PopHorror Let's Get Scared
The late 90s is an era of horror that few can agree upon. Some say the genre was dead. Some say it was undead. As a teenager in the 90s, I can tell you it was very much alive and well, especially when it came to the glossy new teen slashers and their eclectic soundtracks. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), is a perfect example of the genre living its best life.
Wow – 25 years! Do you still know what they did that summer? No, they didn’t hit a boot. That was Scary Movie (2000). One summer, Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ghost Whisperer, 2005) and her friends, Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Scream 2, 1997), Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions, 1999) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr., Scooby-Doo, 2002) were involved in a hit-and-run on a secluded coastal road in their hometown. One year later, they are terrorized by someone who claims, “I know what you did last summer.” Ben Willis was already a murderous psycho before he was mowed down by the raucous teens. This just turns him into a full-blown slasher.
Another year passes, and the iconic Fisherman with a hook is back, and he still knows what they’ve been doing for the past two summers. The I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise had a tough act to follow with Scream (1996). Fortunately, it had two things going for it: its source material in the young adult book of the same name by Lois Duncan and a screenplay penned by Scream writer, Kevin Williamson.
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) wasn’t as fortunate. Due to scheduling conflicts, Williamson was not able to pen the sequel. Did it suffer for it? No. I really don’t think so.
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. return to reprise their roles as Julie and Ray, the only survivors of the Fisherman’s coastal killing spree in Southport, North Carolina, but their relationship is on the rocks as Julie is a college co-ed and Ray is a blue-collar fisherman. Hoping for some peace and healing, Julie accompanies her roommate Karla (Brandy Norwood, Moesha, 1996) and her boyfriend Tyler (Mekhi Phifer, Dawn of the Dead, 2004) on a tropical getaway in the Bahamas. They won the tickets from a radio trivia game – or so they think. Truth be told, it’s all a set-up to get Julie to a secluded location so that Ben Willis can finish what he started.
As a 90s teen and avid horror fan, I can tell you I was a little disappointed in the outlandish premise and anti-climactic off-screen kills. But I’ve never regarded I Still Know What You Did Last Summer as a failure. There are quite a few “In Defense Of I Still Know” articles out there, and I agree with all of them. I’ve watched it several times since then and developed a love for it. It’s a slasher, guys! It doesn’t have to win an Oscar.
Of course, it’s not as good as the original. But it is bigger. There’s still a lot of mystery and a decent amount of paranoia as you try to figure out who is behind the hook. The pacing is good. The cast is just as flashy as the original, too. Don’t forget, you have Jack Black and horror favorite, Jeffrey Combs rounding out the cast as shady and hilarious resort crew members.
The word is, that we may get a legacy sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer. The bigwigs at Sony have set the wheels of development in motion and our two survivors (Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.) are apparently open to the idea.
Has Ben Willis or his son Will Benson survived? Or will there be a new know-it-all under the Fisherman’s slicker, wielding the hook? I’m game.
If you’re a 90s teen, you may recall the teaser trailer for I Still Know What You Did Last Summer where Julie James works through the trauma of surviving a serial killer with her therapist only to have the Fisherman crash through the mirror as she repeats after her therapist, “No one is trying to kill me.” In the age of the legacy sequel, exploration of trauma and PTSD make for some very engaging horror films.
I’d love to see Julie and Ray square off with the big bad one last time.
