Hate Watching I Still Know What You Did Last Summer: Hook, Line, and No Terror
Manage episode 495260092 series 3426977
Remember when 90s horror was all about beautiful people running from fishermen with hooks? "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" perfectly encapsulates that strange era when our slashers took tropical vacations and our protagonists made questionable decisions at every turn.
Jennifer Love Hewitt returns as Julie James, still traumatized from the events of the first film, now haunted by nightmares and paranoia. When she and her college roommate Brandy (played by musical superstar Brandy) win a dream vacation to the Bahamas through a radio contest, it seems like the perfect opportunity to escape her troubles. Little does she know, the contest was rigged, and the vengeful hook-wielding fisherman has orchestrated the entire scenario to finish what he started.
The film delivers exactly what sequel-hungry audiences of 1998 craved - more beautiful people, higher body count, and even Jack Black in a bizarre role as a dreadlocked weed dealer. While Freddie Prinze Jr. makes a welcome return, fans rightfully lament his limited screen time. The tropical setting provides a refreshing change from the original's small town, allowing for storm-related tension as our characters find themselves trapped in an increasingly empty resort during the off-season.
What makes this film so fascinating to revisit isn't its scares (which are minimal) or its kills (which lack creativity), but rather how perfectly it captures late 90s horror sensibilities. The fashion, the music, the dialogue - it's all a time capsule of a specific moment in cinema history when slashers were commercially viable but creatively waning. The "Ben's son" twist may induce groans rather than gasps, but there's an undeniable charm to the film's commitment to its ridiculous premise.
As a new "I Know What You Did Last Summer" film hits theaters this week, it's the perfect time to revisit this flawed but fascinating sequel and appreciate how far horror has come - or perhaps how much we sometimes miss the simpler days when all we needed was a hook, some rain, and Jennifer Love Hewitt's perfectly blow-dried hair surviving impossible humidity.
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Chapters
1. British Museum and Podcast Introduction (00:00:00)
2. Muppet Voices and Podcast Format (00:05:42)
3. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (00:13:30)
4. The Storm Season Setup (00:27:11)
5. Will's Reveal and the Fisherman (00:41:08)
6. Final Thoughts and Upcoming Movies (00:55:15)
7. Superman and Film Discussion (01:11:46)
272 episodes