Movie Review of...
I Know What You Did Last Summer
The trailer for me really didn’t do anything to make me want to watch the film; well that’s the case with most old movie trailers, so I just linked a fan made one. Not that it matters anyway, I watched the trailer long after I watched the movie. The movie follows a group of four teenagers trying to cover up their hit-and-run accident that result in the death of a local fisherman. The lead heroine, Julie James (Jenifer Love Hewitt) and her friend soon find out that some secrets can’t be buried.
Lead heroine is played by none other than Jenifer Love Hewitt, who delivers but however falls flat in comparison to the other roles. Best friend Helen Shivers is played by the loved actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Sarah Michelle Gellar does a fantastic job and easily outshines the lead. Ray Bronson, Julie’s love interest is played by Freddie Prinze Jr who does an exceptional job. The other lead role is Barry Cox, played by Ryan Phillipe who is an absolute jerk, but is one that everyone will love to hate.
Other roles include Elsa Shivers, played by Bridgette Wilson who appears to be jealous of her sister. Then we have Anne Heche who plays Missy Egan. And finally Max Neurick who is played by Johnny Galecki.
The villain of the film is The Fisherman who is a man/woman who dresses him/herself in a fisherman costume. Also in The Fisherman’s possession is a deadly hook which obviously brings an end to a few characters as the movie progresses. Throughout the film you are left wondering whose under the costume, is it one of the four friends? Or the man that they hit exactly one year ago?
Direction and Cinematography
The direction of I Know What You Did Last Summer is lovely and so is the lighting. There’s some really nice foreshadowing in the movie, especially with all of the shots of fog whilst the teens are disposing with the body. The cinematography is well lit and looks great at the night time scenes, especially on the Blu Ray.
The opening of the film is basically the usual opening credits that you’ll see in every other movie, nothing spectacular. Also shown is a fisherman getting drunk on the rocks, who I’m assuming is the same fisherman that gets hit by the main cast.
The score is memorable, there are some nice melodies, there’s this one particular jingle I like that plays in a few scenes. E.g. When Julie goes into a room after returning home and looks at some old memorabilia. It does also get quite tense in certain scenes, so overall it is composed well.
The location of the film is pretty rad, suits the film well lots of exterior shots, nice panning shots of the town and many other areas. The wardrobe is good for the most part, but Julie’s wardrobe is a little… Uh, well maybe watch see the film and you’ll see what I mean.
Jenifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar auditioned for each other’s roles.
This movie is based off of a Lois Duncan novel, Duncan has openly expressed her hate for the film because she believes that her well written drama was turned into a slasher film.
This film was shot in the time lapse of 50 days.
Despite being part of the main cast, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.), although being in many key scenes together, never say a single word to each other throughout the whole film. In real life the two actors are currently married.
I Know What You Did Last Summer is a fun film to watch; it’s one of the few good 90’s slasher films out there after Scream’s success. I recommend to anyone and everyone, it’s not too gory and the body count is tame so it is ok for children to watch. Overall, I rate this movie a 7/10 as opposed to IMDB’s 5.4/10 rating.