It's a bad idea for any film to even invoke the name of Alfred Hitchcock, much less try to invite comparisons to the legendary Master of Suspense.

Yet, that's only the first of a whole slew of unpardonable cinematic sins committed by the makers of "Urban Legends: Final Cut," a misbegotten sequel to a not-very-good-movie.

Slasher flicks like this gory and downright stupid horror-thriller used to clog up the screens at theaters and drive-ins during the late '80s before they fell out of favor. Now, thanks to the success of the "Scream" and "I Know What You Did . . . " movies, they've made a comeback of sorts, resulting in a new glut of vastly inferior look- and soundalikes.

But there are signs that the genre may be dying out again — there have been diminishing box-office returns for each subsequent film — so, hopefully, the secondary title of this film will turn out to be an ironic statement of sorts. Otherwise, it's sad to think that any audiences would be desperate enough to seek out something as formulaic as this waste of celluloid.

As for what story there is, it's surprisingly urban legend-free (save for one killing early on). Instead, the action revolves around the students of Alpine University, a "renowned" film school.

There, aspiring filmmakers are competing for the prestigious Hitchcock Award, which virtually assures them a mainstream directing career. However, this year's competition is more cutthroat than usual, thanks to a masked killer who's knocking off the most promising students.

The next target appears to be documentarian Amy Mayfield (Jennifer Morrison), whose latest movie project just happens to involve urban legends — one of the few tenuous ties that actually qualifies this to be a sequel.

She's fortunate enough to escape once from the killer (who's clad in a fencing helmet) but determines to solve the killings before more bodies pile up.

Unfortunately, she's got a huge list of suspects to sort through, including fellow filmmakers Graham (Joseph Lawrence), Toby (Anson Mount) and Vanessa (Eva Mendes), as well as Trevor (Matt Davis), the twin brother of another recently deceased student.

You'd think that the filmmakers (including film-editor and composer John Ottman, who directed this mess) could come up with more sympathetic characters than spoiled film-school brats. In fact, as aggravating as most of them are, you may find yourself rooting for the killer to win for a change.

But given how many times Ottman rips off Hitchcock (watch for nods to "Vertigo," among others), as well as other, better filmmakers, perhaps he should have been on the list as well. He's also unable to coax anything resembling competent performances from his cast, save for Loretta Devine, whose reprisal of her role from the first movie is about the only thing this film has going for it.

"Urban Legends: Final Cut" is rated R for violent slasher attacks and scenes of gruesome killings, graphic gore, occasional strong profanity, a pair of sex scenes (one a sexual fantasy), crude attempts at humor and brief nudity (some male, as well as a nude prop). Running time: 95 minutes.

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