I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Starring - Jennifer Love Hewitt; Freddie Prinze Jr.; Brandy; Mekhi Phifer & Muse Watson Director - Danny Cannon MPAA - Rated R for intense terror violence and gore, strong language and some drug use. I have to admit that I avoided going to see this film in the theater. Quite frankly, while I am a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt's breasts, I don't think that they should be the entire selling feature of a movie. That is how it seems to be in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. The more accurate title might have been I Still Know What Jennifer Love Hewitt's Breasts Did Last Summer, since they appear to be the stars of the show. And very impressive stars at that... But, I digress. Of course the other obvious flaw in the title of this little gem is the fact that the events referred to in the title actually happened two summers before this film takes place. So I don't think that it requires some sort of advanced university degree to figure out that the title really should be I Still Know What You Did Two Summers Ago. Either the producers think that the audience that is stupid enough to pay to watch this thing will miss this small point or maybe they aren't real adept at reading a calendar. This second option holds some appeal for me since it is fairly obvious that they aren't real adept at making movies either. If this were some B-grade straight-to-video knock off that had at its core a bad story, dumb villain and an abnormal obsession with Ms. Hewitt's breasts, I'd say, "OK, I'll happily sit here and watch her breasts for a couple of hours". The fact is that this is a sequel to one of the better horror films of the past few years, so I expected a little more. (Story wise, not breast wise.) If you are beginning to think that I might have some sort of obsession with Ms. Hewitt's chest, it's really not so - although I am an admirer. It seems that this film is truly based around her chest. All of the publicity shots from this film inevitably show her in some low cut number. And she always seems to be a little damp. Every time this turkey gets a little slow (which is all too frequent) the camera inevitably pans over and focuses in on her chest. I kid you not. It almost makes me think that the producers knew that what they had on their hands film wise wasn't what you'd call a masterpiece. So they figured that the only way that they were going to get anyone in theaters was to pander to the lowest denominator -- over-sexed teenage boys. My guess is that this group accounted for the majority of tickets sold during I Still Know's theatrical run. Gone is the clever Kevin Williamson script from the first film. In its wake is every tired and overused horror film cliché from the past twenty years. I guessed who the killer was the first time that that person was on camera, and I'm not exactly a rocket scientist. I'm not even going to get into the ending of the first film that, without giving it away, didn't exactly seem to lend itself to a sequel. No matter, here we are again and Jennifer Love Hewitt is back at university a year after most of her friends were killed by a hook-wielding fisherman. She has finally getting a little good luck in her life. Her roommate (Brandy) wins a radio contest and the two roomies, with two guys in tow, head off on a free weekend in the Bahamas. Of course, the hotel is on a small and mostly deserted island (how convenient) and a hurricane is just blowing in as they arrive (you can't make a formula horror film without high winds and rain). Sorry if I spoil any surprise kids, but guess what? Our old buddy the hook-wielding fisherman turns up on the island with them and starts slicing and dicing people one by one. The only positive thing that I can say about this movie is that at least this time the killer fisherman, who I have long considered to be one of the dumbest slasher film killers ever (he would be the dumbest if it weren't for Leatherface) is at least dressed somewhat properly here. Since they are in the middle of a hurricane, his black rain hat and slicker don't look too out of place. Unlike in the first movie when he seemingly wandered around unnoticed in the middle of a hot sunny day wearing the same ridiculous getup. Acting wise -- let's just say everyone avoids embarrassing themselves. Not much else can be said for the cast. Holdovers from the first film Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr., proved in the original that they are talented actors. Unfortunately, the script of this latest film doesn't give them any material to enforce that. In the end, this is a B-grade slasher flick from the word go. If it wasn't for the fact that it is the sequel to the very clever I Know What You Did Last Summer and for the fact that it boasts Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in the cast, this film would wind up collecting dust on the shelf of your local video store. Sadly, it is very obvious that Hollywood hot shot Kevin Williamson was not involved in this project to give it the same depth that he injected in to the first one. 6/10 - 4 for the movie and 2 more for Jennifer Love Hewitt's breasts. Reviewed April 18, 1999 by Joe Chamberlain