Arrow in the Head reviews "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer"

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

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Directed by:	Danny Cannon
Starring:	Jennifer Love Hewitt/Julie
	Freddy Prinze Jr./Ray
	Brandy Norwood/Karla
	Muse Watson/Ben Willis

RATING

PLOT-CRUNCH:

Julie (Hewitt) is still perturbed by what happened on that summer. She wins a trip to the Bahamas and goes there with a few friends. But a vacation isn’t complete without a storm and a hook wielding psychopath. She gets both. The vengeful Ben Willis (Watson) is back but this time is he working alone???

THE LOWDOWN:

I liked the first Summer movie and was looking forward to the sequel. But this dreck is a sorry excuse. This one sets the slasher genre 50 years back and any sign of intelligence the original showed is totally absent in the follow up. Where do I begin??? Lets start with the killer himself. He still wears that slicker…why? In the original it made sense, it took place in a fishing town…with the slicker he blended in. In this one he stands out and it’s far from being good cover. Can someone tell me how Willis can see where he’s going with that hat sunk so far down that half his face is covered? He must be psychic. Second of all the killer’s motivation. He wants to kill Julie for what she did to him. That’s fine. But why doesn’t he kill her when he gets the chance? He has no problem dispatching of the side stock characters…but when it come to Julie he always makes the wrong move. Best example: Julie is in a tanning booth, he arrives…does he stab her? Choke her? No…he ties the booth shut and turns up the heat so she can burn to death. And he doesn’t even stick around to relish her demise, he leaves her there “James Bond” style. Her friends save her…of course they frantically try to get the booth open, not thinking that all they have to do is turn off the heat. And what the hell is Julie doing in a tanning booth anyways, 4 frames earlier she discovered a dead body and now she’s in a tanning booth with a walkman on! Dumb broad.

The movie reeks of lazy slasher tricks. It has fake scares, dumb dream sequences, a stupid “voodoo” subplot, an unnecessary “false” ending and a who dunnit that takes you aback but if you think hard about it, just isn’t credible.

The stock characters are beyond paper thin. The worst being a white, pot smoking, Rasta man. I will admit he pulled a few chuckles out of me but he’s still the dumbest “victim” I ever saw..

The only saving grace this movie offers are: 1- Jennifer Love Hewitt’s big breasts. This girl always wears a top one size too small and only buttons one button on her shirt. Hewitt likes showing off and we like looking. 2- Nice scenery, the Bahamas always look good. 3-A few semi enjoyable stalk sequences and….and….and that’s it!

At least Freddy Prinze Jr. took acting lessons since the last Summer flick….Let's hook this one to the ground..

ACTING:

Jennifer Love Hewitt (Julie) manages to bring some depth to her part. But that’s thrown out the window when she starts showing off her melons. Don't get me wrong, I love it but it sure doesn’t help her character. The word tease comes to mind. I never thought I’d say this but Freddy Prinze Jr. (Ray) is solid in this one, delivering a tough, determined show. I bought it. Hurray for acting lessons! Brandy Norwood (Karla) does good, bringing rough charm to the part. Arrow likes her acting better than her music. Mekhi Phifer (Tyrell) who was discovered in “Clockers” brings in the laughs as the brother who just can’t seem to get that booty. Matthew Settle (Will) communicates his characters insecurity and vulnerability to a T. Muse Watson (Willis) gives another chilling turn when he’s allowed real screen time (when we see his face)...more of him “sans” hat wouldn’t hurt the film. We know who the fisherman is…don’t have to hide his face anymore.

GORE:

A few nice hookings, the best being a hook in the mouth. The fisherman also improvises in this one, using big scissors to kill one victim. Decent.

T & A:

Hewitt’s COVERED breasts (still look yummy) and for the ladies Phifer’s cut chest. Dig in.

DIRECTING:

The film does look good. The setting is spooky and beautiful. The lighting is awesome and we do get a few good shots. But a good looking turd is still a turd.

SOUNDTRACK:

A little bit of Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” and Hooverphonic’s Eden. An effective haunting score.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you want to see Hewitt bend down, show cleavage and reprise the scene she did in the original where she yells: "Come and get me! What are you waiting for!" This one's for you. If you want to see an intelligent slasher flick, that doesn’t take it’s audience for morons…skip this one. Can someone tell me why every time a mystery killer is uncovered in the “new slasher trend” flicks, he has to go into endless monologues and becomes a master of one liners? How annoying! This is one summer too many. Hope the next sequel is written by someone that graduated high school.

BULL'S EYE:

Jeffrey Combs of Re Animator fame has a small part in this one as the Hotel clerk. He’s hilarious. Jennifer Esposito (Nancy) also has a small part and The Arrow was wooed by her strong, charismatic performance.

The Arrow interviews Muse Watson here

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