When the era of teen slashers started to arise from the incredible success of Scream, it seemed a lot of them were just so not up to par as Scream was, and still are not to this day. Scream was a fast paced, amazingly well crafted classic with excellent characters and acting, and a wonderful plot. However, there are quite a few slashers in that time that have cult followings from horror lovers for they are very enjoyable slashers, that tried their best to conquer Scream implacably. I Know What You Did Last Summer falls under that category for me. True, this movie did also help in the creation of the disastrous string of teen horrors we have nowadays, with cliché plot twists and face- palming character actions at every turn, but it is arguably the most successful and recognized Scream cash-in, and there is a reason for that.
I especially love the cast. Though Jennifer Love Hewitt is no Neve Campbell, she and the rest of her co-stars, Prince Jr., Phillipe and the ever so wonderful and amazingly talented Sarah Michelle Gellar all try their best to make the film work for what it is and accomplish that perfectly. Sarah Michelle Gellar's character Helen actually has a very wide fan base, and I am a considered fan as well. Her character was superb; too bad she was overshadowed by the film's genre by a lot of critics and was ridiculously killed off quite aggrivatingly. Anyway, stopping the drooling and praising over Ms. Gellar, the plot is fun and probably my favorite "we make a pact" plot that I have seen. It has some nice kills, and though Ben Willis is no Ghostface, I make these Scream references for the screenplay was by Kevin Williamson and we all know that is what this film tried to be, he is not a bad killer, just not a memorable one. He is not as memorable as the film itself, for me at least.
Anyway, the movie is just pure fun with characters that you actually care for and hope to live; surprisingly deep characters in fact for such a short running time and the "genre-based" film that it is. It was a box office success and I can see why; definitely one of my all time favorite slashers, even if it's not one of the best, and does not receive the appreciation it deserves at a lot of times. I assume it is mostly criticized because of the genre it is in, like I mentioned, and not many critics and general audiences are open to teen slashers, I can see why with the ones we have nowadays, but this was the 90s; an excellent decade for films of any genre, and many people should acknowledge that. A classic, very underrated slasher that I loved and enjoyed greatly.
I especially love the cast. Though Jennifer Love Hewitt is no Neve Campbell, she and the rest of her co-stars, Prince Jr., Phillipe and the ever so wonderful and amazingly talented Sarah Michelle Gellar all try their best to make the film work for what it is and accomplish that perfectly. Sarah Michelle Gellar's character Helen actually has a very wide fan base, and I am a considered fan as well. Her character was superb; too bad she was overshadowed by the film's genre by a lot of critics and was ridiculously killed off quite aggrivatingly. Anyway, stopping the drooling and praising over Ms. Gellar, the plot is fun and probably my favorite "we make a pact" plot that I have seen. It has some nice kills, and though Ben Willis is no Ghostface, I make these Scream references for the screenplay was by Kevin Williamson and we all know that is what this film tried to be, he is not a bad killer, just not a memorable one. He is not as memorable as the film itself, for me at least.
Anyway, the movie is just pure fun with characters that you actually care for and hope to live; surprisingly deep characters in fact for such a short running time and the "genre-based" film that it is. It was a box office success and I can see why; definitely one of my all time favorite slashers, even if it's not one of the best, and does not receive the appreciation it deserves at a lot of times. I assume it is mostly criticized because of the genre it is in, like I mentioned, and not many critics and general audiences are open to teen slashers, I can see why with the ones we have nowadays, but this was the 90s; an excellent decade for films of any genre, and many people should acknowledge that. A classic, very underrated slasher that I loved and enjoyed greatly.