"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" follows Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who is still suffering from the memories of her friends' murders by a vengeful fisherman who she and her friends had accidentally hit with their car and disposed of his body, thinking him to be dead. Her college friend, Karla (Brandy Norwood) wins tickets to the Bahamas via a radio station contest, so she, Karla, Karla's boyfriend, Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer), and a friend Will, head off on vacation. Meanwhile, Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Julie's ex-boyfriend, has an encounter with the fisherman again, and heads to the island to save Julie. But soon enough, bodies begin to pile up on the mostly-deserted island (which is currently in it's storm season) all around Julie and her friends, and it seems the fisherman has returned.
I considered the original "I Know What You Did Last Summer" to be a fairly good slasher movie that evolved during the late '90s. It had a nice revenge-laced premise about teenagers who had to pay the consequences for their mistakes at the hands of a psychotic fisherman, and it was very well done in comparison with most slasher movies of that era. This sequel popped up only a year later, and while it may be very unoriginal, it's still entertaining. In terms of story, the idea was well put together, and the tropical, stormy Bahaman island was the perfect setting for this film to take place, and a nice change from the gloomy coastal town the previous film was set in. I knew a sequel was coming, after the first film succeeded well with audiences, it was nearly inevitable. The violence factor is much more gratuitous in this sequel, it's gore galore for this movie, which wasn't surprising. It seems that way for a lot of horror movie sequels.
Also, being no surprise, this film is almost beyond cliché-ridden. Typical horror set-ups, scares, and character stupidity is present throughout the course of the movie. It's unrealistic a lot of the time, and there are plot holes everywhere, so in that sense, it's a bit of a mess. But on the other hand, despite all of the unrealistic events, I have to admit that this is an extremely entertaining movie. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. reprise their role, and Brandy Norwood and Mekhi Phifer play her lively friends. Jennifer Esposito (whose career hadn't quite taken off yet) also plays a worker on the island who the gang teams up with when the fisherman begins to off the island's population. The acting was nothing more than average at best, but it was tolerable (nothing too bad, I have seen much worse). But besides, what can you expect from this type of flick? The film ends with one of those "gotcha!" jump scares quite similar to the ending of the original, and puts a close on this series (unless you count the 2006 direct-to-video sequel that follow this) on a rather silly but fitting note. The entire movie is a little far-fetched, but so what?
Overall, I'd advise anyone who is tired of your run-of-the-mill slasher movies to avoid "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" like the plague, because I can guarantee that they will be sorely disappointed. But for those who enjoy some cheap horror entertainment every once and awhile, this clichéd little slasher sequel is an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours, but don't expect to take any of it seriously. 6/10.
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