Urban Legends: Final Cut

This nonsequel of mayhem and murder (only one character has returned) is as dull as it is grisly. It thumps its own chest for using a movie within a movie—and urban legend within an urban legend—gimmick, and then never commits to being a straight slasher flick or a parody. The confusion is lethal for actors and audience alike. As film students at a New England university compete for a prestigious Hitchcock Award given to the best filmed thesis, a serial killer stalks casts and crews. The film’s obvious heroine (Jennifer Morrison, the ghost in Stir of Echoes), reacts as if she’s never seen a splatter flick before let alone knows how to make one. Directed by editor (The Usual Suspects) and composer (The Cable Guy) John Ottman.