I know what you did last summer (5 Stars)

In November I published and reviewed a list of my 30 films to watch before you die. You can find a list of the 30 films in chronological order in this post (or in the sidebar, if you're reading my blog on a PC). I mentioned a couple of times that it wasn't the list of my 30 favourite films. They were all films that I love, they were all 5-star films, but not necessarily what I consider to be the films I enjoy the most. I omitted a few of my favourite films from the list to make room for films that I consider to be important viewing for film fans. This is an example. It's definitely in my top 20 favourite films, maybe even the top 10. I consider it to be the best horror film ever made, but I omitted it to make room for the more original "Scream".

That isn't to say that "I know what you did last summer" isn't original. It follows the set pattern of slasher movies, i.e. an unstoppable killer working his way up from the minor characters to the major characters (of whom usually only one survives for the sequel), but it also has aspects of a psychological thriller. Throughout the film nobody knows who the killer is, and the friends suspect one another.

The film has some gore, but not too much. It's a perfect balance between suspense and gore. The jumps in the film aren't as artificial as in more recent films. It's a film that makes you sit on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the end. This is all backed up by the astoundingly perfect performance of the four young actors in the main roles. Sarah Michelle Gellar made the film after filming the first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Jennifer Love Hewitt had already had some success as a child actress, but this was her breakthrough role as an adult (or at least a late teenager).

During the making of this film Sarah Michelle Gellar met Freddie Prinze Jr, who she married three years later in 2000. They've been together ever since. Who says that Hollywood marriages don't last?