Subpar
Summary
It’s neat seeing Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Brandy again, but that’s pretty much the only good thing about this movie.
Plot: A group of young people seek out Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) after receiving a cryptic note, a year after they were involved in the death of a motorist.
Review: The original I Know What You Did Last Summer was never a great movie, in my opinion. It’s okay, but somewhat generic; the main positives are the presence of a young Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar. I found the sequel to be much better, to be honest. I was interested in seeing this, mainly to see how Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr’s characters were incorporated in this reboot/sequel.
Well, it was great seeing them again, and it was neat seeing Sarah again in a dream sequence (which, to be honest, was pointless) and Brandy. That’s about it, though. This is not a great movie and makes the original look like a classic. Where to begin?
The story starts mediocre and gradually worsens as it unfolds. You get what you expect: a bunch of young people are responsible for the death of someone else, then they start getting stalked and killed. They attempt to weave the events from the first film into this, which is fine and a good reason to include members of the original cast. However, as it unfolds, it becomes increasingly absurd. The body count is higher, and the fisherman seems to be almost supernatural. Okay, that’s a slasher trope. But when the killer is revealed, it’s a huge WTF moment. Not in the sense that I didn’t see it coming, but rather, how did this person accomplish all this? Oh, they have a partner? Okay. The partner reveal is terrible and basically shits all over the original. It’s stupid. Also, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr’s characters now hate each other? Well, I hate that. It makes no sense.
The pacing is awful. The accident occurs after ten minutes, and it seems we’re stuck with a bunch of cardboard cutout characters for the following 100 minutes. It’s painful. There’s no suspense or anticipation. When the fisherman killed someone, I just shrugged. Sure. Whatever. Why is this movie so damn long? 110 minutes? Seriously? A good slasher is 90 minutes at most. You feel it every damn minute of this movie.
As for the kills, there are a couple of okay ones. Billy Campbell (who everyone should know as the Rocketeer) has a gruesome death that is the standout. The movie is well-shot and showcases the beautiful Australian landscapes. From a filmmaking standpoint, the movie is competent, and there’s nothing here to complain about. I especially liked the house of the Grant character, which had a neat design and statues that were utilized for an attack scene.
The characters were alright. No one really stood out to me, other than the returning players, and the killer gave an eye-rolling speech when revealed about being “an empowered woman” or some nonsense like that, which made me want to barf. Other than that, though, the characters were shrug-worthy, and none really made an impression on me.
For the score…what score? Are there still composers employed in the movie industry? It seems everything is very generic and unmemorable. I don’t remember the music in this movie, and if I had to close my eyes and listen to the soundtrack, I doubt I could identify this movie from its score.
Overall, I can’t say I’m disappointed in this movie, as I had low expectations coming in. It’s not a good movie, and I wouldn’t want to watch it again. You can check it out if you were a fan of the original (or the underrated sequel). If you’re not a fan of the series, though, there’s nothing here to make you one suddenly.