Movie Reviews: I Know What You Did Last Summer

There were many scream copy-cats during that time but this is profoundly the most memorable. For any of you who don't know this, it was based on a Lois Duncan novel of the same. The only difference is the violence is a bit tame compared to the movie. That's what makes this so interesting; a slasher movie that's based on a novel which will have a great deal of character development. Most slasher films have a hard time putting that into context. It may seem like the characters are cardboard cut-outs but it's deeper than that as they are haunted by the events of the story.
It starts out like this: Four friends, the smart girl, the beauty queen, the nice guy, and the jerk jock go for a little R+R in the beaches of North Carolina late one summer with a little alcohol in their system. They stupidly decide to drive very fast by the coast near by when suddenly they run over a prestedian, who turns out to be an innocent(or so it seems) fisherman who got off late from work. Out of desprate panic, the group get rid of the body by dumping it into a pier sinking it into it's watery grave. They vow never to speak of this again.
It's next summer after college, the smart girl, Julie James, just having got back from her studies, receives a letter that reads "I know what you did last summer." In a state of horror, Julie runs into her former friends of last summer, Helen: the beauty queen, Barry: Helen's jerk jock ex-boyfriend, and Ray: The nice guy and Julie's lost love. Together, they must figure out who is stalking them before getting hooked by the mysterious fisherman who may or may not be the guy they ran over on that fateful night.
The acting is pretty strong, especially for Jennifer Love Hewitt. This was actually the role that made her a star. Along with her sweet girl-next-door charm and her inner strength she brings into her character. Not to mention Sarah Michelle Gellar AKA Buffy The Vampire Slayer. She really put depth into her character to make her sympatheic because most dumb blondes in horror movies are vapid and shallow with little to no common sense. But Mrs. Gellar deconstructs this in such a way that it's almost sad to see her character get hooked towards the middle of the movie. Let me just say this, what really bother is how everybody in the movie says how horrible the actress look, however they still look like their beautiful glamorous selves. Now for the hot male cast. Woah boy. I gotta remember to focus on their talents before admiring their sizziling hot bodies, especially Ryan Phillipee's. We'll get back to that later. Freddie Prinze Jr. was really good. Of course, he plays the heroic male lead but with a sense of vunerability that hasn't been seen before in a male lead in a horror movie. Not mention to he has the most cuteset brown eyes in which it actually reminded me of a boy I had a hopeless crush on. No comment. Now as for the sexy, hot Ryan Phillipee, he's a real aggressive jerk in this movie. But even I was sad when got hooked. He was really convincing, not because of that hot body of his. It's because he was really good at his performance.
The suspense scenes are really engaging and cringe-worthy. May I remind you this is based on a novel. And probably some scenes in the book, match so well in the movie. This brings us down to the awesome chase scene with the fisherman and Sarah Michelle Gellar. This was hands down the most suspenseful part of the movie. When I first saw this(I was 7 by the way) I was at the edge of my seat.
The story really help flesh out the characters and mircalously make them sympathetic than most slasher movie stereotypes. You may think this your by-the-number slasher but once you look beyond that and go deep into the story. Or maybe even read the book, your call. You might have an instant 90's classic on your hands.
My last word: Highly suspenseful, highly entertaining slasher flick.