I Know What You Did Last Summer

I finally watched this movie for the first time the other day. Having grown up in a home that prohibited movies with an R rating, I still have a lot of catching up to do in the horror genre and find myself seeing horror staples for the first time later in life, as opposed to when they first hit the theaters.

I was really looking forward to this movie because its cast comprises several big names of that era in movies. I was especially excited to see Sarah Michelle Gellar in this movie, as I’m a big Buffy fan and love to see her in whatever I can.

This movie began with an awesome cover of a classic feel good, summery song. Type O Negative did a great job with changing the vibes of the song from carefree and breezy to dark and creepy. In my opinion, the music in this movie was spot on to the genre and to the era from which it was borne.

As you may know, the movie follows four teenagers who accidentally hit a guy with their car, and then proceed to cover it up because they’re young, dumb, and don’t want their lives to end before they’ve begun. It’s a good reflection of real life and how some of our stupid mistakes as kids can come back to haunt us as adults. Take social media as an example. Most kids don’t think about the fact that their internet presence will be affecting their ability to get jobs or go to school in the future. Hell, I’ve made stupid mistakes on the internet as an adult and have had to reap the repercussions of my actions. It’s a hard lesson to learn but a useful one, all the same.

I was a little surprised when Jennifer Love Hewitt was cast in the role of the homely smart girl, as I’ve always viewed her as someone who’s just as much of a bombshell as Sarah Michelle Gellar. Regardless, she really nailed the role. I could hardly recognize her when she was dealing with her guilt; though, similar to Sarah Michelle Gellar, I still had a hard time seeing her as this weak, under-confident person because she’s typically a strong person and a confident leading lady.

Speaking of Sarah Michelle Gellar, it was so frustrating to watch her get murdered after knowing what she’s capable of as Buffy. I kept yelling at the TV during that scene because Buffy would have fucking known better. She would have kicked that guy’s ass, and then had something sassy or punny to say after.

One thing that happened in the movie that I didn’t understand is why Max (Johnny Galecki) died. He had nothing to do with that night, yet he was the first to go! Why would the murderer be after him, or even know that he existed? I’m not claiming to be a Max fan, by all means. He was a creepy guy who didn’t understand his boundaries with women…but his death seemed like a plot inconsistency to me.

All in all, it was a fun spooky movie to watch! It wasn’t too gory and maintained a good amount of suspense. I’m not sure that I would watch it a bunch of times over; but I wouldn’t mind watching it in July or during the spooky season. I recommend watching it at least once!

Stay spooky!