Urban Myths (2017)

**_A group of high school seniors travel to a haunted burial ground in Michigan_**

This is an indie costing under $500,000 with the daughter of Gene Simmons and son of Lou Ferrigno appearing in peripheral roles while Joe Estevez and Courtney Gains show up for bit parts. Yet the bulk of the movie focuses on the six teenagers and their adventures during Spring Break to investigate some local myths they’ve been researching in class.

It’s an odd cabin-in-the-woods flick in that it concentrates on these six youths as their fun journey is one of self-discovery and potential horror. The acting of the six is convincing and you feel like you get to know them as they check out an abandoned infamous house, stay at a remote cabin, and explore the old Indian burial grounds. It’s sorta like live-action Scooby-Doo, but without the dog, except that the film goes heavier with themes of family challenges, friendship, coming-of-age, sisterhood, light versus darkness, love and loss.

The horror element is tame, so aficionados who want buckets of gore, nudity and sex should steer clear. I respect the way it balks at these supposed horror conventions. Still, there is a spooky ambiance and some thrills. Are the goings-on a big prank or is the sinister factor real? You won’t find out until the final ten minutes.

A critic argued that miscellaneous bits don’t congeal with the story, but they’re there for a reason if you pay attention.

I shouldn’t fail to mention how petite Kaya Rosenthal is a pleasure on the feminine front as winsome blonde Lizzy. Meanwhile there’s an awesome song on the soundtrack, “Heartbeat” by Beckah Shae, which plays at the midpoint as well as during the closing credits.

Limitedly released days before Halloween 2017, it runs 1h 34m and was shot in the heart of Michigan in Gladwin, as well as 2 hours’ drive southeast of there in Troy, which is a 25 minutes’ drive northwest of Detroit.

GRADE: B-