“Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!”
The death of her would-be husband at the hands of two young ladies recreating an urban legend is all the motivation that Brenda Bates needs to recreate a few urban legends herself in 1998’s aptly titled Urban Legend. While the film definitely one of the weaker entries in the 1990s slasher revival spearheaded by Scream, no one can argue with the fact that Brenda is one of the most bat-slappy slashers from that era.
Brenda’s killing spree starts with one of the oldest and most basic of urban legends: the stranger in the backseat of the car. From there, each kill gets a bit more dramatic and a bit more over-the-top. Theft of one’s kidney, a hanging death unwittingly caused by an innocent person, and even eating Pop Rocks and drinking a Coke are some of the urban legends that Brenda Bates reenacts.
Brenda conceals her identity by wearing a hooded winter coat and a black mask. She also enjoys toting around an axe and utilizes it when necessary.
Brenda is portrayed by Rebecca Gayheart in the film. In all honesty, had any other actress taken on the role, Brenda would most likely have been a very dull villain. Gayheart, however, sells the completely bonkers Brenda with zeal! She delivers not only the best performance in the film, but one of the best crazed killer performances of all time in my opinion. Had the film been just a bit better, I’m sure that Brenda would have had a much longer on-screen life because, spoiler alert, she doesn’t die at the end of the film!
Unfortunately for us, however, both of the sequels to Urban Legend, Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) and Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), don’t bring Brenda back as the gorgeously goofy killer. Instead, the second film introduces a new urban legend-themed killer and the third film goes full blown supernatural. To its credit, the first sequel does give us a Brenda cameo, but I’d love to see her return as the primary antagonist in a future film. At this time, no plans are being made for a reboot, remake, or new sequel in the franchise.
Thanks for checking out today’s Revenge Of The Slashers entry. I have an extra sweet slasher planned for tomorrow!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 