Review of I Saw What You Did

This is a William Castle film and has all the earmarks of a made for the drive-in movie--crappy teen music, teen actors and lots of violence (for its day). However, despite this it's still a pretty good film with some occasionally chilling moments. The best aspects of the film are the excellent realistic performance by John Ireland as a menacing murderer, Joan Crawford's decent performance in which she is murdered before she gets a chance to over-act, and the creepy conclusion where the girls are chased about the property by the madman--all really good stuff. But, in between the beginning and the end, the movie drags a bit--and some of it is due to the fact that the two teenagers who star in the film just don't have enough magnetism to sustain the film. Plus, although I hate to admit it, they were both such brats I was kind of hoping they WOULD be killed! The other low-point of the film is the crappy beach party-type music at the beginning and end. It was totally inappropriate for the mood of the film but I assume it was used to appeal to the younger audience--while probably alienating older viewers or people in the 21st century that view the DVD. Not a bad little film, but hardly great or memorable.