Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is still on its way to the PlayStation 5 and at Tokyo Game Show 2024 over the weekend, director Hideo Kojima teased more gameplay, new features, and an in-game performance by Japanese singer Daichi Miura and a group of Death Stranding 2’s unnerving Dollmen.
James McAvoy reteamed with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for a psychological thriller called Speak No Evil, which Universal Pictures gave a theatrical release earlier this month – on September 13th, to be exact. In the two weeks since that release, Speak No Evil has earned over $57 million at the global box office, on a budget of $15 million. And now it’s time for its digital release. The film will be available to rent or purchase through digital platforms (including Apple TV, Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu), Comcast Xfinity, Cox Microsoft Movies & TV, and Movies Anywhere) as of tomorrow, October 1st, with a Blu-ray and DVD release to follow on November 19th.
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, wrote and directed the film, which centers on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne (read our review HERE), which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote the screenplay for the film with his brother Mads Tafdrup. Gæsterne was nominated for eleven Danish Film Awards, which are the equivalent to what the Oscars are in the United States. That film had the following synopsis: A Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness. And if you’re interested in checking it out, it’s on the Shudder streaming service under the title Speak No Evil.
Christian Tafdrup let it be known he was not a fan of the remake, but JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols gave it an 8/10 review you can read HERE. You can also watch our interviews with Watkins, McAvoy, and other cast members at THIS LINK.
Blumhouse founder Jason Blum produced the Speak No Evil remake. Christian Tafdrup served as executive producer alongside Paul Ritchie, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira.
McAvoy is joined in the cast of the remake by Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate), Scoot McNairy (Monsters), Aisling Franciosi (Stopmotion), and Alix West Lefler (The Good Nurse).
The new Speak No Evil comes home with the follow bonus features, when you buy at participating retailers: – NUCLEAR FAMILIES: Learn what drew James McAvoy and the rest of the cast to this film, discover what methods they used to embody their roles, and listen as they provide insight into the subtle intricacies surrounding the film’s two families. – A HORRIFYING CRESCENDO: Director James Watkins and cast members take you down a dark corridor of psychology as they discuss the navigation of social spaces, dwelling in discomfort, and the grounded horror elements which escalated the story to its formidable final act. – THE FARMHOUSE OF HORRORS: Immerse yourself in the farmhouse and learn how this location was reimagined into a place of nightmares as cast and crew walk you through the different production design and camera elements that added to the eeriness of the film. -FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR JAMES WATKINS
Will you be watching the Speak No Evil remake now that it’s getting a digital release? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and if you’ve caught the movie during its theatrical run, let us know what you thought of it.
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There are trailers that practically show you the beat-by-beat story of the movie, then there are trailers where you can’t figure out what is happening throughout its run. The trailer for Netflix‘s new ambitious film Emilia Pérez is the latter. Jacques Audiard writes and directs the psychedelic trip of a movie, which is set to hit select theaters on November 1, then will become available on the streamer on November 13. The cast includes Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia), Zoe Saldaña (Rita), Selena Gomez (Jessi), Adriana Paz (Epifanía), and Edgar Ramírez (Gustavo).
The official synopsis reads:
“From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard comes Emilia Pérez, an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), the double Cannes-winning film also stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramírez.”
The original score and songs are by Clément Ducol and Camille. Pauline Lamy is on board as the executive producer and the producers of the film include Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard, Valérie Schermann and Anthony Vaccarello.
Karla Sofía Gascón told Netflix, “You have an action movie that’s not an action movie, a drama that’s not a drama, a comedy that’s not a comedy. It is such a great gift, and I’m so proud to be part of it.” Writer/director Jacques Audiard explained, “During the first lockdown, I wrote a treatment quickly, and I realized along the way that it was closer to an opera libretto than to a film script — it was broken down into acts, there were few sets, the characters were archetypal. The idea of doing an opera had crossed my mind as I was working on [1996’s] A Self-Made Hero.” One of the film’s stars, Zoe Saldaña, explains her character, “Rita wishes that she would just have this one opportunity, just any opportunity that will make her break out and break this glass ceiling that she finds herself never being able to shatter. And when the opportunity presents itself, she doesn’t think twice. She just takes it.”
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Writer/director Damien Leone had a budget of around $55,000 to work with on his breakout horror film Terrifier, and a budget of “a little over” $250,000 for Terrifier 2, which was a massive hit when it was released in 2022, earning $15.1 million at the box office. Since the second film did so well, Terrifier 3 has a substantially higher budget. A “couple million” is going into this one, and we’re going to get the chance to see how that translates to the screen when the film receives a theatrical release on October 11th… but before we reach that date, Leone has already confirmed that he intends to make a Terrifier 4. This one might be the last, though, because Leone doesn’t want his franchise to wear out its welcome.
Leone told SFX magazine, “Really, (the franchise is) my true vision, for better or worse, but I really do believe that’s one of the reasons why it’s successful, that there’s no interference. Hopefully it’s just the singular vision of the artist that’s really coming through. My big fear is of going on too long and wearing out my welcome. Because that does happen to all of my favorites. Almost always it happens to the slasher franchises where they make 10 of them. I want to have a solid franchise, whether it be a trilogy – or maybe a quadrilogy if I have one more in mind – where it starts, where it ends, and you can walk away with a satisfying conclusion and closure and say that was pretty cool. I know what that is. So that would be the goal.“
When asked if Terrifier 4 will be the last film in the franchise, Leone answered, “I think so. I have the whole story mapped out. I had it mapped out since part two, honestly, which is huge. Knowing where you’re going to end it is probably the hardest thing and I figured out the ending to this a while ago.“
Terrifier 3 has the following synopsis: Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve. Here’s some more information: After surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they’re safe, Art the Clown returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.
Speaking with USA Today, Leone revealed that the new sequel takes place five years after the events of Terrifier 2.
David Howard Thornton reprises the role of Art the Clown, a character who was first introduced in Leone’s 2013 anthology All Hallows’ Eve (although Thornton didn’t start playing him until Terrifier). Also in the cast are Lauren LaVera, who’s back as Terrifier 2 heroine Sienna; Elliot Fullam returns as Sienna’s brother Jonathan, Samantha Scaffidi is returning as Terrifier and Terrifier 2 character Victoria Heyes, and Daniel Roebuck, who has been cast in the role of Santa Claus. FX legend Tom Savini will also be showing up, in an unspecified role. The same goes for Jon Abrahams, Antonella Rose, Krsy Fox, and legendary character actor Clint Howard. Chris Jericho, who had a cameo in Terrifier 2, is back in Terrifier 3 – but he has let everyone know that his appearance in the film won’t last very long.
Are you looking forward to Terrifier 3? What do you think of the idea of the franchise ending with Terrifier 4? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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Writer/director Parker Finn’s sequel to his 2022 horror film Smile (read our review HERE, watch the movie HERE) is heading for an October 18th theatrical release date, and tickets to Smile 2 screenings are now on sale. In the build-up to the release of the film, Finn sat down for an interview with SFX magazine, during which he not only revealed that this sequel uses ideas that he wasn’t able to work into the first movie, but also that he imagines the franchise carrying on with increasingly off-the-rails sequels!
Smile was based on Finn’s short film Laura Hasn’t Slept (watch it HERE), which won the Special Jury Recognition Prize in SXSW’s Midnight Short category. Caitlin Stasey (Neighbours) played the title character in that short, and reprises the role in Smile, making it a follow-up of sorts. Smile has the following synopsis: After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Here’s the Smile 2 synopsis: About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.
Smile was produced by Temple Hill, and they are producing Smile 2 as well. Scott is joined in the cast by Lukas Gage of The White Lotus and You, Rosemarie DeWitt of La La Land and the Poltergeist remake, Dylan Gelula of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Dream Scenario, Raúl Castillo of Army of the Dead and Knives Out, Miles Gutierrez-Riley of The Wilds and On The Come Up, and Kyle Gallner (Red State), reprising the role he played in the first movie.
Finn told SFX magazine, “There was information I had for myself that wasn’t expressed in the first film that I took the opportunity to bring into the new one, so what Smile 2 is doing is showing us new things. We felt like we’d uncovered the mystery in the first one, but we’ve maybe only scooped a single glass of water out of the ocean.” He added, “There are some ideas that I think are very exciting. I think it’s really fun to imagine a lineage of Smile movies where each one becomes more off the rails than the previous one. What’s really interesting about Smile is that you can find yourself in different stories, different characters, different worlds.“
Are you looking forward to Smile 2, and would you like to see Finn’s vision of an extended Smile franchise come true? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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Astro Bot isn’t just a brilliant adventure platformer, it’s also an homage to PlayStation history. Sometimes that can make it feel like a Funko Pop branding exercise, but it’s also fun to see all of the nods to important games and characters from the platform’s past. That’s made some absences, like Final Fantasy VII,…
Astro Bot isn’t just a brilliant adventure platformer, it’s also an homage to PlayStation history. Sometimes that can make it feel like a Funko Pop branding exercise, but it’s also fun to see all of the nods to important games and characters from the platform’s past. That’s made some absences, like Final Fantasy VII,…
Unlike Superman and Superman II, Superman III didn’t even bother teasing the next installment in the franchise. Really, by the time that movie’s end credits hit, did anyone even want another entry? Hadn’t the Salkinds done enough damage to the Man of Steel? And yet, as we all know, a fourth installment in the Superman series did indeed hit theaters…with a nearly unmatched thud.
If you remember from our previous instalment of What Happened to This Movie?!, Superman III was plagued with all sorts of problems both on and off the screen. So what happened this time around? Turns out, the series would be facing its greatest battles yet, with the rights being passed to another studio, its star only signing on so he could finance another movie altogether and the budget getting chopped in more than half!
And so, let’s suit up one more time and go “nuclear” as we find out: What Happened to This Movie?!
Even though Superman III was a super dud compared to its predecessors, its $80.2 million worldwide haul was enough for producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind to want to move forward with a fourth installment. But in the interim, with the flops of Supergirl and their own Santa Claus: The Movie, the father-son duo decided to land the idea back in reality. That reality came on the French Riviera, where the Salkinds sold the rights at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival for $5 million to Cannon Films. By that point, Cannon had movies like The Last American Virgin, Ninja III: The Domination, and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo to their credits, making them just about the worst possible fit for the most bankable superhero franchise out there. They, too, were also known for their quick-buck MO of pulling in profits by pre-selling home video and TV rights.
With a script by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal (the pair behind The Legend of Billie Jean and The Jewel of the Nile), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was headed towards production…once a few more pieces were put in order.
Christopher Reeve had grown tired of the Superman franchise, later saying he made “two too many.” Remember, he didn’t even want to be part of Superman III, with the studio considering replacing him with everybody from Kurt Russell to John Travolta. But Reeve was a bit more game this time around because he had the leverage. Not only did he agree to sign on at a $6 million salary, but he also got Cannon to give financial support for his passion project, Street Smart, which he hoped would remind moviegoers that he was a serious and trained actor. He, too, would get partial story approval and final say on the director.
Reeve’s number-one choice was Ron Howard, whose Splash and Cocoon were some of the highest-grossing movies of their respective years. This didn’t work out, so Reeve was considered to step in, although he had no directing experience and was only allowed to oversee some second-unit filming. Of all people, Richard Donner – whose relationship with the Superman franchise is storied to say the least – was approached to direct, but considering his history, he declined the offer. (He would end up directing Lethal Weapon that year.) But the strangest consideration by far was Wes Craven. Sure, he had some comic book experience with 1982’s Swamp Thing, but Superman IV as his first movie after A Nightmare on Elm Street?! Interestingly, Craven was game but left over creative differences with Reeve. Directing duties would eventually fall on seasoned Canadian filmmaker Sidney J. Furie.
So, the cast. Superman IV would have many returning faces, including Jackie Cooper as Perry White, Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, and even Margot Kidder as Lois Lane. Her role had been greatly relegated following a clash with the studio over how they treated Donner on Superman II.
Gene Hackman would be lured back by Reeve to reprise Lex Luthor, having sat out Superman III while Robert Vaughn stepped in as the threequel’s main baddie. But that’s not the only role that Hackman had. He actually provides the voice for Nuclear Man (or is it Nucular…?). Actual portrayer Mark Pillow – replacing Clive Mantle (but more on him later) – to this day remains unsure why the decision was made to dub his voice, but he says it all comes off so “wooden” because of that change. As for Nuclear Man, he’s a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster concocted from a piece of Superman’s hair. And Luthor couldn’t have pulled it off without his nephew Lenny, played by Jon Cryer, who would later take on Lex Luthor on the Supergirl TV series, in addition to The Flash and The Arrow.
Sam Wanamaker would also play media mogul David Warfield, with Mariel Hemingway playing his daughter Lacy. Of course, Lacy finds herself near the core of the battle between Superman and Nuclear Man.
With everything in line, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was approved at a budget of $36 million, a good chunk of which was Christopher Reeve’s paycheck. It, too, was already less than Superman III’s $39 million price tag, indicating Cannon’s priorities for the movie. After all, the studio had a lot of projects in development, going on to release more than two dozen movies in the year that Superman IV would come out. As Reeve wrote, the production was “hampered by budget constraints and cutbacks in all departments. Cannon Films had nearly thirty projects in the works at the time, and Superman IV received no special consideration.”
Indeed, the budget would be one of the biggest talking points for Superman IV even heading into filming, which began on September 29th, 1986. Get this: when all was said and done, the budget had actually been trimmed from $36 million all the way down to $17 million – that’s less than half of even Supergirl’s budget!
In one of the more telling scenes of just how money was being spent – or, rather, saved – the United Nations building was subbed for the Milton Keynes Central Railway Station in Buckinghamshire, England…which looks nothing like the iconic building in New York City. As Reeve remembered, “We had to shoot at an industrial park in England in the rain with about a hundred extras, not a car in sight, and a dozen pigeons thrown in for atmosphere.” Hey, at least there was a pigeon budget!
Writer Mark Rosenthal explained, “They would pad-out the shots, then duplicate them” (something seen in some flying scenes). “It’s everything that happens when you don’t have enough money to finish the effects.” As for the “wonderful funhouse of bad special effects”, portable blue screens and mattes were lugged around to allow for quicker shooting, thus less spending. Another cost-cutting method was at one point bringing in an Israeli crew who would work for much cheaper. (Of note, then-Cannon heads Menahem Golan and Yorum Globus are both Israeli.)
Even Jon Cryer, whose career was beginning to take off (having starred in Pretty in Pink not long before filming began on Superman IV), picked up on the problems. “I just noticed little things, like the craft-service table got more and more meager. And they took less and less time every day. We would get props that were especially, uh, crappy.” Reeve, for his part, would confirm the grim situation to Cryer in private, telling him ahead of the release, “It’s an absolute mess.”
Things were not looking good in this so-called “quest for peace.” But Cannon did have a plan, making a distribution deal with Warner Bros., thus restoring some faith in the failing company. Through this, they received a whopping $65 million credit through the First Bank of Boston…which could have really helped out Superman IV if they hadn’t sprinkled the dough across several projects. Great, so Dom DeLuise got an extra lunch on Going Bananas just so Superman IV could suffer!
After filming on Superman IV: The Quest for Peace wrapped in January 1987 and the editing was complete, it was time for it to be screened for the public. And that went just about as well as you’d expect by this point. Superman IV originally clocked in at 134 minutes, making it, at the time, the second-longest movie in the franchise. In this cut, we see Clive Mantle’s original Nuclear Man. But these scenes and some others between Clark Kent and Lacy Warfield didn’t make the final cut. Snipping these moments, in particular, led to several inconsistencies and illogical moments in the final cut, which wound up being 90 minutes (including credits), thus making it the shortest in the series.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace flew into 1,500 theaters on July 24th, 1987. And while it did debut at #1 in the United Kingdom, it didn’t fare so well Stateside. In its domestic release, Superman IV opened with just $5.68 million, landing at #4 behind RoboCop, fellow debut Summer School and a re-release of Snow White, which was turning 50 years old! Superman IV dropped to #7 in its second week, pulling in just $15 million in its total domestic run. Meanwhile, Christopher Reeve’s pet project Street Smart had debuted earlier that year to a whopping $325,835…1987 was not a good year for Reeve, to say the least.
And it would only get worse, with no peace being found in any of these quests. That year, writers Barry E. Taft and Kenneth P. Stoller filed a lawsuit against the studios and Reeve, claiming the actor lifted their idea, which had actually been patented as Superman: The Confrontation and involved the sort of nuclear weapons and disarmament storyline that would end up in the final movie. Apparently, they got their outline sent to Reeve, although the actor claimed he never actually got around to reading it. That was enough for the judge, who, after years of no true trial, dismissed the case in 1990.
The Quest for Peace would be nominated for two Razzies: Worst Supporting Actress for Mariel Hemingway and Worst Visual Effects, which it “lost” to another godawful fourth entry, Jaws: The Revenge. It currently holds a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 16% audience score. Christopher Reeve would say, “Superman IV was a catastrophe from start to finish. That failure was a huge blow to my career.” It also took its toll on Cannon and superhero movies in general.
Cannon continued to falter, with Over the Top and Masters of the Universe flopping at the box office that same year. It would only be a matter of time before they went under, and their legacy would be secure as undoubtedly one of the most unique companies ever to hit Hollywood.
Yet, talk of Superman V was still on the table for quite some time. Fortunately, this never happened, and it would take another couple of years before the superhero genre could rebound thanks to Tim Burton’s Batman. As for more Superman movies themselves, The Quest for Peace outright killed the franchise – and it would take almost 20 years for another Superman to actually fly to the big screen…with Superman Returns!
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The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but we’ve passed the five year anniversary of that announcement, and we still haven’t seen a new Blade movie. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. Now, World of Reel has shared a rumor that Blade might finally be on track to production, with a script in place that everyone is satisfied with and a potential new director: Jeymes Samuel, a.k.a. The Bullitts, who previously directed the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and the Biblical dramedy The Book of Clarence. Samuel has been developing an adaptation of the Boom! Studios comic book Irredeemable for Netflix, but if all goes well, it sounds like Blade could become his next project.
World of Reel reports: “A source tells me Jeymes Samuel met for the Blade directing job and impressed the Marvel brass. … An online rumor, kickstarted because Mahershala Ali followed Jordan Peele’s account on Instagram, had some fans excited by a potential Peele-directed Blade. As far as I’ve been told, Peele was never part of any talks with Marvel to helm Blade. … More good news. It does look as though the latest Blade draft, written by Eric Pearson, might have finally satisfied everyone involved. Pearson is the sixth writer to have taken a crack at the script after Michael Green, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury, Beau DeMayo, and Nic Pizzolatto. The film was originally set in the 1920s, but will now take place in the present day.“
Director Yann Demange was attached to direct Blade for a while, and confirmed last November that the film will be rated R. Demange recently stepped away from the project, but it sounds like the movie will be rated R even without Demange at the helm. He was the second director to sign on for Blade and then drop it, following in the footsteps of Bassam Tariq. Will Samuel be the one to replace him?
We recently heard a rumor that Mahershala Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she has said that she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project.
What do you think of the idea that Jeymes Samuel could be the director of Blade? Have you seen The Harder They Fall and/or The Book of Clarence? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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I feel fortunate to have started as a little seedling during 1980s Horror, but it was something special to grow into my own fandom of Horror in the 1990s. I’ve been sitting on this one for a while. I Know What You Did Last Summer (watch it HERE) might not have been the pinnacle of 90s horror, but it sure as hell left an impression. This movie often gets overshadowed and overlooked, yet it deserves a higher spot among 90s teen slashers. Whether it’s a nostalgic rewatch or a first-time viewing, I Know What You Did Last Summer remains a must-see for its perfect mix of 90s charm, genuine scares, and timeless appeal.
Based very loosely on Lois Duncan’s novel of the same name, I Know What You Did Last Summer was brought to life in 1997 by director Jim Gillespie and writer Kevin Williamson, fresh off his success with Scream. Duncan wasn’t a fan of the adaptation, feeling it strayed too far into slasher territory, a genre she didn’t write. In her own words, ‘What I, personally, have a problem with are the stories (usually on television where action takes the place of introspection) where violence is sensationalized and made to seem thrilling rather than terrible. I was appalled when my book, I Know What You Did Last Summer, was made into a slasher film. As the mother of a murdered child, I don’t find violent death something to squeal and giggle about.’ Duncan’s perspective is deeply understandable and poignant, given her personal tragedy. Her original novel was more about psychological suspense than outright horror, making the film’s shift to a slasher format a significant departure.
Despite this, the film managed to capture the 90s in all its glory, partly thanks to its all-star Teen Bop cast featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr.
Williamson made significant changes to the story, including changing the main killer to a fisherman. This was inspired by his own father, who was a commercial fisherman (not a serial killer, thankfully). Williamson spun this personal connection with the classic urban legend of ‘The Hook,’ which tells the story of a young couple terrorized by a hook-handed killer while parked at a secluded spot, creating a unique and memorable antagonist for the film. Of course, this wasn’t the first killer with a fishing theme—there’s The Mutilator and Blood Hook. And let’s not forget Candyman, who rocked the hook-hand weapon back in 1993. This legend, combined with the influence of 80s slashers like Prom Night and The House on Sorority Row, helped fully shape the film.
The production had its share of highlights. Filmed primarily in North Carolina– because apparently, it was the go-to place for teen dramas in the 90s– the coastal setting added an eerie, isolated atmosphere that just screamed tension. The film’s premise: four friends covering up a hit-and-run, only to be terrorized a year later by a hook-wielding killer.
It’s not often that a movie opens with Type O Negative, but this one does and its ripped a page out of The Lost Boys playbook. I’d like to also add that the decision to cover Summer Breeze by Seals & Crofts was spectacular. More on that later. Is this the highest we’ll get in the movie? Decision unknown. We see a rather melancholy man sitting on a cliff spinning a pendant inscribed with I love you. He takes a swig from his bottle of alcohol. We didn’t necessarily need this scene, but there it is. It’s like a Christopher Pike novel cover come to life. Cut to the Croaker Beauty Pageant and we now meet our main four characters: Julie James, the sweet and sensible one played by Hewitt; Helen Shivers, our pageant queen and aspiring actress played by Gellar; Barry Cox, the angry, troubled jock played by Phillippe; and Ray Bronson, the good looking down home boy played by Prinze Jr.
After Helen wins her title, their night to remember begins. Helen brushes off an early ride home from her older more responsible sister, Elsa, played by Bridgette Wilson who goes just as hard delivering the sass. Julie, left to her own devices, gets a ‘before you go off to college’ lunch invite from Max, played by Johnny Galecki. At this point, we can only assume he’s been massively friendzoned. Drunk Barry galavants in, picks a fight with the harmless Max, and claims he was just protecting his bro’s girlfriend. I wonder what the Barry’s of the world are up to now– I mean, I’m sure most of you had one in High School. All four friends head down to the beach and, in a bit of classic horror foreshadowing, share The Hook legend around a campfire. Julie steps out of her comfort zone here, “He wasn’t decapitated. He was gutted with a hook. At least, that’s what I heard” and delivers this mischievous smile which looks to make Ray slightly uncomfortable, which I love. Another part that still haunts me to this day is when Julie finally decides to get with Ray on the beach. No, not that part…where is the towel??? Did anyone see a towel? You’ve all laid down in sand at some point, I assume. Just let your imagination roam here. Phillippe and Gellar’s chemistry here feels natural, so it’s no surprise they ended up starring together in 1998’s Cruel Intentions. That’s why I was shocked to learn that Gellar was actually dating Prinze Jr. in real life.
Following their beachside campfire stories and cozying up, Ray takes the wheel of Barry’s car, tasked with getting their drunk friend and the rest of the group back home. Barry complains about Ray’s wiener music then cranks Wake Up Call by Mighty Mighty Bosstones and takes a trip through the sunroof to let out all that pent up teenage male aggression. Barry drops his bottle of vodka into the car and before you know it– BAM! He gets Fabioed by a fisherman. No, not romance cover, like when he got hit by that bird in the face while riding that rollercoaster.
Max happens to pass by while all of this is going on. Julie bats her eyes and says Barry is just hurling because teen hijinks. Max takes off, they dump the body of the fisherman, but not before he snatches Helen’s crown off her head. They all swear to keep the events of the night to themselves. When Barry threatens Julie by gripping her throat, Hewitt’s acting shows she’s more than just the teen dream. I also love the added eye roll she gives Ray after he asks if she’s okay—way to read the room, Ray.
Fast forward a year later, Julie is miserable. We see her at college and she looks like she hasn’t slept since that night. Her friend drags her ass back home to visit her friends and family. She reunites with Helen after receiving a note at her home that reads: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. I do too and I’m surprised you’ve gotten away with it this long. When Helen and Julie go to visit with Barry, he delivers one of my favorite lines so satisfyingly: “I know what you did last summer… ooooh, what a crock of shit.” I have to say, for a teen flick or any flick I’ve seen him in, Phillippe is always fully committed. Barry immediately remembers the run in with Max that night and assumes that he wrote it. We all know he didn’t, even Julie and Helen are skeptical but that doesn’t stop Barry from scaring the shit out of him. His words. What sucks here is that Max is the first target of the fisherman. Not even just that, but why Max? He had no clue. He was basically used as a warning to the others. Then he does a little eye for an eye with Barry’s car then keeps him alive.
After the accident, they decide to follow Julie’s lead about a man named David Egan. She does her own Murder She Wrote and finds that David had a sister named, Missy, who is played by the late Anne Heche. I know it was a small role for her and maybe not one of Oscar caliber quality, but in the moments that she is on screen, her vulnerability adds depth to the film. Heche’s ability to convey a sense of underlying fragility while keeping you hooked is a testament to her acting skills, making her scenes memorable. Missy also notes that she received a visit from a friend named Billy Blue. We all knew that was not his real name.
After Helen’s traumatic haircutting incident, the tension only escalates. Yes, we’ve made it. A 12-year old created the most iconic scene in this movie. No, not Max covered in crabs though that did surprise me. In 2018, JLH revealed that there was a contest to direct and create a moment for the movie, and a 12-year old boy won it. His direction was for Hewitt to get in the middle of the street, start spinning, and then shout, “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!” She wasn’t a believer at the time, but certainly is now. I mean, the kid clearly had taste.
Meanwhile, Julie decides to dig deeper into their mysterious stalker. Armed with a yearbook, she heads back to Missy’s place, hoping to get more answers. Julie learns that David supposedly committed suicide out of guilt for the death of his girlfriend, Susie Willis, in a car accident. Missy shows her David’s suicide note, but Julie quickly realizes the writing matches the threatening note she received. It wasn’t a suicide note—it was a death threat. Oh, and guess what? Julie stumbles upon an article about Susie’s father, Ben Willis, and the light bulb finally goes off—Ben was the guy they ran over, right after he killed David to avenge his daughter. I just can’t believe anything anymore.
So if you haven’t been a part of the fan club, I will tell you that this scene is the one that I always bring up when I find a non-believer. Helen has witnessed the murder of Barry from the balcony and is reeling because no one believed her. In fact, this is one of the parts that pisses me off the most because, why are they all holding her back when she starts screaming and running to Barry? Make it make sense. Now that’s out of the way, a cop winds up taking Helen home and she just starts laying into him.
The chase sequence that follows is one of the most memorable in all of horror. It kicks off with her trapped in the back of a cop car, setting the stage for high tension as the killer appears. Helen’s desperation is clear as she escapes and races to the department store, and it feels like we are right there with her. One part that really puts me on the edge of my seat is when Elsa takes forever to open the door. OPEN THE DOOR ELSA. You can feel Helen’s frustration and panic as the seconds tick away. The whole scene is brilliantly paced, keeping you glued to the screen. Her determination shines through, especially when she nearly makes it to safety in the alleyway, right by the parade. It’s so bittersweet—just when you think she’s made it, the scene takes a gut-wrenching turn, making it that much harder to witness no matter how many times you’ve seen it. That would not be happening on Buffy’s watch. This scene is a masterclass in suspense and showcases Gellar’s ability to do what she does best, making it one of the standout moments of the film.
Now, the showdown is on. When Julie goes to Ray to tell him about the latest twist in the Willis/Eagon saga, she sees “Billy Blue” emblazoned on the side of his boat. Naturally, she wigs out and runs off, thinking Ray is in on it. Ray chases after her, trying to clear up the huge misunderstanding. Suddenly, a strange man knocks Ray out and tells Julie to get on the boat. Seriously, who would get on a boat with a creepy stranger? Also, the line, “Easy child,” along with the delivery, just hits me the wrong way every time. But Julie gets on the boat anyway and discovers the psycho collage with super up-to-date photos. Ben must have his own darkroom.
We finally meet the man in the slicker—Ben, played by Muse Watson. Watson, a friend of horror, also had standout roles on Prison Break and NCIS. Ray, regaining consciousness, comes to Julie’s rescue. Though, let’s be honest, this three-way struggle often feels a bit off. Freddie Prinze Jr., please forgive me, but the dopey boy-next-door thing that worked for me back then just doesn’t land with the same impact now. The acting was…well, let’s just say it was a thing.
Side note: Apparently, director Gillespie treated Prinze like he didn’t deserve to be there and gave him crappy notes, all because Jeremy Sisto wasn’t cast. Prinze later said that this experience prepared him to deal with the business and the potential assholes that might come along. Fortunately, every other director he’s worked with has been less of an asshole.
As the chaos unfolds, Ben’s hook gets caught, and he’s hoisted up and tossed into the ocean once more. It’s an ending we know he’ll come back from, but we’ll play like we don’t know what happens next Summer. Julie is safe back at college and is her perky normal self until she sees I STILL KNOW written on the shower door. Next stop, the Bahamas!
It’s the 90s and I am compelled to talk soundtracks. This one is no exception. Did we all not leave the theater with Hush by Kula Shaker in our heads? Did anyone even know Kula Shaker? Do you now? Another cover, much like our Type O track. Circling back to our earlier convo, Type O wrote their own lyrics for Summer Breeze because Peter Steele thought you could just do that without permission from the original songwriters. He did ask, but they weren’t too impressed and gave it a big rejection. You can find it as SummerGirl. Very Type O, very Horror. There’s some Offspring here because they were on every soundtrack. Our Lady Peace with Clumsy, classic track. We’ve also got L7, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Soul Asylum, and KORN. Ah yes, Korn. This is in-between Life is Peachy and Follow the Leader. Both stellar in my humble opinion. The track called Proud didn’t make it to the movie, or at least the final cut, but sometimes not all of them do. OH, Ledbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night does play when Julie visits Missy for the second time, but it didn’t land a spot on the soundtrack itself. As far as covers go, as many of you know, Nirvana infamously covered this song on their 1993 Unplugged set.
I Know What You Did Last Summer definitely earns its place among the slashers. With a budget of $17 million, the movie almost recouped its costs in the opening weekend, grossing $15.8 million. By the end of its theatrical run, it had raked in $125.6 million worldwide. It was massive.
A remake from Sony was supposed to come about in 2014 from Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard. They were ramping this thing up for 2016, and boy was it big. They didn’t want to do a remake and they were not looking at the novel. Howard said he didn’t even know about the book until after the fact. This all felt like a very go big or go home thing, and unfortunately, they had to go home. Hey, Mike, Jeff, can you send me a script for this thing? They also did a TV series with Neal Moritz and James Wan producing that landed on Prime. Pass. If you are still waiting on a remake/reboot, then look no further to the one coming in 2025 from Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Sweet/Vicious, Thor: Love & Thunder, & Do Revenge) and Leah McKendrick (M.F.A, Scrambled). Hewitt and Prinze will be back in their respective roles though the movie will focus on a younger cast with a social media twist.
In the end, my feelings towards I Know What You Did Last Summer are deeply rooted in nostalgia. This movie made me want to be a final girl all over again—just like Nancy from A Nightmare on Elm Street first made me feel. It takes me back to the fall of 1997, a great year for movies, when we not only got I Know What You Did Last Summer but also Scream 2. It’s a reminder of why I fell in love with horror in the first place. Even after not seeing the movie for over five years, I still knew a good chunk of the dialogue. And it’s not just me—audiences connected with it too. Over the years, I’ve seen countless fans reference and celebrate this film. It has carved out a place in pop culture and truly deserves to shine brighter in the Horror universe.
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