Editorials
[Second Chances] Over 20 Years Later, Let’s Revisit ‘I Still Know What You Did Last Summer’
Welcome to Second Chances, a recurring feature which gives widely underloved and notoriously maligned genre works another opportunity to impress and redeem themselves with a reviewer who initially found them severely lacking. Maybe these follow-up looks will result in a kinder re-evaluation…or maybe not. Will dull misfires shine brighter after years of distance and nostalgia? Will initially infuriating films somehow reveal their hidden genius?
This past October, the first major post-Scream horror/thriller turned 21. That’s right – the slick, snarky slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (penned by Scream writer Kevin Williamson) is now of legal drinking age. And folks, let me tell you, the realization that a movie I loved as a teen is now over two decades old is enough to drive a middle-aged fella like me to hit the sauce as heavily as the film’s protagonists in its opening act.
Loosely based on young adult author Lois Duncan’s novel of the same name, I Know followed the story of four friends who covered up a drunken automobile accident that left a man seemingly dead, only to be stalked and terrorized by a shadowy, hook-wielding fisherman in their coastal hometown the following summer. The quartet is threatened, hunted, and eventually whittled down to two survivors (Julie James and Ray Bronson, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.), before the killer is revealed to be Ben Willis (Muse Watson), the man they’d hit the year before just after he’d committed an unrelated murder. Willis is eventually thwarted by the two, his hand lopped off in the process, before he goes into the ocean – his vanishing setting up the inevitability of his eventual return.
And return he would. Given I Know’s reigning three weeks at the top of the box office in the fall of 1997, a sequel was all but assured. Titled I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (a name which doesn’t make much sense, if one looks too closely at it), the follow-up would concern the further adventures of Julie and Ray as they continue to dodge the vengeful Fisherman’s wrath – this time, with brand new friends in tow to act as the requisite chum-to-be. Sadly, neither Williamson nor I Know director Jim Gillespie would return for this follow up installment, passing their batons to new screenwriter Trey Callaway and incoming helmer Danny (Judge Dredd) Cannon. Released in November of 1998, just a little over a year after the original film hit theatres, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer landed amidst high expectations…for this fan, anyway.
…oops.
My initial thoughts as I walked out of the crowded movie theatre after having just seen the sequel I’d so wanted to love was…dammit. After a successful first installment which melded Williamson’s clever, snappy dialogue and Gillespie’s confident, playful direction with standard 80s horror movie tropes and a wicked morality tale, this sequel had merely hit all the standard beats of the usual slasher flicks that Scream so successfully sent up, devoid of any wit or class (aside from some beautiful photography and an impressive supporting cast). Dull. Laughable. Forgettable. Utterly disappointing. While I would go on to revisit the first film numerous times throughout the years, the sequel would go mostly avoided by me.
Until now, for the purposes of this Second Chances piece. Does I Still Know… still prove to be a pretty, empty-headed slasher clone, or have the years been kind enough to reveal the film as an underloved gem? Read on…
For those who haven’t seen the film in a while (or at all), a brief recap: I Still Know… finds Julie and Ray one year on from the events of the previous film – that’s two summers removed from the original incident that the Fisherman’s still going on about (lookin’ at you here, movie title). The two are at odds, divided by their long distance relationship and Julie’s reluctance to return to the small town Ray still calls home. When Julie’s friend Karla (Pop/R&B star Brandy) wins a trip to the Bahamas, the two set off for an unexpected vacation to celebrate the upcoming Fourth of July, with Karla’s boyfriend Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer) and Julie’s friendzoned pal Will Benson (Matthew Settle) in tow. The quartet arrive at their island hotel only to discover that their vacation couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the resort is shutting down due to the impending hurricane season. This means limited staff, no fellow vacationers, and no way on or off the island for the holiday weekend, making this spot the perfect setting for some cat-and-mouse terror and blood-shedding mayhem. Meanwhile, Ray discovers that Julie’s vacation was a setup from the start, and begins a long, difficult trek to the Bahamas to save the woman he loves.
To be fair, I Still Know… is nowhere NEAR as bad a film as your writer had remembered. The film is competently made, gorgeously shot, and has some fun setpieces sprinkled in throughout its running time. In addition, the cast is all quite good, with Hewitt, Prinze, Brandy, Pfifer, and Settle doing admirable work with their often underwritten roles. The supporting cast is even better, boasting such folks as Re-Animator’s Jeffrey Combs, Jennifer Esposito, Bill Cobbs, and a shockingly young John Hawkes. A pre-stardom Jack Black even appears, playing a dreadlocked weed-slinger named Titus. I’m not joking. Look at him. Look at that dopey bastard.
Anyway! So yeah, I Still Know… isn’t quite the trainwreck I’d remembered, no. But yikes, it’s still far from good. The characters are little more than cardboard cutouts, existing only to be chased and/or killed, while the story is a paint-by-numbers slashathon that’s bereft of any meaning beyond its mechanics. In addition, as beautifully filmed as it is, I Still Know… is sorely lacking any of the directorial flair that Gillespie brought to the prior film. That director knew how to create genuine tension and impressively choreographed shots to execute his scary sequences. Here, there is practically no tension or crackerjack camerawork, only a parade of telegraphed jumps and frightless murders that neither jolt nor awe. Cannon is a good director, and has a number of solid television credits to his name, but this flick must surely be the worst thing on his filmography.
And then…then there’s that damned ending. While the film managed to keep the Fisherman shrouded in shadows throughout its first half, raising the question as to whether or not it was actually Ben Willis in the slicker once again, the second half gives us several decent shots of his face to assure us that yes, it is in fact the original killer that’s stalking and slashing yet again (with no big reveal given to him). And yet, the film still tries to squeeze in a “gotcha!” moment by shoehorning in a laughable twist – Julie’s friend Will Benson is Ben Willis’ son, aiding his murderous pop in his quest for vengeance.
That’s right – Will Benson is…Ben’s…son. Benson = Ben’s son. The moment where the heretofore mild-mannered Will goes all standard issue “slasher reveal wild-eyed crazy man” and proudly explains to Julie what his final name means is absolutely hilarious – all the more so when one realizes that his final name had never been uttered up until this point of the film. Boo, hiss, cheating storytellers.
Ultimately, I Still Know that I Still Know… isn’t a very good film, or even an acceptable slasher sequel to while away a rainy day. While it may not be the infuriating follow-up I’d remembered disappointing me in my youth, it’s far from worthy of a Second Chance from you, dear readers. That said? It’s somehow leagues better than the eventual straight-to-video third film I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, so make certain to avoid THAT one like it’s the business end of Ben Willis’ hook, would you?
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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