Review of I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) by Jason D — 17 Oct 2009

With the sudden explosion of Kevin Williamson's then-edgy writing of teen horror infused with comedy and violence (i.e. Scream), he became a hotly desired ticket. Thusly, for his second amazing feat, he wrote this horror tale about two couples (Jennifer Love Hewitt & Freddie Prinze, Jr.

and Ryan Phillippe & Sarah Michelle Gellar) who, on one party-filled evening before they begin their bright and shining futures, they accidentally hit and kill a mysterious fisherman, whom they realize isn't dead after all, but that doesn't stop them from burying him deep in the ocean waters and keeping the dark secret to themselves.

Now, a year has past, and it's been a real miserable one as their dreams have all been crushed and they live their lives in fear and depression, that is, until notes and scary omens start showing up, suggesting that someone knows of their dark secret.

Naturally, they flip out, resulting in some horribly bad overacting by Hewitt, the most annoying aspect of this movie, though I have to assume that she was only picked for her massive cleavage more so than her acting skills (or lack thereof.

Seriously the whole yelling out into the world with the arms out bit was so annoying and overdone). We have to rely on the other 3 leads to provide better performances. The story manages to provide some decent tension and some genuine (for it's time) kills.

Nearly 12 years later, though, this film is slightly dated, but not too terribly. There's a decent supporting cast of Muse Watson (the hit and run victim who may or may not be the killer), Anne Heche (before she went coocoo for coco puffs), and Bridgette Wilson (whom I'm surprised to see play such a throwaway role as Gellar's bitch sister, especially after already playing major roles in Billy Madison and Mortal Kombat).

Overall, the movie is a decent watch, but there are better horror movies out there, made before and after this film. I will say it's probably the best of the franchise.