the entire ride. The murders are both
imaginative and bloody as hell, which if you are a fan of said 1980’s horror, then you should feel right at home. But best of all, it isn’t until the very end of the film until you start to notice any overt influences of modern cinema. The only obviously notable comparison being THE RING, when thinking about the presentation of the materialized Bloody Mary, and how the main characters are actually attempting to right the wrong inflicted upon her. Thankfully, by the time you reach that moment in the film, you’ve had a fantastic ride, and you don’t feel as though you’ve
been cheated out of anything. (Editor’s note: “What HASN’T borrowed from THE RING?”)

All in all, URBAN LEGENDS: BLOODY MARY is a fast-paced, fun ride and is perfect for Summer time viewing. Grab a couple cold ones and cuddle with a hot one and you’re in for a good time. Extras on the disc include trailers for the first two installments in the series as well as a brief documentary, none of which are required viewing, especially when you’re dealing with such a simple, fun film like this one.