I Know What You Did Last Summer (Blu-ray)
APPROX. 101 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1997 - MPA RATING: R
" Give me a '90s slasher film over the more recent and often tiresome Americanized remakes of Asian horror any day of the week.
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"What do you wah-ha-hant?!" – Barry Cox
I'm not sure exactly why, but Ryan Philippe's above quote from "I Know What You Did Last Summer" always puts a smile on my face every time I hear it. I don't know if it has the same effect on anyone else or not, but either way I figured it wasn't a bad lead-in for this review.
One could say that it's almost poetic Sony Pictures decided to release the Blu-ray version of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" on the same day as the high-definition release for "Urban Legend." Both are late-90s slasher films that emerged in the wake of all the "Scream" rage going on at the time, and each have a similar theme stemming from urban folklore. In the case of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" in particular, we revisit the popular "Hook Man" tale... with a twist.
The story takes place in Southport, a small coastal fishing town located in North Carolina. During the 4th of July, four recently graduated high school friends--Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Barry (Ryan Philippe)--decide to climb into Barry's pride-and-joy and drive down to Dawson's Beach for their own private party. I mention the beach specifically by name here because the writer of the script, Kevin Williamson, is the man responsible for the television drama, "Dawson's Creek." Williamson also penned the "Scream" films, and after getting his foot in the door with the instant success of the first one, his loose adaptation of the Lois Duncan novel was immediately snagged for production.
At their little beach get-together, Barry gets completely wasted and some mild hanky-panky goes on, and this is where the group builds a campfire and begins sharing ghost stories. The mythical folktale about the insane "Hook Man" becomes the topic for discussion, serving as a prelude of the horrors to come.
It was the perfect evening, one that most people would cherish when they go their separate ways to college. That is, until tragedy strikes and their lives are changed forever when they accidentally hit someone in the middle of the long and winding hillside road on the journey back to town. Panic sets in, and after meticulously going through all of their options, they end up convincing themselves that the only way out of the mess is to dump the body into the sea. Julie, Helen, Ray, and Barry make a pact with each other to never talk about what happened ever again.
One year later, Julie returns home from college for the summer and starts receiving threatening notes about the incident. She learns that the others involved in the homicide cover-up still reside in Southport, so she tracks them down to fill them in on the situation. At first they dismiss it as a prank, but as the movie progresses, it becomes clearer and clearer that the messages aren't a joke, and they find themselves being terrorized by a hook-wielding psychopath hell-bent on revenge.
What makes "I Know What You Did Last Summer" fun to watch and a step up over the average slasher is the star power propelling the film. Instead of having the usual platoon of nameless and forgettable faces that get killed off and will likely never see another casting couch in their lives again, all four leads are credible actors that have since become household names around Hollywood.
I also strongly believe the movie just wouldn't have been the same without Anne Heche portraying the incidental recluse, "Missy." It was just a minor role, but Heche seems to have taken her job very seriously with the way she gracefully approached the unstable and somewhat creepy character. For me, this single performance raised the entire production to a whole new level.
As for the "Hook Man," he's certainly no Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, or even Chucky for that matter. In fact, it's probably a good bet he'd get filleted if these movie maniacs ever had a Battle Royal on Celebrity Deathmatch. I mean, here's a guy clad in a shaggy old rain slicker using a massive fishhook for his weapon of choice, which honestly just isn't as cool as a machete or the infamous glove from Hell. However, I still have to say it was a logical choice when you actually take a look at the bigger picture. After all, we are led to believe the killer did overhear the teens' remark about the urban legend, so naturally with the town being a fishing village it was a simple yet fitting guise. And to an extent, with all the other fishermen running around the boardwalk, it even came with built-in camouflage, kind of like "Predator."
