Plot: The summer before college, four teens on their way home from a competition’s after-party accidentally hit a stranger with their car. Assuming the man is dead, and afraid of what will happen to them if they call the police, they decide to dump his body in the water. Fast forward one year and each of them are receiving notes stating “I know what you did last summer”, its not long before people start dying in this movie slightly based on the novel “I Know What You Did Last Summer” by Lois Duncan.

My Review: I actually remember when this came out back in 1997. Scream had just rebooted the Slasher genre, actually it rebooted horror in general. All of the sudden it was a good thing to be in a horror movie. And as the years came to pass that was even more true. Just look at all the major horror movies over the last few years, they all have well known actors in them. What’s interesting is that this was actually written before Scream, but no studio would pick it up.

Back then I wasn’t much of a fan of these “teenie bopper/bubblegum” horror films. They weren’t “hardcore” for me. Which is sort of funny considering I was 14/15 years old. But I love(d) the classic slashers – Friday The 13th, Halloween, and sometimes Nightmare on Elm Street. So I disliked Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and other films like this that came out around that time. But as I got older and I watched Scream more and more I grew to really enjoy the series. I figured why not give these movies another shot.

The killer is sort of a nice spin on urban legends, which they actually discuss in the beginning of the film. Interestingly enough almost a year after this movie was released, the film Urban Legends was released.

This movie really isn’t all that bad, its got an actual storyline that makes sense, and there are likable characters. I think where this movie fails with horror fans is that it has a young feel to it. It feels somehow like its geared towards a younger audience. But it still manages to be a fun movie that is worth at least a couple watches throughout ones life.

Gore: There isn’t too much. There is a dead body or two, but most kills aren’t graphic at all.

Sexual Content: None, but I’m sure many of you will enjoy Jennifer Love Hewitt’s boobs bouncing and a few shots of cleavage.

Acting: The acting was fine, just what you’d expect from any big movie. I like the fact that I know every actor in the film, if course at the time Sarah Michelle Gellar wasn’t on Buffy The Vampire Slayer just yet, that would follow five months later. Jennifer Love Hewitt was well known for her role of Sarah on Party of Five. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Ryan Phillppee weren’t too well known by that point either. What’s even more interesting is that Sarah, Ryan and Freddie went on to appear in many more movies together, and of course Sarah and Freddie married awhile back and more recently had a baby.

Overall: It’s a fun movie, worth at least a watch or two. When I think to myself “Oh I want to watch a horror movie“, it isn’t in my top 20 to watch. So its not a favorite of mine but it is entertaining. Give it a watch or two or three…and I recommend, if you saw it back then and didn’t like it too much, you might want to give it another shot now, so many years later.

[rating:3.5/5]

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