johnlink ranks I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997)
This is another title which was a big part of my high school life. I was a huge fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt from her PARTY OF FIVE days, and a huge fan of Kevin Williamson from all his 90s endeavors. So while I would never consider this a classic by any stretch, it is fitting that I give it a watch as we head towards 200 movies reviewed (this, is number 197).
I watched I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997) on 11.1.10. It was, by my guess, my fifteenth viewing of the film, and the first in at least three years.
There is much flawed about this film. I mean, we have people punching other people with their broken hand. We have killers silently wrapping themselves in loud plastic so they can surprise someone. We have multiple instances of a character approaching another and saying ‘We need to talk.’
Much of it I blame on the directing more than the writing. Sure I’m a Kevin Williamson apologist. I love DAWSON’S CREEK and SCREAM more than is healthy. And I certainly concede that this film is too mired in 90s ideology to be considered to have aged well. But much of the pure lack of attention to detail, and the sense that the killer is omniscient… I blame that on the director (who is unknown-for-a-reason Jim Gillespie).
There are certainly moments of great 90s slasher ambiance. The Ryan Phillippe gym scene is quality. The JLH down-blouse shots are hilarious. The Anne Heche as white trash scenes are creepy as hell. Sure the acting is all bad, but that is to be expected, right?
But there can be no doubt that my enjoyment of this film is illogical except in the context of being a high school favorite of mine. I was in LOVE with Jennifer Love Hewitt. I thought Kevin Williamson was the shit. I apologized for the film, saying that the characters had depth due to their parental issues, and that they actually did a great job of creating backstory for what would be otherwise typical teen forgettables.
But all that is silly. I like this because it is a fun slasher. Again, by no means a classic, but I’d watch it for fun any time.
SCORES
FILM: 3; MOVIE: 8; ACTING: 4; WRITING: 5
3+8+4+5+0=20
FINAL SCORE: 5
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