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Overall Rating : 5.5/10
Directed By : Sylvain White
Torrey DeVitto
Ben Easter
Brooke Nevin (The 4400 (TV) )
Don Shanks (Halloween 5)
Supplied By : Sony Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : July 3, 2006
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| PLOT A group of teenagers in a Colorado find themselves being stalked and killed one-by-one by a mysterious figure with a hook, exactly one year after they covered up a friends' accidental death... |
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| THE REVIEW Yes my friends, The Fisherman is back! In the latest installment of the "What You Did Last Summer" movies, I'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, delivers an all-new story and puts a whole new spin on the series. The plot to I'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, is strikingly similar(at least the set up) to a direct to video film called THE GRAVEYARD, in which I reviewed recently. The film begins at a town carnival on July 4th, a group of friends have gathered together to have some fun, part of that fun is telling the story of a legend of a serial killer known as "The Fisherman". The legend states that the Fisherman comes out every July 4th to take revenge on teens and has done so for years. It just so happens that a few of the teens are in on a joke and one of them has dressed up as that very infamous Fisherman and proceeds to chase the unexpecting friends, one in particular, P.J. The joke seems to be going as the mischievous friends had hoped, but soon something goes terribly wrong (or else we wouldn't have a movie would we?), during P.J.'s pursuit away from who he thinks is a killer, he tries to jump down to the ground below on his skateboard, but by doing so, he accidentally impales himself causing his own demise. It picks back up exactly one year later and the friends are coping with the stress to hold in a secret they promised not to let out to anyone. they think that the secret is as good as dead, but soon they find out the secret will once live again - someone knows what they did! When Amber receives a text message on her cell phone, 50 to be exact, from someone whom claims to "Know What They Did Last Summer", she panics and hurries to get the group together to try and piece together just what is happening. Is it real, is it one of them replicating the joke they played one year prior, or is it the REAL Fisherman that the legends speak of? - These are all questions they ask themselves. Soon the reality of just who it is, is the worst answer of all as The Fisherman is after them, but the problem is, is just how do they find help without letting their secret out? Let me tell you, when I heard about a month ago from Sony, that the 3rd sequel to I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, that I have read about for over a year was finally coming out - frankly I wasn't expecting to like it. But the truth is, after seeing it, I can tell you that it wasn't all that bad, in fact I enjoyed it for the most part. I do agree that the set up for the death of a friend, is kind of lame here, and even more so for me because I recently saw the similar death in THE GRAVEYARD - but then again this is fresh for the "Know What You Did Last Summer" films and if they wanted to freshen things up, then this is the way to do so. This film, like the other 2 in the series, follows the same formula, the friends are rejoined a year later, and you find them coping with the accident in their own way, some have changed and have been living very different lives than they once had. For instance, Colby and Amber were once sweethearts a year ago and Colby had planned to go to college, neither one of those scenarios seem to exist anymore, Roger has become a depressive alcoholic while Zoe has took peace in songwriting and now fronts a band. The film is rather slow in the beginning, and we begin to learn about the characters individually which is good, but I believe that the other 2 previous films had a greater base of character development. But on to the good stuff, i'm sure fans will be more than happy to know that the deaths scenes, are handled fantastically and are done much in the same manner as it's parent films - I was quite impressed! The Fisherman is changed just slightly - he has the same over all rugged appearance, the black slick and hook are all still in tact and they do look awesome on camera. However, it seems they have now chose to give him more depth, in the previous two films he was more human like - here, he is more than that. At one point his face is exposed, and he looks almost inhuman to me and then later we find out he bleeds black blood. This is awesome in my opinion, because it gives the screenwriters more to fanaticize about if they were to continue the series, and if this film's ending is any indication I think it just might - and in any case it still makes our bad guy appear that much more unstoppable. The acting was far better than I would have thought. I expected to be annoyed by some of the characters, because in most of these direct to video features there's bound to be at least one. The only thing to annoy me here is the rock band that Zoe is in, rock bands fronted by characters in films are now becoming cliché(ie THE CHOKE, SLASH etc) and unoriginal. I really enjoyed Brooke Nevin as Amber, she is our main character and clearly the most developed character of all obviously. I have never seen any of the main actors before, with the exception of Shanks, But Nevin stands out and leaves an impression on you - a great heroine. Don Shanks, a man that I admire to the fullest extent, he donned the white Shattner mask in HALLOWEEN 5, and here he suits up as the menacing Fisherman. Don Shanks' movements are fluent and creepy, at the same time emotionless, I don't think anyone could have portrayed this figure any better - definitely the most effective Fisherman of all 3 films (at least to me). Overall, if you are wondering, the production values look very high(but obviously not as high as the other 2 films) the picture is slick, and the editing and photography are excellent and highly impressive, it does not look like the uber cheap production you would expect. I did like this film, but the slow beginning and lack of character depth kind of hurt it - however the last half of the film is a great thrill ride that makes it a worthy addition to the series. | ||||
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| GORE
METER 5.5/10 Some of the kills are highly effectible and brutal, my favorite kill would have to be the hook in mouth kill - fish-like! |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 6/10 The opening rock tune was the perfect way to introduce the story, and although I didn't like the band angle of the story - the music sung(which is by a REAL band) was awesome. the rest of the musical score stays true to the previous films which always seemed to work. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM As I said, this is an enjoyable film, while although not as great as the original, it is a great way to bring the series back to life. I have this feeling that I'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, is just a jumpstart to a new string of sequels for this series, and I wouldn't be surprised if other studios take notice and release direct to video sequels to their films as well. New Line will be the next to follow with their release of THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT 2. This DVD will be released on August 15, 2006 |
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