I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I'm not sure this film achieved all it could have, simply from changing the names - I mean "Barry" & "Helen". Come on. However, JLH's ... ummmm....talents, by themselves, make it a solid "6". I give it one more point for being filmed in the great state of NC, where I reside on the film board!

The Mid to late nineties was a great time for those that loved Slasher movies, Scream seemed to reignite a forgotten genre, many followed. One of the best that came in my opinion was I know what you did last Summer. On paper it sounds like all the rest, group of kids on the run from a mad man in a costume with a deadly weapon. There is however a whole lot more to this movie, firstly the direction, I'm watching this twenty years on, and I can't believe how slick it still looks, very well edited, beautifully shot, the use of music is excellent also. It's very well acted, I enjoyed watching Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt most of all. Some really great scares, less comedic then the delivery in Scream, this was more serious, more blunt. Very enjoyable.

Gathering up flicks to view for ICM's poll of the best films from 1997,I read a Facebook post from HMV marking 20 years since this title came out.Shoerly after seeing that post,I found it being added to Netflix UK,and spotted fellow IMDber Red-Barracuda rate it. With all these coincidences, it felt like the perfect time to go on a Summer holiday.The plot:Celebrating Helen Shivers being crowned college princess,pals Shivers,her boyfriend Barry Cox, Julie James and her boyfriend Ray Bronson drive home drunk. Paying no attention to the road,the gang run over a man dressed in a long black coat. Believing they would be charged with manslaughter,the group pick up the body and chuck it into the ocean. Just as the body is being thrown, the man screams and puts his hand out. Losing contact with her friends after they all vowed a year ago not to tell anyone of what they did,James is horrified to get an anonymous letter,saying that they know what she did last Summer.View on the film:Only keeping a partial reference to the original ending,and the drunk teens run over a person part of Lois Duncan's book, (whose daughter Kaitlyn was killed in an unsolved murder,and who hated this adaptation,with the book being about the remorse the teens (none of whom are killed) have over taking the life of an innocent man) the screenplay by Kevin Williamson hooks into his most streamline take on the Slasher genre,with Williamson's pop culture- driven dialogue being clipped to a handful of stray lines of dialogue,and the set-pieces lacking any serious feeling of danger. Locking the door on a person being trapped in a car whilst a nutter waits outside, (a major theme of his work) Williamson gathers a surprisingly nasty group for the slayings,with their blunt exchanges stubbing out any chance of empathy growing for any member of the gang.Despite being filmed in California, director Jim Gillespie (despite this being a big hit,he would not direct again until 2002's The Legacy) & cinematographer Denis Crossan give the movie a very good small,fishing town vibe,as slick tracking shots catch the daily prep of seafood in the background,as the teens get slayed. Appearing to be inspired by the Giallo sub-genre, Gillespie gives the black coat- wearing psycho ultra-stylised Slasher set-pieces,from the killer hiding in smoke-covered rooms,to the face of the murderer being revealed via a reflection in the glasses of a victim,as Julie James is reminded what she did last Summer.

I borrowed I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER from a friend. I had been tempted to actually buy it when I saw it in the shops but I'm so glad I waited now, as it turned out to be one of the most boring hour-and-a-half's that I have ever sat through. Maybe the film wasn't bad in terms of production, but it's certainly a below average slasher film, lacking none of the extravagance or finesse of the '80s slashers (hardly any blood is shed, the murders are all quick and cut away from the gore). The film could easily have been cut down half an hour, which would not have harmed it - in fact it might have been better.The cast is full of American teenagers, a typical staple of the slasher film, but none of the actors and actresses are up to scratch. Jennifer Love Hewitt is more adept at showing her cleavage than emoting, while Sarah Michelle Gellar (star of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) is an annoyingly whiny character. Ryan Phillipe is okay as the drunkard Billy, while the character of Ray remains largely undeveloped (and it's difficult to fathom his sudden role as an action hero at the finale). Anne Heche also turns up, in a thankfully small role.The murderer is a generic villain, and not in the least bit scary. Candyman used a hook for murders years before this, so where's the originality? There is none. The music is good in the stalking sequences but too full of hip pop songs (sadly commonplace these days). A lot of the film is pretty by-the-numbers stuff, which looks nice but lacks substance. The chase scenes are the only worthwhile parts of the film, and even these aren't too exciting. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is an example of the modern horror film, clichéd, derivative, and unfortunately not very exciting at all. A botched attempt, which proved that Kevin Williamson really was a one shot wonder.