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Sasha Thomas appears as a supporting character and a murder victim in the 1998 slasher film Urban Legend. She is portrayed by American actress Tara Reid. She appears only in the first Urban Legend film.

Overview[]

Blonde-haired and busty, 21-year-old college student Sasha Thomas attends Pendleton University and is the host of a popular sex advice show on campus radio titled "Under the Covers with Sasha". She is dating Parker Riley and is a friend of Natalie Simon, Damon Brooks, and Brenda Bates.

Through her radio show, Sasha offers on-air advice to sexually inexperienced students and encourages more seasoned students to experiment and try new things. Throughout the film, Sasha makes appearances at the radio station, in the student lounge participating in group discussions with her friends concerning the troubling events, at the library researching new sex positions, and at a fraternity party to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a previous campus massacre.

During the film's climactic killing spree, Sasha makes the fatal mistake of ignoring Natalie and Paul's warnings of a killer terrorizing the campus to go off on her own to the radio station. There, she is targeted by the axe-wielding killer while airing her show and pursued through the deserted hallways and staircases. Her screams and cries for help and subsequent gruesome death is heard over the air on any radio tuned into her show. Sasha is the 8th victim of the Urban Legend killer, Brenda.

Brenda's motive for killing Sasha is simply due to Sasha's friendship with Natalie. Natalie and Michelle Mancini had inadvertently killed Brenda's fiancée years earlier using an urban legend, and Brenda is taking revenge by killing all of Natalie's friends using urban legends. Sasha's death is reminiscent of the "Love Rollercoaster" urban legend where a girl's cry for help while being murdered is recorded.

Detailed Events[]

Sasha's first appearance is the day after the opening sequence in which Michelle Mancini is killed. She's hosting her show "Under the Covers with Sasha" at the radio station, attending to a sexually troubled girl named Felicia. Sasha playfully mocks Felicia's sexual naivety and offers suggestions for future safe sex activities more suitable for a beginner. She then signs off for the night and invites listeners to come back for her next show.

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Sasha hosts her radio show "Under the Covers with Sasha" and advises the troubles of inexperienced students

Later, Sasha is seen sitting next to Parker with the group in the study lounge watching the TV report of Michelle's murder. Sasha seems horrified by the news and recalls that Michelle was supposedly listening to her show when she was killed, and wonders if her voice was the last thing Michelle heard. Brenda asks whether anyone in the group knew Michelle and Sasha admits that she didn't. When Damon jokes that he knew Michelle and that she gave great head, Sasha and Parker burst out laughing.

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Sasha and her boyfriend Parker listen to the news report of Michelle Mancini's murder

Sasha is seen at another group study lounge meeting discussing Damon's supposed death. She initially seems sympathetic to Natalie's claim that Damon was murdered, but she's much less concerned once Parker realizes her story mirrors an urban legend taught in their folklore class and argues that it must have been an elaborate prank. Natalie doesn't seem convinced, but Sasha and Parker and Brenda all laugh at the brilliance of Damon's prank and urge Natalie to reach out to the mountain resort where Damon is staying.

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Parker and Sasha are skeptical about Natalie's claim that Damon was killed

Sasha is later seen at the campus library where she bumps into Natalie, startling both of them. Sasha then excitedly shows Natalie her find: an early edition of a Kama Sutra book which she wants to use to try new sex positions with Parker. They both giggle over the suggestive pictures and Sasha's insistence that Parker has no choice but to go along with her plans. Natalie then hesitantly shows Sasha the Encyclopedia of Urban Legends book she has taken. Sasha is worried that Natalie is still convinced that Damon has been killed, so they decide to look through the book together. Natalie and Sasha come to the page depicting the legend of the boyfriend hanging above a car. Sasha can tell that Natalie clearly had a traumatizing experience, but she stays quiet and turns the pages, searching for more legends. They come across a legend depicting a car with flashing high beams. Sasha enthusiastically explains how gang members drive around with their headlights off and kill anyone who flashes their high beams as a warning. She tells Natalie that she's certain this story isn't a myth and that it happens all the time and it's the reason why she never warns anyone about anything when she's driving. Sasha leaves Natalie at the library, joking that she needs to get going to do 'homework'.

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Sasha excitedly tells Natalie about the Gang High Beam Initiation urban legend

Captured in a scene deleted from the final cut, Sasha has arrived at Parker's frat house and lights candles in his bedroom. She's undressed to her bra and panties and sensually dances for him as he waits on the bed, music playing. He hungrily watches her, and she's clearly enjoying the attention. She runs her hands over her body. Parker then asks what she's doing, and she tells him it's a surprise. But as she approaches him she's startled by Hootie, Parker's dog, who's hiding under the bed. Sasha tells Parker that Hootie needs to leave as he gives her the creeps when they have sex because she feels like Hootie always want a turn with her. She kicks Hootie out of the room and Parker tells him he'll be back in a minute. Sasha jokes that she wished it lasted that long and returns her attention back to Parker. She tells him he's in trouble and leans over him on the bed, kissing him.

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Sasha dances for Parker in his frat house bedroom.

Later, Sasha and Parker are having sex, her legs propped up over his shoulders, with Sasha moaning in ecstasy. The Kama Sutra she found in the library sits nearby, clearly inspiration for their current situation. Parker appears to be struggling, and complains that they never have sex missionary style. Sasha breathlessly says that variety is the key to a healthy relationship. Parker then gets a cramp and pauses, crying out in pain. Sasha asks if he's okay, but then he readjusts and begins moving more easily, and Sasha responds by moaning even louder now. But then Hootie enters the room, distracting Parker. With Sasha nearly climaxing, Parker slows down, concerned by Hootie's behavior. Sasha tries to get his attention back, but Parker pulls away. Sasha is annoyed with Parker and Hootie, but then Hootie coughs up a bloody finger, frightening them both.

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Sasha and Parker have sex, experimenting with a new position she discovered in the Kama Sutra

Afterwards, she appears at Parker's costume party dressed in a sexy low-cut negligee and a fur coat, leading to a guy attempting to hit on her by telling her about an urban legend related to the song "Love Rollercoaster", which is playing on the speakers. His claim that the scream heard in the song is a murder victim's real cry for help from a 9-1-1 call disgusts Sasha and she feigns interest before quickly brushing him off.

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An over-eager party-goer tells Sasha about the "Love Rollercoaster" urban legend

Later on, Parker asks for the party's attention and Sasha watches his interaction with Paul apprehensively. Parker forces Paul to relay his theory that there's a killer on campus. Sasha is momentarily shocked, but quickly realizes everyone else considers the warning a joke. Parker continues his boorish behavior and then suggests that if there really is a killer on campus, then Paul is the most likely suspect, leaving Sasha embarrassed.

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Sasha reacts to Paul's warning that there's a killer on campus

Parker tells Paul to leave the party as he's ruining the atmosphere. Sasha disappointedly asks Parker why does he always have to act like a jerk and then she tells him she's leaving the party to go to the radio station. She begins to walk away, upset with him, and so he apologizes. She can't resist his charm and blows him a kiss before she leaves. Outside, a friend waits in their car for Sasha and they drive off to the radio station together.

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Parker apologizes to Sasha for his behavior as she leaves the party

At the radio station, Sasha receives a call from a couple in need of sexual advice as they've gotten stuck while trying out a sex position. In the background, with Sasha unaware, the killer sneaks up behind her engineer and attacks and kills him. The call is abruptly cut off and a confused Sasha checks to see the cause. The killer suddenly appears and attacks Sasha with an axe, shattering the glass barrier between them. Sasha screams and narrowly escapes, running from her recording room and into the hallways of the massive building.

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Sasha screams as she comes face to face with the hooded killer

A confused and terrified Sasha runs through the station screaming for help and sobbing, her listeners oblivious to the real danger she's in. Her first attempt to reach the emergency exit is thwarted by the killer and she has a close call where she dodges a swing of the axe before managing to separate herself from the killer for a moment with a locked door.

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Sasha runs through the radio station, screaming for help

Sasha comes to the building's atrium, a wide open space with nowhere to hide. She's on the third floor and the killer is nowhere in sight. There's a winding staircase in the center, and she pauses to catch her breath and look around for the killer before heading down. After descending one floor, the killer suddenly appears on the staircase and pushes Sasha up against the railing with their axe. Startled, Sasha screams and tries to fight off the killer with a few weak and feeble slaps to their chest, but she's overpowered and the killer tosses her over the railing. She manages to grab onto the ledge and hangs by her fingertips. Sasha continues to scream for help as she dangles high above the platform below. The killer swings at her fingers with the axe, forcing Sasha to let go.

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Sasha hangs onto the staircase ledge by her fingertips

She falls over 15 feet and lands on the the hard surface of the staircase platform, crying out in pain and injuring her leg. She pulls herself to her feet, but is unable to run anymore. With the exit too far away, she heads to the elevator and waits for it to open. Once inside, she presses the third floor button. The killer approaches and swings their axe just as the doors close. Sasha hysterically sobs after the close call, and the elevator brings her back upstairs.

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Sasha exits the elevator, limping and losing all hope

The killer slowly makes their way back upstairs as Sasha exits the elevator and limps through the hallways. Sasha's cries for help become more desperate and hopeless. She sinks to the floor, begging for anyone listening to come save her. With her options dwindling, she returns to the radio booth, crawling on her hands and knees. In the booth, she pulls herself up to look through the window overlooking the atrium and sees Natalie enter the building three floors below. She starts screaming for Natalie to help, but the killer follows her voice and discovers Sasha before Natalie can come to her aid.

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Sasha cries out to Natalie for help from the third floor

Sasha, hurt and defenseless, collapses back down to the floor in defeat. The killer slowly approaches Sasha and looms over her. Unwilling or unable to put up any sort of fight, Sasha begs the killer to spare her life. The killer is merciless and hacks Sasha apart with three swings of the axe. Sasha dies pathetically cowering on the floor of the very room where she had spent countless hours confidently offering sex advice to the student body.

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Sasha tearfully tells the killer that she doesn't want to die

Sasha dies without knowing her boyfriend, Parker, had been brutally murdered just minutes earlier, or that her friend Brenda is the killer.

Sasha is later mentioned when Natalie goes to find Paul and she tells him that she saw the killer and that Sasha is dead. When Natalie and Paul leave his place they run into Brenda who says that that she heard Sasha screaming on the radio. Natalie tells Brenda that Sasha is dead, shocking her. After hearing Sasha cry for help on the radio, Reese arrives at the radio station where she discovers Sasha's corpse. Reese gasps in horror at Sasha's mutilated body before leaving the station and calling the Dean and the police.

Once Brenda reveals to Natalie that she is the killer, she mocks Sasha's hysterical screaming before she killed her.

Character Type[]

In slasher films, the Blonde Friend is often voluptuous, superficial, and the primary source of sex appeal, a stark contrast with the final girl who is usually virginal and headstrong, with resourcefulness as a primary attribute. The Blonde Friend will often appear in the movie in revealing clothing and engage in sexual activity, two major slasher movie sins. This behavior is then later punished by the killer - and the filmmakers - in a manner that emphasizes the sins she has committed.

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The camera highlights Sasha's large breasts throughout the chase scene

In Urban Legend, Sasha is a big-breasted blonde who loves sex so much that she hosts a radio show dedicated to offering sexual advice. Throughout the movie she ridicules inexperienced students on her sex radio show, dismisses Natalie's paranoia to focus on experimenting new sex positions with her boyfriend, and wears skimpy lingerie to a costume party. She is attacked by a hooded person wielding an axe during a live broadcast where her screams for help while being chased go unanswered. During the pursuit the camera highlights her voluptuous body and her increasingly prominent cleavage until she's eventually cornered and hacked up with an axe.

Death[]

Because Sasha's death occurs off-screen there is no way of being sure, but it's implied that the axe hacks into her face and chest on the first two swings and then decapitates her on the final swing. Unlike Brenda's other victims, Sasha's body is not relocated to Stanley Hall and is presumably discovered by police sometime after the events of the movie.

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Reese discovers Sasha's corpse

When Reese discovers Sasha's body, only her bloody hand is shown. Judging from Reese's reaction, Sasha's dead body is a horrific sight.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Despite many rumors that Sarah Michelle Gellar was offered the role of Sasha, director Jamie Blanks confirms that Tara Reid was the only actress he wanted for the part.
  • A sex scene featuring Sasha and Parker in Parker's fraternity bedroom was deleted from the final cut, but has since been released as a special feature. Sasha, dressed only in her bra and panties, lights a candle and then sensually dances for Parker while he watches from the bed. Sasha reveals to Parker that she has a surprise for him, but then notices Parker's dog, Hootie, underneath the bed. Sasha complains that having Hootie in the room with them while they have sex makes her uncomfortable, as she feels like he always wants a turn with her. She removes Hootie from the room and joins Parker on the bed, kissing him. The scene fades to black and then returns while Sasha and Parker are having sex in a complicated position, Sasha moaning loudly with pleasure. Parker looks like he's struggling and complains about never having sex missionary style, while Sasha replies that variety is the number one key to a healthy relationship. Parker eventually gets into it and Sasha moans even louder. To her annoyance, as she's about to climax Parker gets distracted by Hootie entering the room in distress. She tries to get his attention back, but Hootie then coughs up a bloody finger, frightening both Parker and Sasha.
  • In Urban Legends: Final Cut, Reese describes the murders portrayed in this film to a film student who debunks them as its own urban legend. This suggests that Sasha's death was swept under the rug by Pendleton University.

Tara Reid's Comments and Experiences on Urban Legend[]

Tara Reid has expressed in interviews that she loved filming Urban Legend, particularly the chase scene. She has described performing her own stunts in the film, such as hanging from the staircase with suspended wires. She has also claimed the stuntman portraying the killer used a real axe while filming the sequence.

In press for the film, Tara Reid described Sasha as "smart and fun", "a sex goddess" and as a girl who "is very sexual. She loves sex, she loves talking about sex, she loves anything having to do with sex. And that's why she likes Parker so much." She also addressed Sasha's depth, commenting that "audiences see her and, you know, she has cleavage and the platform boots and they automatically think she's a bimbo, but she actually has so much depth and you really care for her."

Reviews and Notices[]

"Tara Reid as Sasha, Natalie's friend and DJ at the college's radio station, is a standout, stealing every scene she's in."

"Tara Reid, as the vacuous Sasha, is demonstrably uninteresting."

"Tara Reid shows up long enough to show her ample cleavage bobble as she runs."

"Tara Reid lets her breasts do the acting...great acting!"

"Tara Reid can't scream, or run, or act. She can't do anything."

"Sasha had all the makings of an iconic slasher victim, but it's all undone by the casting of Tara Reid. Sure, Tara is gorgeous and has impressive cleavage to show off when she runs, but she cannot act worth a damn. Sasha's attempt to escape the killer in the deserted radio station becomes almost comedically inept in Tara Reid's hands. Where to begin: the pathetic running, incessant screaming, bouncing breasts, feeble slaps, groaning and moaning, her scrunched up tearless face. In the hands of a competent actor, this chase scene would have been a memorable cat and mouse sequence with a harrowing finale. As it is, Sasha is soon forgotten by both the characters in the movie and the audience."

"Aside from Josie and the Pussycats, this is probably Tara Reid's most convincing performance. Her comedic instinct are given the occasional chance to shine, and during her chase scene you can practically see the fresh-faced enthusiasm she has for helping to create a grim and memorable death."

"Either no one told Tara Reid that she was taking on the role of the throwaway big-breasted blonde, or she accepted it with excitement, but she managed to make her character much more likeable and sympathetic than expected."

"Tara Reid has a great promiscuous role as the saucy, sexually charged radio talk show host Sasha."

"It's easy to forget that Tara Reid was once the hottest woman in Hollywood, but she's at the absolute peak of her beauty in Urban Legend. For her gruesome death scene, any shortcomings she has as an actress are completely overshadowed by the filmmakers wisely drawing our attention to her ample cleavage and gorgeous face."

"A particularly suspenseful scene involving the killer interrupting a slutty radio host's live broadcast may be the best thing Tara Reid's ever been in."

"Tara Reid (Sasha) has difficulty proving why she was cast for this role beyond her impressive cleavage."

"Tara Reid being killed while wearing a spiked choker, a babydoll dress and knee high platform boots is enough reason to check this out."

"Sasha: shitty actress, but that doesn't matter because she's a hot blonde with big tits. Her death scene does its best to highlight her best attributes."

"I hate Tara Reid, but she's surprisingly charming as hell in this, and when she begs for mercy from the killer, I was stunned to find myself wishing she would survive."

"When Natalie's friend Sasha (Tara Reid) is attacked by the killer and chased through the radio station, the sequence emphasizes Sasha's heaving cleavage. When she manages to temporarily escape from the killer, the camera captures close-ups of her breasts as she tearfully slumps against a wall. Are we supposed to gleefully ogle Sasha's body during a scene like this? Why? Sasha's charming enough to stand out among Natalie's otherwise dour and brutish friends, and Reid's performance shows a surprising amount of range. She cracks some of the movie's best jokes, and her final plea of "I don't wanna die" to the killer evokes genuine sympathy. She deserves a more honorable exit than the lecherous dispatching she suffers."

"Tara Reid plays Natalie's friend Sasha, a busty blonde, who runs a sex question hotline on Pendleton Radio. Blonde. Big tits. Slutty. You just know she's destined for the grave before the credits roll."

"Tara Reid is perfectly cast as Sasha, a college radio host and slut about town. It's telling as to the film's overall quality that she gives one of the better performances."

"I could watch Tara Reid get murdered all day."

"Tara Reid, as annoying bimbo Sasha, is a great example of how we'd be upset if the slutty girl didn't die."

"As Sasha, Tara Reid displays why she would become one of the most iconic sex symbols of the late 90s and early 00s. Fleeing from the killer, her skimpy outfit is a showcase for voluptuous figure, and it slowly reveals more and more of her impressive cleavage until she's finally cornered and hacked apart with an axe."

"Tara Reid is an actress I usually don't enjoy watching, but the shallow sexiness of her character suits her like a glove. A highlight of the movie is seeing her scantily clad figure stalked by the killer in an abandoned radio station while her screams for help go unanswered."

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