Is ‘I Still Know…’ the best of the trilogy?

There will be many people much the same age as myself having a mini meltdown that I Still Know What You Did Last Summer turns 25 this year.

A staple of the 90s slasher revival, the sequel to the smash hit, Kevin Williamson-penned I Know What You Did Last Summer, feels much more akin to its 80s brethren than the previous film.

Survivors Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) return once again, and are joined by new faces Mekhi Phifer as Tyrese, Brandy as Karla and Matthew Settle as Will.

It has been a common complaint about the unlikeability of Julie in the first film, but here Love Hewitt is given plenty more gravitas, stepping out of the shadow of Sarah Michelle Gellar to become the main focal point of the film. This is helped also by Prinze Jr’s limited role in the film (conflicting schedules), although Brandy more than holds her own as able support against the maniacal Ben Willis.

I Still Know… also ups the gore factor, with the deaths of various inhabitants of the Bahamas residence where the film is set, including the fantastic tableau of Jeffrey Combs’ hotel owner, who is left with a machete through the head and I Still Know… sprayed across the wall with blood.

While not many scenes will touch Helen’s chase from the first film, the sequel takes a good swing as the Fisherman pursues Julie and Karla, including the latter walking across a cracking glass roof.

The ‘twist’ of the film, with Will revealed as ‘Ben’s Son’ is rather laughable, but this feels like the filmmakers leaning into the absurdity of the whole premise, which if you really wanted to you could pick holes in for days.

Ben Willis, now with a hook firmly attached to his stump feels more sinister and with hints of a much darker past, including potentially murdering his wife for allegedly cheating according to the local voodoo practitioner.

It certainly would have been interesting to see a third entry in the series with Julie, Karla and Ray battling Ben Wilson one last time, alas we got I’ll Always Know What You Did Las Summer.

The argument may rage between which film is superior (we don’t consider I’ll Always Know… in this conversation), but there is plenty to enjoy in I Still Know…, so sit back, grab some popcorn and enjoy this big, dumb, OTT slasher for what it is.

Read our interview with I Still Know… writer Trey Callaway.