Part of the thriller/sci-fi genre, this film centers around a student who is seemingly obsessed with urban myths such as the Jersey Devil, UFOs, and aliens. While sometimes mistaken for horror, the thriller/sci-fi genre has done through its own four stages.
While not technically a film (well, there was one horrible film made of it), The Twilight Zone was an excellent entry into the thriller/sci-fi genre. Episodes such as "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" perfectly establish what the genre was supposed to be. Often there is a single protagonist who experiences some kind of supernatural entity. Sometimes they can be warned to stay away from this thing, or not even be aware that the entity is supernatural. These films also include an interesting twist or one that makes you sit back and just say "wow." Thus, I find an example for each stage to be:
Primitive: The Twilight Zone
Classical: The Sixth Sense
Revisionist: Zodiac
And that brings us to parodical, which I believe is where Legend lies. Similar to Goosebumps or even what James says to be his inspiration in Creepshow, there's a shop owner that warns him of the dangers in the blue hole, in an almost comedic manner. This film really reminds me of what Scream was for horror, continually poking fun at what was known to be standard in the thriller/sci-fi genre, with the most obvious joke being the very ending. The use of papyrus font I believe was also an attempt to parody the edginess of the genre.
I really enjoyed Legend due to its creativity, and its use of time old tropes while still remaining fresh. Let me know what you think!
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