I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When one slasher film does well with a different formula, it can get carried away and reuse something else in a sequel. The biggest example goes to 1998’s I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.


PLOT


The 1998 film takes place a year after the events of the first film where Julie James and her boyfriend Ray Bronson survive the wrath of vengeful fisherman Ben Willis. Julie is now in college, has befriended her roommate Karla Wilson & her boyfriend Tyrell Martin, but is skeptical in returning to Southport due to still having nightmares of what she went through. She comes around however when she and Karla win a vacation to the Bahamas via phone call from a radio station. Ray agrees to go with them despite hesitance and he tries driving to her overnight with his coworker Dave (John Hawkes), but they get intercepted by a surviving Ben Willis. The antagonist kills the latter, which gives a chance for the former to escape and still travel to the Bahamas to protect Julie. Julie and the group that also includes classmate Will Benson do reach their destination that is a hotel in Tower Bay that is off-season due to an upcoming storm. She seems to settle in when going out to one of the bars and sing karaoke. The Joy abruptly ends for her when she sees the machine show lyrics that the stalker still knows what she did. She walks away in fear, while the rest of the group try out the hot tub. Julie’s paranoia gets validated when finding the body of Darrick (Benjamin Brown) the dockhand dead, confirming Ben has made it to the island before Ray. She warns her friends and the manager Mister Brooks (Jeffrey Combs), but no one believes him since the body is nowhere to be found. The next day, the group does find the bodies of not just Mr. Brooks, but also Olga (Ellerine Harding) the housekeeper, and fellow guest Titus (Jack Black). They also find the two way radio damaged that can prevent them leaving any sooner. When encountering the hand porter Estes (Bill Cobbs), he admits to using voodoo to protect them since they actually got the answer wrong to win the vacation, meaning it always a trap from the start by Ben. He then reveals Ben actually killed his wife Sarah over an affair she had, as he leads them to a cemetery where he’s vandalized to taunt Julie. As they head to the kitchen, they meet Nancy (Jennifer Esposito) the bartender trying to hide. Hiding doesn’t last for the rest of them when Ben stabs Tyrell from behind and chases the girls. During the chase, Karla falls into a greenhouse and barely escapes him. Will returns to Julie when trying to find Estes who left them at the cemetery, revealing he’s Ben’s son and he killed the hand porter for figuring him out; He also admits he’s the one who made the scam call. When Ben reappears, he kills Nancy and knocks Karla down. The slasher and his son try to kill Julie, but Ray finally appears to intervene. Within a scuffle, Will accidentally gets stabbed by his own dad and Julie shoots Ben down with Ray’s gun. By morning, Karla is found alive before they all get rescued by coast guard. The film’s epilogue concludes the story with Ray & Julie appear to have married and live together, but it ends in a cliffhanger with Ben pulling the latter from her bed.


THOUGHTS


It goes without question when I say I had low expectations with this sequel because rushing something good is bound to be imperfect. Not bringing back original writer Kevin Williamson was the first red flag because I don’t think director Danny Cannon was able to craft the original flair alongside new writer Trey Callaway. There is a creative setting where the Fisherman is stacking up bodies in an island, but you can’t really differ it from other franchises because it feels like Friday the 13th in an island instead of a lake. The kills are still creative when seeing people get impaled with a firepower after seeing another get stabbed from being with a hook. The problem that remains is not finding any new depth from before. Jennifer Love Hewitt & Freddie Prinze Jr. portray Julie & Ray as opposite sides of the coin when it comes to handling trauma, because while the former is constantly afraid, the latter is able to confront every issue head on. They’re an opposites attract relationship, but it doesn’t feel any more special from there because it’s obvious. I had nothing against Matthew Settle making Will the Stu Macher of the story where he does his best to appear innocent until he lets the cat out of the bag. I’m just not into it because it’s too easy of a twist and it was fine with making Ben a one man army with a single hand. This is a case where it doesn’t feel guaranteed to feel satisfied on how highly scaled the villain will be since they’re bound to reuse past slasher elements. I wasn’t so impressed with Tyrell since Mekhi Phifer since he comes off very rude when being skeptical. It was really Brandy Norwood however that stole the show for me because she did a great job making Karla a more supportive friend Julie really needed after all she went through. It’s already a bummer for Tyrell to die because even he like everyone else did not deserve it, but I’m sure if Karla died too, I don’t think Julie would ever emotionally recover the way she pushes herself to. Without even seeing the 2025 re-quel, I’m positive she had just another nightmare as it was implied in the first movie. The tragedy that comes from realization however is that she likely didn’t marry Ray as he sold his engagement ring to get a gun, that was used to kill Ben. However we see them again, I hope it’s bittersweet instead of tragic like how Dewey & Gale were in the fifth Scream movie.  As much as I can respect the signature narrative of entertainment that was setup, this only led to me noticing a handful of problems that were very hard to ignore. I appreciate Ray wanting to bring Julie home, but since they share similar trauma, he should’ve thought of something else to cheer her up. Plus, Karla sure messed up sneaking in when she knows what Julie has told her, whether or not she thought she was out of town. The only other mistake that can top it is leaving her alone at the club because it’s a miracle no one saw Ben in his Fisherman outfit. It’s also on the girls to not know what storm season was because that’s just part of the need-to-know for any vacation. Of all the dumbest things Tyrell can say is not doubting Julie’s past, but instead being hesitant in going to the jacuzzi with Karla. Since he didn’t know Will was interrupt, the guy should know that’s an ideal spot to get a significant other in the mood. And what tripped me out more than Estes ditching the cemetery so fast has to be Ben & Will moving the bodies so fast. I don’t see the point in them doing that when the whole point of the island is to trap Julie. The biggest mistake Julie makes has to go to not being suspicious about getting a call from the station, who turns out to be Will, when she pointed out her number is unlisted. That is the biggest mistake on her end and that’s worse than Ray having the engagement ring on him while on the job. Julie even messes up not taking hitting Ben with the axe when she had him dead to rights. Chopping off the hook hand would’ve made him useless and the threat would’ve been neutralized before knowing Will was left. Hell, it even feels confusing with the fact Ben knew when he was leaving because if he’s already heading to the Bahamas and is stalking Julie, he should’ve not been there. But if the fisherman costume at the club was just a vision, that should’ve been more clear. I like to guess it was when it came to the karaoke machine since Karla & Tyrell don’t notice, but then I can’t help overthinking this as well since it’s a given for them to be oblivious. I would’ve not minded to see the tape replayed if Ben & Will really went out of their way to tamper with it. Ignoring this is gonna be a challenge to enjoy the rest of what’s shown because it sure was for me. To wrap up, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is a sequel that doesn’t succeed in being super new, but still keeps its entertainment factor when you’re a slasher fan knowing what you’re in for.