Should you make an I Know What You Did Final Summer season film, one factor has to work above all else. Regardless of the characters “did final summer season” must be unhealthy sufficient for somebody to plausibly return a yr later and attempt to kill them. It’s one of many issues the 1997 authentic will get proper. A gaggle of (largely) drunk mates drive on a darkish highway, run into an individual, after which, whereas he might or will not be nonetheless alive, throw his physique into the ocean. Yeah, if I used to be hit by a bunch of drunk youngsters and left for useless, I’d really feel fairly murderous too. The sequel, which opens in theaters this weekend, doesn’t even get that proper. It thinks it does, crafting a state of affairs that’s much like the one within the authentic movie, however while you break it down, the dearth of clearly outlined proper and improper undercuts the entire remainder of the film. You by no means really feel like what they “did final summer season” is unhealthy sufficient to warrant that stage of revenge, and consequently, the entire film falls flat. So what occurs? Right here it’s, with spoilers for under the primary quarter-hour of the film. A gaggle of mates leaves a celebration to go to a secret spot to observe fireworks. Most of them are ingesting and smoking weed, however Danica (Madelyn Cline) is just not. She’s sober, so she makes it some extent that she’ll be driving. Security first!
On the way in which, her mates, however particularly her fiancé, Teddy (Tyriq Withers) are fairly tousled. He tries to jokingly distract her (and distracted driving is what induced the accident within the first film), however ultimately, they make it to the fireworks spot no drawback. As soon as they get there, Teddy is feeling so good, he begins dancing on the street. Whereas in the course of the road, a automotive begins to strategy, and Teddy decides to play rooster with it. It will get shut sufficient that Milo (Jonah Hauer-King) has to save lots of him, and everybody will get mad at Teddy’s recklessness. That is necessary as a result of it establishes there’s a very good quantity of highway between the flip and the place Teddy is standing. Quickly after this, every thing goes down. Teddy remains to be within the highway, and a automotive comes by that’s going so extremely quick its driver one way or the other doesn’t see him. Because the automotive swerves to keep away from Teddy, it finally ends up crashing right into a guardrail and nearly goes over a cliff. With the automotive teetering on the ledge, the group all rush over to save lots of the driving force, however the doorways are jammed. They do every thing they will, however 5 youngsters can’t pull a pickup truck again from over a cliff, and it will definitely goes over. However not earlier than the driving force features consciousness, smashes the window, and rips Teddy’s shirt off. This by no means comes again, by the way in which, but it surely’s a factor that occurs. Unsure why you’re so mad? – Sony Now, ought to Teddy have been within the highway? In fact not. However ought to this particular person have been driving at an inexpensive sufficient pace to see him, particularly when the movie establishes there’s loads of highway there? For positive. So, mainly, the film misses the mark just a few occasions right here. First, the film makes it clear {that a} sober particular person is driving, and so they arrive on the location unscathed. Second, Teddy is partially, however not wholly, at fault for the accident, and everybody makes a clearly valiant try to save lots of the driving force. Subsequent, Teddy calls the police to report the accident, however then all of them depart as in the event that they weren’t there.
Now, not everyone seems to be glad about this. They really feel they need to keep there and come clean with it, however the concept is floated that, as a compromise, they’ll go to the police station on the way in which dwelling. Which doesn’t occur and additional pisses off the group. It’s a clumsy journey dwelling, however ultimately, all of them agree by no means to talk of this once more. To reiterate, Teddy stories the accident to the police. That is after he and others tried to save lots of the particular person. They don’t deal with the scenario completely by any means, however the film makes them rather more forgivable than the group within the authentic. Oh, and the automotive doesn’t explode or something when it falls over the cliff. It’s simply there. (Later, we study the particular person did die.) Both method, the characters don’t do every thing proper, however they do sufficient issues proper that you simply a minimum of really feel like they’re partially not accountable. So, by the subsequent yr, when Danica will get that titular notice (solely she will get the notice, by the way in which, so it’s not likely even a factor), as an alternative of “I Know What You Did Final Summer season,” it’s actually extra like “I Know You Made a Man Swerve Off a Cliff by Accident Final Summer season.”
Later within the movie, we study some spoilers about who the sufferer was and the way they relate to the killer, which I received’t spoil right here. It does make the plausibility of why this particular person goes on a murderous rampage possibly 5% extra plausible, besides, after 90 minutes of film the place we’re left questioning why this killer is so mad, it’s too little too late. And that’s the brand new I Know What You Did Final Summer season in a nutshell. A legacy sequel to a film that was already fairly unhealthy by itself however one way or the other doesn’t even perceive why that film labored within the first place. Need extra io9 information? Try when to count on the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on movie and TV, and every thing it’s worthwhile to find out about the way forward for Physician Who.
