(Danny Cannon, US, 1998)
Set one year after the original film (I Know What You Did Last Summer - just in case you didn't know) this cash-in sequel turns in an uninspired and workman-like effort that is okay to pass the time but won't have you begging for more instalments.
Englishman Danny (Judge Dredd) Cannon picks up the directing credit and continues to prove that he makes a fine studio director (churning out whatever he'll get offered) in the tradition of the old studio system, but at the same time shows no individuality or distinctive flair whatsoever. This is factory-made filmmaking at its most predictable. Hmm... from a mega-budget, Sylvester Stallone star vehicle to horror film sequel full of unknowns - I'd be worried if I were Mr Cannon.
The Bahamas location (actually filmed in Mexico) does set this entry apart from the urban USA setting of most other stalk-and-slash horror films but the characters still run around in darkness, while being chased by a serial killer, in a rainstorm - so it doesn't drift too far from the slasher formula we all know so well. On the plus side is the performance of Jennifer Love Hewitt as the lead who manages on a number of ocassions to rise above the material she's given. Fans of Jeffrey Coombs will love his hilarious cameo role as the Bahamas hotel manager - totally OTT and most welcome. Some reviews have referred to this as a post-modern horror film and by that they presumably mean post-Scream. But they are wrong. As with the first film, there is none of the knowing self-reference to the genre or its cliches. I Still Know... relies upon the conventions of the slasher film just as much as all those derivative efforts that followed in the wake of Halloween in the early 1980s. This, combined with an inane script and direction, can only lead to what we have here. If you've not seen it - you're not missing much. If you thought that the first film was something special then you might disagree. But you'd be wrong.
Rob Dyer
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