The Gorton’s Fisherman with a hook and a taste for bloody gore is back for a third helping with the straight to DVD release I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer – which breaks from the original story of the first two films and transforms the killer into a sort of urban myth.
The film pretty much follows the exact same formula that was established in the first movie: a group of friends accidentally are responsible for the death of another kid; promise to keep the truth between themselves so no one goes to jail; and are slowly tormented and then slaughtered by a mysterious killer in a rain slicker (think something out of Scooby Doo but with a lot more blood). However, this time the movie goes one step further to make the killer something new – no doubt hoping to launch a whole new series of straight to DVD films.
I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer features a cast of young actors (mostly not too well known) and moves the action to a Colorado ski town. As the town is celebrating the July 4th holiday, the teens, led by Amber (Brooke Nevin), decide to pull off a prank that involves an urban legend of a serial killer that stalks teens during the holiday. Naturally, something goes horribly wrong and one of them ends up dead.
Since the cops figure it was the mysterious “fisherman” that committed the murder, the friends all promise to keep their mouths shut about the truth. The plot then jumps ahead a year and as the holiday begins to approach again the remaining friends start receiving mysterious messages that implicate them in the murder.
The movie pretty much shifts into a standard hack and slash horror film from there. The fisherman has his fun toying with the kids and leaving them more threats; the friends band together to try and figure out who is really wearing the slicker and leaving the notes; several red herrings are left to keep the audience guessing; and finally the 4th arrives and the killing begins.
The Fisherman is back in black
While the film lacks any real originality, it is not that bad as long as you like the hacker style horror film. Director Sylvain White fills the movie with lots of gore, blood, and menacing shots of the fisherman stalking his prey. He also makes good use of camera angles, lighting, and dangling plot elements to keep you guessing who might be behind the raincoat.
Since this plot really has nothing to do with the first two movies, there is no reason to believe that the killer is the same that stalked Jennifer Love Hewitt and pals in the first two films. I was personally letdown by the big reveal at the end, and thought how they handled the “fisherman” almost turned the movie into a comedy.
I won’t go into too much detail since I don’t want to give it away in the review, but I was less than impressed. It is clear that the new direction is hoping to spin out a new horror franchise, and it will be interesting to see where they go from here with the character (somehow Freddy vs. Jason vs. The Fisherman just doesn’t have that good of a ring to it).
The DVD comes with a couple of special features including a fairly standard look at the making of the film, and director’s commentary. The “making of” looks at how they shot some of the bigger stunts in the movie, and features interviews with pretty much everyone involved in some aspect of bringing the film to DVD.
The film has the gore to keep fans happy
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much from I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. The first two films weren’t that great to begin with, and you have to figure the third one had no where to go but down. It isn’t completely horrible, and will provide horror fans with enough gore and blood to keep them happy. I wouldn’t highly recommend it because there are better horror movies out there – even straight to DVD horror titles.
I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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