I’ll come right out and admit from the start that I’m a big fan of I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.
As a huge lover of all things Scream, I dig the teen slasher subgenre that exploded in the late ’90s. Because I enjoy the tone and cast from the first films so much, I couldn’t help but be wary of watching the third installment in the franchise. None of the cast members from the first two films were on board for this, so I decided I wasn’t either. Until last night, while scrolling through the free streaming channel Crackle, I came across I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer.
I decided I had to face my fear, overcome my prejudice, and have one last showdown with The Fisherman.
Here are some stream of consciousness-style thoughts I had while watching the last entry in the Summer series. There are some minor, vague spoilers below.
***
-“Okay, the title’s not horrible. I Know, I Still Know, I’ll Always know… that’s threatening. The Fisherman has a great memory.”
-“Alright, this is going to be a completely separate film. This has little to no connection to the first two.”
-“Why is this set in Colorado? They’re talking about the legend of the fisherman, but wasn’t the original film set off the coast of North Carolina? Did The Fisherman move? Why is he wearing a full on fisherman’s slicker when there are no bodies of water featured in this movie?”
-“Oh, I bet there was a tax credit for the state of Colorado in 2005 or ’06. Alright…”
-“What was the budget for this?”
-“Ok, The Fisherman is still pretty scary. Maybe that will be the hook that redeems this film…”
-“Haha… ‘hook’ … that joke’s about as good as this movie.”
-“They’ve committed a crime, they feel guilty, they make a pact. ‘Amber’ is our new ‘Julie’… They’re homaging the original… or remaking it… or they know what fans of the franchise expect, so they incorporated those tropes. I appreciate that.”
-“Ok, wtf is going on with the editing? There’s a rapid set of flash cuts in every scene. Is this supposed to convey tension?”
-“What happened with casting? No one is trying or seems to believe the situation. Is it the actors’ fault or the casting director’s? Maybe they held local auditions and hired volunteers from the community?”
-“This cinematography reminds me of those re-enactments on true crime shows.”
-“Who sold the rights to this franchise? Did I Still Know do so poorly at the box office that no one cared about this property anymore?”
***
At this point, I had more questions than answers and turned to the internet for an explanation. Surprisingly, for a sequel to a successful movie franchise, there’s little information online about the making of this movie.
***
-“This is the director’s first ‘big’ movie… wait, why did they entrust the third installment of this movie franchise to someone with so little experience?”
-“Oh! This director (Sylvain White) directs a lot of television now. He directs crime shows like CSI. That’s the reason this looks and feels like a Syfy original movie.”
-“Alright. I have to STOP comparing this to the original movies. It’s not going to be like those. Let it go. Accept what’s happening in front of you.”
-“Why are these ‘friends’ so mean to one another? They’ve been through a lot together, but they’re all so angry.”
-“Someone was discovered dead. That’s your cue to react appropriately.”
-“Was that cop seriously just hitting on her after what they just discovered?”
-“Ok, the thought of The Fisherman sitting down and taking his time to create a collage that spells out ‘SOON’ with pictures of our main cast is just endearing. I wonder what other craft projects he enjoys… ”
-“Ahh! Ok, I was scared by that one part. There is at least one successful jump scare.”
-“The run time could have been cut down by at least 10 minutes.”
-“Woahh! WTF is wrong with his face?!”
-“Um, what? A supernatural twist?”
-“One minute the hook was the only thing that could hurt him but now a piece of farming equipment has this magical ability?”
-“Why did this happen? Did everyone but me (including all the people who made this movie) stop caring about the quality of this franchise back in the ’90s?”
***
Then it ended, and I was able to answer my own question. Yes, everyone involved stopped caring about this a long time ago. Maybe my expectations were too high. I’ll always want to go back to the ’90s and experience films like I Know What You Did Last Summer with fresh eyes. This movie is not that. It’s a separate entity with a different feeling, cast, setting, and budget. The viewer should know to adjust their standards and expectations accordingly before diving in.
Back in 2014, Sony announced plans to reboot the franchise with Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Hush) and Jeff Howard attached to write the script. It was rumored this adaptation would be more heavily influenced by Lois Duncan’s book which the 1997 version was loosely based on. Now, almost two years later, there have been no updates on a new I Know What You Did Last Summer film.
Perhaps that’s for the best. Some things should stay buried and shouldn’t be resurrected every summer. Though we will always remember.
Have you seen I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer? Leave your thoughts and opinions below!
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I didn’t even know they made a third one. But now I’ll have to go check it out.
It’s definitely an experience, and I’d feel like I hadn’t really finished the series until I finally saw the last one. Nothing compared to the first and second ones but still a goofy, fun time at the movies 🙂
Hi there! I know you posted this over a year ago, but after going through a 90’s horror revival I watched the first two and then discovered they made a third. So I found a way to watch it and then stumbled upon your post in the quest to get more knowledge about it’s production. First off – your stream of consciousness thoughts were hilarious and basically mirrored mine. What the hell was with all the flash cuts and weird visual oddities the camera did? Also loved how every time they discovered a dead body they just kinda stared at it with their mouths open. Also laughed out loud when they revealed the Fisherman was like, a supernatural demon? Anyway, just wanted to drop in and let you know I loved your post!
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Jason! We love the first two, but this third installment was just… bizarre! It left us missing Julie James and hoping they can find a way to revitalize this franchise. No more demon fishermen! Thank you again for checking us out, and we hope you have a great summer!
At least it’s not the worst horror movie I’ve ever seen. But its close
It’s been some time since we saw it and wrote this post. Perhaps we’ll rewatch one day 🙂
The fisherman is not a demon.
He’s now become an Urban Legend. He will appear and seek vengeance on any teenager or any group of teenagers who have covered up a murder. Any joke or prank gone wrong that has led to the death of anybody will also fall prey to the fisherman. Similar to Friday 13th and Jason who was once human (kinda) but then became more of a zombie spirit coming back on Friday the 13th to get revenge. I will always know what you did last summer now doesn’t have direct connection with the original cast. Now anybody who breaks the rules will be stalked!!! Like Jason who now kills teenagers who had no real connection with his Mom’s or his death. The Fisherman is now superhuman and not human anymore.
The title is used perfectly as it’s not just about this group in part 3. It now simply means any group that commits this sin is and always will be a target. No matter who or where you are he WILL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST
SUMMER
Hey Dan!
You bring up such great points! That explains their intent with the fisherman perfectly. Now it takes on a whole new meaning.
Keeping this in mind, we should go back and rewatch it sometime soon.
Thank you for opening up our perspective!
I have only seen this film once, and that was when it came out back in 06. As a massive fan of the first 2, I was rather disappointed with this one. Particularly because I remember seeing a poster, which turned out to be fan made, with Eliza Dushku set to star in the third film alongside FPJ and JLH… can you imagine how awesome it would have been if this was instead the actual I’ll Always Know we had received! So when the actual film came out I was literally heartbroken. Yes heartbroken, lol. But I will admit that I do really like an earlier comment that suggests the fisherman had become an urban legend, it might actually help give this film a bit more credit on a second watch which I plan on doing 13 years later.
I am also very glad to see someone appreciate the second film. I have always felt that it is sinfully underrated and not deserving of the amount of dislike it has received. Personally I think of I Still Know as one of the greatest slasher films ever made.
Hi Daniel! Thank you so much for checking out our post!
That version sounds AMAZING! I love Dushku from Buffy and Bring It On and would love to see her face off against The Fisherman alongside JLF and Freddie Prince. What we got seemed to disregard the first two films which felt like a slap in the face to diehard fans, like us.
I’m still eager to go back a few years after writing this post and see what we think now. Thinking of the urban legend idea might make it easier to digest.
And you are not alone! We adore both films, and the second one is severely underrated. I heard it squashed on a podcast I love listening to and so wanted to sing its praises in retaliation. It’s so suspenseful and has an excellent twist at the end. As much as I miss Helen (Long Live the Croaker Queen!), Brandy does an admirable and endearing job as Julie’s best friend.
If you live in the SoCal/LA area and like 90s music/musicals, we highly recommend the unauthorized I Know What You Did Last Summer Musical. We saw it on fourth of July weekend this year, and it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in so long!
I just rewatched the third installment and was wondering if they ever talked about making a fourth one. So I took to google to find out. Sadly I still don’t know if they are going to make a new one and if so how they would go about it. I really did enjoy your blog though and the information it did give me.
Thank you so much! We think it would be cool to reboot the IKWYDLS series… maybe with a new cast set in present day? I’d be thrilled to see JLH back in another sequel, but I’m not holding my breath 🙂
Your comment about the collage made me laugh out loud, especially knowing that he turns out to be undead/supernatural. I also found the weird flash cuts disorienting and unnecessary.
Haha 😀 In retrospect, I feel I may have been too harsh and should give it another chance.
I’m just a huge IKWYDLS fan, so I’m sensitive to how the third installment strayed from the original. I did, on the contrary, LOVE the
I Know What You Did Last Summer musical in Hollywood this past summer. Couldn’t recommend it enough if you love 90s music and the first movie.
I think this movie was ok, but why did they have to make Colby so unlikable?
Why did they bring ben willis back? And as a magical zombie? And how did that even happen? With most villains they give some explanation. Jason voorhees for example. They killed him off in pt 4, replaced him for pt 5, used lightning to resurrect him in pt 6.
In this, they just have him show up. Y was he even targeting those kids?
I’ve seen this movie, too, and was wondering how he somehow comes back as a zombie-like immortal killer. Also julie died in the second, I saw her fate on her wiki.
Guitar playing girl just had a double layered nightmare, filled with so many flash cuts and lens flares I almost had a seizure, she woke up to a broken guitar… Scary…