Hello there Boils and Ghouls. This Spooky season at Exploiting Wonderland, I’m did something something different with the horror films I reviewed. They weren’t individual films, but trilogies. That’s right Horror Hounds, I tried to get through as many horror trilogies I could in thirty days, in, what I’m called, the Rule of Three.

On my list of there are classics, weird shit, and oddball franchises like Evil Dead, Re-Animator, Ginger Snaps, Maniac Cop, The Exorcist, Psycho and The Omen, as well as many more. And yes, I know Psycho and The Omen both have four parts, but I am leaving off the fourth parts of those because they were made for TV movies. They will be included in a TV movie sequel collection somewhere down the line, If the evil Jack-o-lanterns in my dreams don’t get to me first. Oh, and don’t forget to ‘like’ all these ramblings. And leave a comment telling me what your favourite horror trilogy is.

So, turn down the lights, draw the protection symbols on the house, pour a circle of salt around the sofa, and let’s celebrate the creepy, scary, and gory films we all love so much.

Um, why is there a severed hand in my popcorn?

Psycho (1960)

Psycho is an American horror thriller produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with a screenplay written by Joseph Stefano, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. And if you haven’t seen this film, shame on you. Go and stand in the corner and think about what you have done.

The story starts with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and her boyfriend Sam Loomis (John Gavin), talking about their relationship after some afternoon delight on their lunch break. Marion wants a more serious relationship, and Sam is worried about what kind of life they would have with all his debt. When Marion returns to work, she is tasked to deliver $40,000 to her boss’s safe deposit box. But instead, she packs a bag, steals the money and drives out of town, headed for Sam in the town of Fairvale, California.

Along the way, she stops at a small roadside motel, the Bates Motel, to get some sleep. Here she meets the owner and manager, young Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins, in a career best), a shy and put upon man at the mercy of his abusive mother who lives in the house behind the motel. After sharing a meal with Norman, Marion decides to head back home and face the music. But she is killed, stabbed to death in the shower, seemingly by Mrs Bates. Norman cleans up the crime.

His is where the story shifts. Marion’s sister Lila (Vera Miles), along with Sam and Private Eye Arbogast (Martin Balsam), investigate the disappearance which leads them to the Bates Motel and Norman. And the mysterious silhouette of a woman in a window. The ending is iconic in a classic film that has burned itself into the retinas of popular culture.

I can’t find a flaw in this film. Hitchcock’s direction is masterful, using the crew from his Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV series to save money. Saul Bass’ credits, Bernard Herrman’s music, and John Russell’s camera are pitch perfect. The performances, especially Leigh and Perkins, are so well realised, you think they are real people. This film tricks you into feeling sympathy for the killer. My favourite element: everybody thinking it’s all about the money, until the end. And mother’s final lines.

Psycho II (1983)

Psycho II is a dramatic horror thriller sequel to the Hitchcock original directed by Richard Franklin and written by Tom Holland.

23 years after Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) was institutionalised for the murders of six people Norman is released as a free man. He returns home to the Bates Motel and the gothic house standing on the hill behind it. His psychiatrist Dr Raymond (Robert Loggia) helps him re-enter the world, even going so far as to get him a job as a kitchenhand at a local diner. Here he meets Mary (Meg Tilly), a wandering soul who ends up staying with Norman after her boyfriend kicks her out. The two become close friends.

Norman is trying to rebuild his life, and show the world he is a sane and kind person. But the trauma of the past, and its effects on others, still haunts him. Outside forces are determined to make Norman’s life hell and break his mind. The sleazy motel manager Toomey (Dennis Franz) who Norman fires, Lila Loomis (Vera Miles), Marion Crane’s sister, who is trying to get Norman locked up again, and someone else using the guise of Norman’s mother. When people start disappearing, the police and Dr Raymond are concerned that Norman may have reverted to his old ways. Things are further complicated when it is revealed that Mary is Lila’s daughter.

The mystery element elevates the film from early 80s slashers. Franklin, a student of Hitchcock’s, does a masterful job here and Holland’s script adds to the mythos of the original without taking anything away. The sympathy you feel for Norman is greater than the original as we see him struggle with sanity. Perkins, again, delivers a career best as Norman and is a good deal of the reason the film works. Vera Miles as Lila (the only other recurring character) is riveting and delivers a performance that rivals Perkins. Lila has become a vengeful woman twisted by anger and grief, trying to destroy the ‘demon’ that took her sister, but ends up creating one and bringing down herself and her daughter. One of the best sequels ever produced and deserves more praise. The ending is as affecting on the audience as the original. Brillant filmmaking.

Psycho III (1986)

Coming three years after the last entry, Psycho III is a slight step down from two, but I still thank the horror Gods. Three is a horror slasher film directed by Norman himself Anthony Perkins with a script by Charles Edward Pogue.

Norman is running the Bates Motel outside of Fairvale, and after the events of the previous film, he has a new preserved corpse Mother and the murderous mother persona of Norman’s slowly starts to resurface. Three people enter Norman’s life that test his grip on sanity, his ability to control and cover up for ‘Mother’. The first is a young woman, Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid), a tormented ex-Nun running from a crisis of faith and scandal. Second, is Duane Dukes (Jeff Fahey), a musician and all-round douche bag, who gets a job at the motel. And Lastly Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell), a pushy, selfish, almost sleazy journalist fishing for a story about Norman and his murders. Once again, all the action centres around the motel and the house on the hill.

What is interesting about this entry is the relationship between Norman and Maureen. When Norman first sees her, he has flashbacks to Marion Crane, who she resembles. But Norman saves her from suicide in the motel, and the two lost souls find hope, love, and the possibility of salvation and redemption in each other. That is until ‘Mother’ gets in the way. Perkins again acts up a storm portraying Norman as a man who fights to free himself.

But it’s Perkins’ ability and creativity as a filmmaker that is so impressive here. Especially for a first-time director. His use of camera placement, movement, framing and usual but effective scene transitions are astonishing. His use of shadows and coloured lighting go a long way to convey mood, emotion and intent in the characters and the scenes without a word said. Carter Burwell’s score stitches it all together.

With this film Anthony Perkins, who had a rocky relationship with the Norman character over the years, leans in to the legacy and takes control of the character and his ending in a satisfying way, while still giving fans what they wanted. Perkins owns this film, and all its praise. 

The Evil Dead (1981)

The Evil Dead is a 1981 supernatural horror film, and certified cult classic, from then first-time writer director Sam Raimi. In the film, five Michigan State University students – Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend Lisa (Betsy Baker), his sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), their friend and insufferable jock Scott (Richard DeManincor), and Scott’s girlfriend Shelly (Theresa Tilly) – all decide to head to an abandoned cabin in rural Tennessee for a holiday break. I could think of better places, but okay.

It’s a spooky place, and weird things start to happen. The only person who is unnerved by it is the artist, Cheryl. In the fruit cellar, the group finds the Naturon Demonto, a Sumerian version of the Book of the Dead, as well as a tape recording an archaeologist explaining his find and reading passages from the book. These incantations release an evil supernatural force into the surrounding woods that sets its sights on the five innocent college kids. What follows is possessions, psychological torture from the reality bending entity, gory fun and that pencil in the ankle scene that always makes me cringe.

It’s a simple premises for a movie, but it’s an impressive film still to this day. I think it is mainly because the filmmakers didn’t know the ‘right’ way to make a movie. They just made it. It was a group of friends, led by Raimi, Campbell and producer Robert G Tapert, shooting it over the span of a few years with a budget of just $375,000. What they managed to do was create a film that was actually scary and well received, and spawned a franchise of sequels, remakes, TV shows, Games, and a tsunami of merchandise.

The character of Ash, the iconic face of the franchise thanks to Campbell, is a very different person here, a more of a meek character than what he became. The camera, lighting, music and sound design slowly change to create an uneasy and disturbing atmosphere and a claustrophobic nightmare. There is also a unique design to the possessed, and the rapid decomposition scene is ‘icky’ goodness. The Stephen King praised film is inventive and influenced many a low-budget horror film. But soon the franchise turns up to 11.

Evil Dead 2 (1987)

Six years after the first, the team got back together to bring the world Evil Dead 2. Due to complicated rights issues, they decided to create a film that today would be called a soft reboot. This gave Sam, Bruce and Rob the freedom to do something very different with the film.

Here Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) head to a remote cabin in the woods for a romantic getaway. They find an old book and a tape recorder with the voice of Dr Raymond Knowby, the cabin’s most recent inhabitant, telling of his discovery of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis or Book of The Dead. The voice then recites passages from the book which unleashes a demonic force into the surrounding woods, which then crashes through the bedroom window and takes Linda. From here, Ash is tormented by the undead corpse of Linda, other worldly noises and voices, visions of his evil double, inanimate objects come to life (including a stuffed Moose head on the wall), and his own severed hand.

Meanwhile, Knowby daughter and his assistant, Annie Knowby and Ed Getley (Sarah Berry & Richard Domeier) head to the cabin with the lost pages of the Necronomicon, with Jake and his girlfriend Bobby Joe (Dan Hicks & Kassie Wesley DePaiva), who lead them through the woods. Once there, they believe Ash, now missing a hand and brandishing a shotgun, has killed Annie’s parents. But when possessions start, and the reanimated corpse of Annie’s mother Henrietta (Ted Raimi) tries to kill them, they must recite the passages from the new pages and stop the evil.

This film is the best known in the franchise, mixing genuine scares with Three Stooges style slapstick. And Raimi’s signature style is all over this. There are effective jump scares, great scene transitions and cuts to up the creepy factor, especially the scenes where the Evil Dead is psychologically torturing Ash, which Joseph Lo Duca’s score blends well. The film uses optical effects, stop motion, miniatures and matte paintings and make-up effects from legends like Mark Shostrom, Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman. But Bruce Campbell is the reason I keep coming back to this. In a word, this film is, “Groovy”.

Army of Darkness (1992)

If Evil Dead 2 was Raimi and the team listing lazily to the left and adding different story elements and humour to their film, Army of Darkness is them doing a sharp left turn at high speed, complete with tire squealing sound effects. Sam Raimi is back in the director’s chair, co-writing with his brother Ivan, produced by Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell, with Campbell returning as our hero Ash Williams.

At the end of the last film, Ash and his Oldsmobile Delta 88 are sent back to medieval England. Here he is mistaken for (correctly) the Promised One of Prophecy that will help defeat the Deadites, by Lord Arther (Marcus Gilbert) and his Wiseman (Ian Abercrombie). He romances Sheila (Embeth Davidtz) with his pillow talk, and is sent on a quest for the Necronomicon in this time located in a creepy graveyard that looks suspiciously like a sound stage. Of course, he screws it up. He retrieves the book, but releases an army of the dead from their graves that marches on Arther’s castle. Ash must convince them, train and educate the people, with some help from Duke Henry (Richard Grove) and his men, to defeat the evil led by Ash’s evil doppelganger (also Campbell).

This film is not a horror film, or a horror comedy, this is a swashbuckling adventure film with horror elements and a ton of comedy. Think A Connecticut Yankee in King Arther’s Court mixed with Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad movies, and you’re way there. Ash here is like a blending of Indianna Jones and Jack Burton with a chip on his shoulder. Raimi’s style is intact, as is the slapstick humour. The film is overflowing to cool set pieces and action. Joseph Lo Duca music reflects that, with a little help from Danny Elfman. The scenes in the abandoned windmill where Ash fights tiny versions of himself, and the graveyard are highlights. This film is bonkers, exciting, fun and endlessly quotable. It shows Bruce Campbell’s range. He should have been a hero like Indianna Jones leading man. Kurtzman, Nicotero and Berger return for the effects, as does Raimi’s brother Ted play multiple parts in different wigs and fake beards. A favourite and still ‘Groovy’.

The Exorcist (1973)

This supernatural horror film is one of the finest pieces of filmmaking you will ever watch, and an example of an often-maligned genre taken seriously. The critical and commercial secured its place in the cultural zeitgeist by burning itself on the retinas of the audience members.

Directed by maverick William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, based on his novel of the same name, the film centres around the demonic possession of 12-year-old Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) by an evil entity. As her behaviour slowly changes from strange and out of character, to violent and demonic, her increasingly worried mother Chris MacNeill (Ellen Burstyn), a successful actress, takes her daughter to doctor’s, psychiatrists, neurologists, and other specialists. No one can help her daughter. Chris’ search leads her to a priest and psychiatrist Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), a man who’s having a crisis of faith due to the death of his ill mother. Karras is both concerned and intrigued by Regan especially after meeting her. He begins to investigate. After consulting with the higher ups, they send for Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), a priest who has had experience with exorcisms. Merrin and Karras spiritually do battle with the demon Pazuzu in order to save Regan. And the fight cost them all a great deal.

What is so effective about the film is the slow progression of the story and the horrors it contains. Showing the bland everyday nature of the world in Georgetown and the sweet and loving little girl and her loving mother, and their relationship. When Regan’s behaviour changes, we are concerned. When Regan goes full demonic, the terror is real and lasting. Blair and Burstyn are fearless and the emotional core of the film. Jason Miller’s Father Karras is equally great, playing a man both of faith and sceptical, who is emotionally broken. He is heartbreaking.

Jack Nitzsche’s score, and the use of Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ creates a disturbing atmosphere, and Dick Smith’s make-up effects unnerves you with Regan’s demonic appearance. And the sound design still gives me cold shivers. If you haven’t seen it, put it on your list this Halloween. Or I’m sending Pazuzu after you.

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

This sequel to the 1973 original is notorious, for all the wrong reasons. This supernatural horror film was directed by John Boorman and written by William Goodhart. And they both need to sit in the corner and think about what they’ve done.

Linda Blair returns and Regan MacNeil, now 16 and wants to become an actor like her mother. Also returning is Kitty Winn as her mother’s assistant Sharon Spencer, who is looking after Regan while Chris is on location. Regan is also seeing a psychiatrist Dr Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher) concerning not only the traumatic experiences of the first film, but also the graphic and disturbing nightmares she has been having. To this end, Dr Tuskin uses a machine with blinking lights that hypnotises both people hooked up to it, so they both can experience the dreams/visions of the patient. Some serious McGuffin stuff.

Also, Father Philip Lamont (Richard Burton) is investigating the death of Father Merrin from the first film. He eventually finds his way to Regan and Dr Tuskin, and the weird miracle machine. Convinced that this machine could help him with his investigation, he gets involved, entering Regan’s mind. And that’s basically the film. No. I’m serious. In the visions, Max von Sydow returns as Father Merrin as we see him face off against Pazuzu for the first-time in Africa, trying to help a possessed child named Kokumo. We also see James Earl Jones and the grown up Kokumo, first in dreams wearing some ridiculous costumes (one has him dressed as a giant Locus), and in the real world as a scientist dressed all in white. There is also a small part played by Ned Beatty that doesn’t go anywhere.

And that seems to be just the problem. None of the events in the film go anywhere, or make any kind of sense. I’m still confused by it. The actor’s, especially the drunk Burton, seem lost. The Ennio Morricone score is cool, but can’t save this. The visuals are amazing, being stylish, beautiful and well composed. Watching it without sound is so cool. In the end, it is a mess. It’s a director making a sequel he didn’t want to make to a movie he didn’t like.

The Exorcist III (1990)

In 1990, the author of the original novel and screenwriter of the original film, Willam Peter Blatty, wrote and directed the third instalment of the franchise, partly based on his novel Legion. It was a film that redeemed the franchise, and it is my favourite of all the Exorcist films.

The film follows Lieutenant William F. Kinderman (George C. Scott taking over from Lee J. Cobb from the original) as he investigates a series of occult themed murders in the Georgetown area that have disturbing similarities to the serial killer Gemini, who was executed fifteen years previously.

Kinderman consults with Dr Temple (Scott Wilson), the head of the psychiatric ward at the hospital, who tells Kinderman of a mysterious man who was found wandering aimlessly fifteen years ago with amnesia. He is a patient, and was initialised with catatonia. Recently he has become violent and claimed to be the Gemini Killer. When Kinderman visits the patient, is it the spitting image of Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), who saved young Regan MacNeil fifteen years ago. But when the patient’s voice and personally begin to change into the supposed Gemini Killer, we and Kinderman see another face, here portrayed by the great Brad Dourif. AS Kinderman investigates, nurses begin to die, Dr Temple commits suicide, and his friend Father Dyer (Ed Flanders taking over from the original’s Reverend William O’Malley), which Kinderman sees in a dream before it happens. All these strange events lead Kinderman to believe his old friend Karras has been possessed by Gemini and is being guided by other evil forces to kill from within his padded cell. There is also a determined priest Father Morning (Nicol Williamson) intent on exorcising patient X. And what an ending.

This is only the second time Blatty was in the director chair, and I am in awe of the film he created. The atmosphere is tense and thick, the cinematography is fluid poetry, and every jump scare is earned. Barry De Vorzon’s score rivals the previous entries creating mood and tension. Until the climax, the effects are minimal but well done and creepy. But is George C Scott’s performance that holds everything together, a great actor playing a good man beaten down. Perfection. 

The Omen (1976)

The Omen is a supernatural horror film that uses the tropes of the mystery thriller to great effects to pull you in. Directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer, it tells the story of American diplomat Robert Thorn (played by Hollywood royalty Gregory Peck) who slowly begins to believe his five-year-old son Damien (Harvey Stephens) is, in fact, the antiChrist.

Five years after Damien’s birth in Rome, Thorn is appointed to the Ambassadorship of Great Britain, and he, his son, and his wife Kathy (Lee Remick) relocate. It’s here, in their new home, a series of mysterious and tragic events begin to plague the Thorn’s. All centred around Damien. Its starts with the very public suicide of the Thorn’s governess at Damien’s birthday party. Which opens the door, so to speak, for the anti-Mary Poppins, Mrs Baylock (Billie Whitelaw) to take the job. Things become a little concerning with the arrival of Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton), who after trying several times, finally gets Thorn to listen to him about the antiChrist and lays out what needs to be done. After Father Brennan meets his end, Thorn and photoJournalist Keith Jennings (David Warner) begin to look into the death(s), and Damien’s adoption in Rome. Oh, yeah. Damien is technically not Thron’s son, something he has kept from his wife. Thorn and Jennings head to Rome to the old hospital that burned down, a monastery, and cemetery, and finally after more deaths, to an archaeologist and exorcist Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern). Bugenhagen tells Thorn about the antiChrist, the conspiracy surrounding him, and how Thorn must kill the child on hallowed ground with seven daggers.

This film has a couple of things going for it. Gregory Peck’s performance and how his character slowly over the course of the whole film, becomes convinced of the evil nature of the child he is raising. How the odd occurrences and the deaths could easily be explained away. Like the ‘experts’, who could have easily been mistaken. The only hiccup is Mrs Baylock and her creepy devotion to Damien, and Whitelaw is awesome in the role. Also, the most memorable decapitation scene in horror, and a final shot that will give you chills.

Damien: The Omen II (1978)

This supernatural horror film from 1978 (Good Year That) from director Don Taylor and writers Stanely Mann & Mike Hodges is a worthy sequel to the original hit film. Jerry Goldsmith returns for the score. Set seven years after the events of the first film, 12-year-old Damien Thorn (this time played by Jonathon Scott-Taylor), is living with his Aunt and Uncle, Ann and Richard Thorn (Lee Grant & William Holden), and his cousin and best friend Mark (Lucas Donat). He is also attending Military School where he is excelling. Damien is a decent kid, although he can be a little arrogant and selfish at times.

Two people take an interest in Damien; one is Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth) who works for his rich industrialist Uncle, and the other is Sergeant Neff (the great Lance Henriksen), an instructor at the military school. They are both secret Satanists, hidden in plain sight, to help Damien grow into the full antiChrist of prophecy. After being urged to read Revelations by Neff, Damien discovers his true heritage. At first, he is horrified by this, not wanting the power, title or responsibility. But resigns himself to his fate, because if he falters, another will be born. By the film’s end, Damien has become his father’s son.

Scott-Taylor does an excellent job as the pre-adolescent Damien. You can see the pain and turmoil on this face, as he tries to keep his secret. The scene with his cousin Mark is heartbreaking, as you realise it seals Damien’s fate. The film is partially a retread of the original, with those you find out about or investigate Damien, come to a grizzly end. But it also adds other things like Damien’s true nature and the Satanist cabal which were not clear cut in the original. Screen legend William Holden does a great job as Richard Thorn, playing a similar role that Gregory Peck played, a good man who slowly realises he is raising the antiChrist. And there is a nice twist with Grant’s Aunt Ann I didn’t see coming on first watch. There are some cool death scenes, but it’s stuff you’ve seen before. Except for the elevator scene, and it’s a doozy. Good sequel, but doesn’t go far enough.

The Final Conflict: Omen III (1981)

The third instalment of The Omen franchise, directed by Graham Baker and written by Andrew Birkin, was released in 1981 and completes the story of Damien Thorn, this time played by Sam Neill in one of his first major film roles. Damein Thorn has been running Thorn Industries for seven years, and the company is in everything from food and agriculture, to electronics and weapons manufacture. Following the grisly suicide of the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, the president appoints Damein to the position as well as president of the United Nation Youth Counsil. Damien believes that the second coming of Christ will take place in England with the birth of a male child, and being in England in an official capacity will better help him and his followers track down and destroy the child.

The seven Daggers of Megiddo have been discovered and are now in possession of Father DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi) who is obsessed with destroying Damien. He is aided by six other priests as they survey, bait and try to kill the wealthy anti-Christ. Damien starts a relationship with a television journalist and news presenter Kate Reyolds (Lisa Harrow), whose 12-year-old son Peter (Barnaby Holm) soon falls under his evil influence.

After Damien senses that the Christ child has been born, he orders his second in command Dean (Don Gordon) to use every person that they have to track down and kill every baby born 24th of March. Which doesn’t sit right will Dean because his own son was born on that day. This action, this further relationship with Kate and her son, and Father DeCarlo’s interference all lead to Damien’s downfall.

This film is not as well regarded as the previous entries, and I could never figure out why. Jerry Goldsmith returns again to do the music, and Phil Meheux & Robert Paynter’s cinematography is quite beautiful in its compositions. Baker’s directing, while not as successful as Donner and Taylor’s, doesn’t leave anything on the floor. But this film is Sam Neill’s show. He is electric as the charismatic son of the devil, who at times seems at odds with his actions. A very well-crafted film with some great creepy moments and a stunning ending.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Teen Slashers got a boost after the release of Scream in 1996. The following year, in an attempt to cash in on the sub-genre, a previously un-made script by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson got the green light. I Know What You Did Last Summer, based on the teen thriller by Lois Duncan, and directed by Jim Gillespie, hit cinemas in October of 1997.

At the centre of the story are four friends: Cute overachiever Julie James and her working-class boyfriend Ray Bronson (Jennifer Love Hewitt & Freddie Prinze Jr.), popular girl and beauty pageant winner Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Geller), and her rich, hot tempered asshat boyfriend Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe). After Helen wins the local pageant, the four friends head to a party to drink, dance and be merry. Later, they continue the drinking at the beach with a bonfire as the couples pair off. On their way home, with all of them swimming with teenage hormones and alcohol, they’re not keeping their eyes on the road. They hit a man. Drunk, panicked, and fearing this will destroy their futures, they dump the body off the dock and try to pretend it didn’t happen.

A year later, when Julie returns home for college, she reconnects with her friends in the worst way when she receives a note that reads, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. What follows is the four friends trying to figure out who the writer of the note, and the stalker that is invading their lives is. They investigate every avenue they can, and when they start to get close, the shadowy figure starts to kill.

For a slasher, this film is light on the kills, with the film being more of a mystery thriller. But it is still effective. While the film hasn’t held up as well as the Scream franchise, IKWYDLS is still fondly remembered. The four leads play their parts well, and you believe and feel for them. There are cool smaller roles from Anne Heche, Brigette Wilson and a pre- Big Bang Theory Johnny Galecki. Won’t blow your socks off, but a groovy little 97 miuntes.

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

After the success of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the sequel, aptly named I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, hit cinema screens a little over a year later on 13th November 1998. The entry was directed by Danny Cannon and written by Trey Callaway and was not as successful.

A year after the events of the last film, Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is back at college trying to live a normal life. She is plagued by the nightmare of the fisherman killer from the first film. Her studies are starting to suffer. She is in a now long-distance relationship with Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.), who still lives and works in their hometown. Her roommate Karla Wilson (Brandy) and her sweet well-meaning friend Will Benson (Matthew Settle) are worried about her. When Ray comes up to see her and takes her home for the 4th of July, Julie doesn’t want to go back because the trauma is still too fresh. They have an argument, and Ray drives home.

After Karla wins a radio contest for four all-expense paid tickets to the Bahamas, Julie invites Ray who turns it down. So, Will joins the foursome which, apart from Julie and Karla, also includes Karla’s douchebag boyfriend Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer). When they arrive, the holiday winners find it’s the ‘off season’ and there is only a skeleton staff. Plus, there is a massive storm rolling in. And can you guess what happens? Yep, the Fisherman is on the island and starts killing staff and guests alike. While toying with Julie. While all this is going on Ray, who had been attacked earlier, is on a mission to get to the remote island to save Julie.

This movie could have been a worthy sequel. All the elements were there. But it just isn’t. It’s visually well-polished, but the story and the characters, especially the recurring ones, are underdeveloped. And the kills, for this slasher film, are pedestrian at best. The over complicated set up from the killers is just a tragic misstep. But there is a cool supporting cast of Jennifer Esposito, Jack Black, Bill Cobbs, John Hawkes and the great Jeffery Combs. Pretty, but hollow.

I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)

With the lacklustre release of the second film, many hoped the series was done. But in 2006, this straight-to-video sequel, hit DVD. Directed by Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard and The Losers) and written by Micheal D. Weiss, this tale has nothing to do with the characters from the first two films, apart from references. The Fisherman is now relegated to an urban legend like figure.

In the fictional town of Broken Ridge, Amber (Brooke Nevin), her boyfriend Colby (David Paetkau), Zoe (Torrey DeVitto), Rodger (Seth Packard) and PJ (Clayton Taylor) decide to pull a prank at the town 4th of July carnival. Roger dresses up as the Fisherman and ‘attacks’ the small group of friends. The end result, the stunt goes bad when PJ ends up impaled on a tractor. The friends get rid of the evidence and vow never to speak of it again. And just like the story they have all read about, a year later, the hook welding Fisherman shows up. At first taunting, then property damage, then one by one killing off those responsible for PJ’s death and whoever gets in the way. With the help of PJs cousin Lance (Ben Easter), who also knows the secret, the small group of friends try to survive and stop the legend.

There are some decent gore effects, but most of the kills are pedestrian, with many being obscured by choppy editing. It’s padded out with overly long establishing shots, lingering scenes and a washed-out colour pallet. The film feels like an early 2000s music video in some place and a teen TV melodrama in others. There is no consistency to any of it. Including the actor’s performances and except for Torrey DeVitto, they all look lost.

Spoiler Warning: There was also the decision to make the killer supernatural in this entry. Yep, you read that right. The Fisherman here is the long dead Fisherman from the other entries, resurrected by the action of these teens. If this was a Friday the 13th Part VI style resurrection to keep the franchise going, they failed.  I don’t say this often, but this movie seriously insults its audience’s intelligence.