I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Review: Decent Not Great
“Not All Secrets Stay Buried”Synopsis: Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town. | ![]() Watch now on Amazon |
Calamity Brains:
As a kid, I remember thinking I Know What You Did Last Summer was dumb. As an adult, it’s really dumb.
There are two big problems with this movie:
- Making a slasher based on a book with no murders is questionable at best.
- Making a horror film that relies on drama rather than death to sell the horror when all of the characters are stereotypes is a terrible idea.
The first point should be obvious, and leads into the second one. Though only the title and inciting incident in the movie bear any real similarity to Lois Duncan‘s book, they both have very little physical danger in them. Instead, the tension is supposed to come from both the mystery and the emotional dilemma the characters face. But (at least in the case of the movie), I Know What You Did Last Summer leans very heavily on stereotyping all of its main characters, meaning none of them are provided the depth needed to sell any real drama. Though the actors all range from acceptable to good, there just isn’t much for them to work with here.
Even with a star-studded cast and some inherently ridiculous moments (Jennifer Love Hewitt wishing she was hot like Sarah Michelle Gellar, for example), I Know What You Did Last Summer just falls flat. It’s not scary, nor entertaining or particularly interesting. It manages to avoid being offensive, but it’s not worth going out of your way to watch.
Calamity Brains’ Rating: C+
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