Podcasts
[Horror Queers Podcast] ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ is More Than Just a ‘Scream’ Rip-Off
If you watch it 10 times it makes sense.
We had a lot of great discussions during Pride Month! First, we watched a double feature of the first (Hellbent) and latest (Killer Unicorn) gay slasher films, then ventured into Clive Barker territory with an analysis of Lord of Illusions, then went back to the ’80s to discuss the oddly pro-gay film Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker before closing things out with a few dissenting opinions on The Craft (sorry, y’all). To kick off July, we’re singing the praises of Jim Gillespie‘s unfairly maligned slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer!
In the film, four friends run over a fisherman and dump his body in the water. They reconvene one year later when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening letter telling her that their crime was seen. While pursuing who he thinks is responsible for the letter, Barry (Ryan Phillippe) is run over by a man with a meat hook. The bloodletting only increases from there, as the killer with the hook continues to stalk Julie, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.).
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Episode 80 – I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) feat. Ari Drew
Happy 4th of July, Julie! We’re celebrating the holiday (and Canada Day….) in Southport, North Carolina to discuss the post-Scream slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer. Joining us is Trace’s husband, Ari Drew, who is getting a redo after Trace drunkenly botched his previous guest appearance on The X-Files: I Want to Believe.
After Ari tells us how he tricked a bunch of straight dudes into seeing IKWYDLS back in 1997, we all discuss the film’s unearned reputation as a “Scream rip-off” before praising it for being one of the most mature films of the slasher genre. Not only does it choose to focus on characters over kills (something that probably pissed off a lot of people looking for a traditional slasher), but it offers so many poignant moments between Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar).
We’ll also tackle the film’s origins as an (extremely loose) adaptation of a Lois Duncan novel and analyze its place in slasher history as an ode to ’80s slashers with a Scream aesthetic mixed in (it’s the best of both decades!).
Plus, getting boned up over long slashers, Jennifer Love Huge Tits, Ray “Not A Character” Bronson and Ryan “Do Me Daddy” Phillippe. Oh! And you don’t think we’d spend two hours discussing this film without devoting an entire segment to Gellar’s epic chase scene, do you?
And if you want even more I Know What You Did Last Summer shenanigans, subscribe to the Final Girl tier on our Patreon to gain access to over 50 hours of bonus content, including a brand new audio commentary on I Still Know What You Did Last Summer!
Cross out I Know What You Did Last Summer!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re getting weird with a revisit to the world of May Canady (Angela Bettis) and her kooky obsession with dolls in Lucky McKee’s May!
– Joe & Trace
P.S. Check out last month’s article on 2016’s queer(ish) slasher Pitchfork. You can find all of the old articles here.
P.P.S. If you subscribe to our Patreon you can listen to bonus episodes! Since new films are actually getting released again, we’re going back to our regular Patreon format (meaning: no more theme months!). On top of the aforementioned audio commentary on I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, we’ll also have full-length episodes on Dave Franco’s The Rental and the Sundance favorite Relic.
On the DL.
After spending June on explicitly queer texts like Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn (listen) and William Castle’s Homicidal (listen), it’s only appropriate that Horror Queers celebrate the American holiday with a blockbuster film with a not-so-secret gay connection.
In Independence Day, an unlikely group of people come together when the human race faces extinction from a threatening alien race. After spaceships destroy every major city, pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith) must team up with secret tech genius David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), as well as the US President (Bill Pullman), to execute a daring plan to save the planet from annihilation.
Along for the ride are the two saviors’ romantic partners – WH Communications Director Constance (Margaret Colin) and stripper Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) – plus eccentric scientist Dr. Okun (Brent Spiner), who is at the center of the film’s most horrific set piece.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.
Episode 393: Independence Day (1996)
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day…courtesy of gay German director Roland Emmerich.
As the summer blockbuster celebrates its 30th anniversary, we’re looking back on an alien disaster film that scared young Trace (thanks to that alien autopsy scene) and turned Will Smith into a star.
Plus: the death that upsets the most; bemoaning Vivica A. Fox’s career; pondering what could have been with the casting; why Smith’s bravado and the film’s patriotism doesn’t always work for Joe; and plenty of riffing on the atrocious sequel.
Cross out Independence Day!
Coming Up Next: We’re retreating to the country for some questionable therapy courtesy of Joe Dante’s 1981 classic, The Howling!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 503 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Forbidden Fruits, Saccharine, Evil Dead Burn, an audio commentary on the utterly ridiculous sequel Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985), and the conclusion of our Requel Tier coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.