Review: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Though the first film was just your standard horror flick, it was better than average. This is probably thanks to Kevin Williamson (Scream films) who wrote the script for the first film. When I was informed that Williamson would not write this sequel’s script, I was very wary as to how it would turn out.

Jennifer Love Hewitt said "It’s not a cheesy sequel" so I took those words into consideration and gave this film a try. Of course we all know sequels suck right? Well I think I Still Know is probably up there with "The Best Sequel Hall Of Fame" (and believe me. That list is very short). This doesn't mean it's a good film or better than the first film. It just means I think it's a worthy sequel.

The plot continues one year after the first film. Julie is still trying to live with the eternal horrors she suffered the previous summer. When her new friend Karla gets a call from a local radio station, they are asked a skill testing question. The correct answer is given that wins them four tickets to spend the July 4th weekend in the Bahamas (the capital of Brazil is "Brazilia" just in case you didn’t know). Little does Julie know that this weekend in paradise will turn into a reminder that someone still knows what she did last summer.

Though not even close to being as scary as a Scream film, I Still Know does have the occasional scare. The film has more suspense than scariness, which is actually a plus since the scares that it does have are cheap anyway. A black figure runs around inside a dark house only to turn out to be one of Julie’s friends is one example of a few scares that don’t make sense or have meaning.

What I liked more than anything about the first film was the story. It had a realistic plot, and it flowed very nicely as the movie progressed. Though the story was great, I was always unhappy with the fisherman’s reason for why he wants to kill these teens: "I’m pissed off because you hit me with your car." This is where the continuing story of I Still Know comes in, and reveals to you the original origin of this fisherman’s madness.

One rule we all know to making a successful sequel is "more blood, more gore." Well I Still Know is more violent than the first. If you thought Max got a good "hook-to-the-throat" in the first film, think again when you see hooks going through jaws, hands, and necks in this film. The fisherman uses real "fisherman style" killings this time around on his victims.

I like talking about direction in my reviews, but I can’t comment to much on it in this film. I won’t say it’s bad, but it’s too simple. What the director has done in this film is said "Here’s the killer. Here’s the victims. Now let’s watch them run around." It’s simple, and to the point, but I was wanting something more complicated and more scary. You’ll like the EXTREME CLOSE-UP from the face, right down to the feet PAN of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s bikinied body (one of the only places where I knew exactly what the director was trying to show us).

Is I Still Know a bad film? Is it a bad sequel? I’d have to say no to both of those questions. What really keeps me interested in these films is the story, which I think is good enough to save it from the rest of it’s faults. It also remains interesting by itself, and you’re not constantly referring to "Scream" in the back of your mind. Though not overly scary, it has it’s suspenseful moments which are fun to watch. It also has it’s own cool little story twist that will get you thinking for a second (hint: say Will Benson really fast). I also really hate the ending because now I’ll have to wait for the third film to find out what happened.

3½/5 Better Than I Expected

[Rated R for intense terror violence and gore, strong language and some drug use.]