I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Brandy, Mekhi Phifer, Muse Watson, Bill Cobbs, Matthew Settle, Jeffrey Combs, Jennifer Esposito, John Hawkes. Screenplay by Trey Callaway, based on characters in the film written by Kevin Williamson and the novel by Lois Duncan. Directed by Danny Cannon. 101 minutes. Rated R, 1.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
Remember the scene in "Scream 2" where the film student ranted about how slasher movie sequels are almost always crap? "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" is a textbook example of everything he was talking about. Aside from a grim relentlessness, this generic offering has absolutely nothing to warrant a viewing. I'm required to see films like this -- it's in my job description -- but you don't have to.
In this colorless Xerox, Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is away at school, dividing her time between nightmares and hallucinations of Ben Willis (Muse Watson), the slicker-wearing, hook-wielding killer from the original film. She continues her romantic involvement with fellow survivor Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.), but he's back home in North Carolina, and the distance, coupled with Julie's phobia about returning home, is straining their relationship.
Julie's chronically perky roommate Karla Wilson (Brandy) wins a vacation for four to the Bahamas and she invites her stressed-out girlfriend to come along. When Ray fails to show up, a dejected Julie takes off with Karla, Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer), Karla's horny boyfriend, and Will Benson (Matthew Settle), a boy-next-door type with a serious Julie fixation.
Of course, there's a good reason why Ray didn't show up. While traveling north with a buddy to surprise Julie, he encountered a body in the middle of the road. Oh my goodness, it's a trap! Quicker than you can say "here we go again," Ray's pal has a major new body piercing and our fisherman friend is chasing after Ray.
"I Know What You Did Last Summer" had a few qualities that raised it a notch or two above standard slasher fare. The dark murders were set against the background of a colorful small town festival and the contrast was refreshing. The kids were brighter than most denizens of slasher films and the mystery of the killer's identity livened things up somewhat.
"I Still Know" contains none of those elements. The film starts off grim and nasty and never wavers in tone. The Bahamian setting is murky and the action scenes lack a distinct sense of place. The supporting cast members are uniformly obnoxious and each primary actor has exactly one identifying characteristic, from which he or she never wavers.
Jennifer Love Hewitt is the most tiresome. She starts the film in a state of borderline hysteria, and the borderline soon disappears. Of course, the real star of the film isn't Hewitt, it's her breasts, which are featured so prominently in various form-fitting outfits that they almost deserve their own screen credit.
After the requisite false scares, the extremely bloody production settles into a repetitive, relentless groove, aping stylistic techniques from other genre films well enough to build some tension despite the inevitability of the story. If, after the first ten minutes of the film, you can't predict who will be alive at the conclusion, you're just not trying.
True to form, there is the mandatory plot twist towards the end, and the film's godawful closing scene offers the possibility for yet another sequel. The prospect of a third installment of this derivative series is much scarier than anything that happens in the movie. In 1997, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was a surprise hit. Hopefully, audiences will be discerning enough to make "I Still Know" a surprise failure.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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