Boo! Check out these movies with creepy urban legends
We’ve heard of the witch who lives in the woods, the drifter who snatches children, the man who visits lovers lane but does not go there to hook up. Just a few years ago, Slender Man opened up in theaters after a “long and winding road to the box office”. There were multiple release date changes with a largely absent marketing campaign.
The story followed a gripping character, a long, spindly humanlike figure who stalks, abducts, and traumatizes people. His favorite people are children. Between the babysitter and the man upstairs, the killer clown. Perhaps, you’ve come across The Bunny Man, or the Black-eyed children. There’s a story about a killer who secretly spent the night beneath a girl’s bed while licked her hand, pretending to be her dog.
There’s the skeleton in a tree story, Cropsey who was an escaped mental patient who lived in an abandoned building that used to be an asylum with a shocking history. American Horror Story did their own portrayal of the institution. We’re sure you’ve heard of more but the bottom line is there are many urban legends we’ve all heard over the years. It’s not surprising that movies have taken a liking to them.
2021 is going by fast and Halloween is right around the corner. We don’t have to watch the same scary movies over and over again, broaden your horizons. These are some great movies with blood-curdling urban legends!
Candyman (1992)
With Candyman (2021) living in the headlines right now, some of us remember the original movie back in the early nineties. We met Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen). She was a skeptical graduate student along with her friend Anne-Marie McCoy (Vanessa Williams). While doing a thesis on urban legends, they’re researching superstitions in a housing project on Chicago’s Near North Side.
Helen learned about the Candyman, a hook-wielding figure of urban legend. He was the son of a slave who endured a brutal murder involving honey. It was believed that the Candyman was responsible for a recent murder. When a mysterious man matching Candyman’s description begins stalking Helen, she fears that the legend may in fact be reality.
Deathdream (1974)
Also known as the Dead of Night, Deathdream follows a soldier who dies in battle but soon is willed back to life by the pleas of his mother. Out of all these movies with urban legends, Deathdream is a Canadian cult classic.
Once the soldier Andy (Richard Backus) is brought back to life, he’s not the same person he used to be. He’s even aware that he’s now the living dead. He needs blood to stop his decaying, and as his ghoulish ways continue, his family crumbles around him.
The Tag-Along (2015)
The Tag-Along is a Taiwanese blockbuster based on the legend of the little girl in red. She loved to follow whoever visited the forest and snatch their souls away. In the film, the little girl in red haunts a young professional man and his family, after they crossed paths with the girl in the woods. Slowly, she pulls the family over into the spirit realm.
We’re not going to lie to you. You’ll probably find the graphics a little poor, but the movie is still filled with some great jump scares. The movie’s apparent anti-abortion, and anti-career message for women gives us a rather intriguing look to consider Taiwanese myth and cultural norms. Your timing will be great given the current political climate. Plus, you’ll be learning through horror!
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Tell us your favorite movies with urban legends or just your favorite creepy stories! We’d love to hear them!
