I Know What You Did Last Summer

"I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997, Jim Gillespie, Mandalay Entertainment) is one of the staple urban teen horror films seen mainly in the line ups for sleepovers. But, being the adventurous sort, I thought I'd give it another whirl, this time as a more 'mature' person (being 24 and all) and see how it fares.

While out celebrating being so pretty, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Barry (Ryan Phillippe) and Ray (Freddie Prince Jr.) accidentally run over and kill a man in their car. Deciding the best way to deal with this is to dump the corpse and carry on with their promising young lives, the teens do so and try to forget about it. But, it's difficult to forget such a thing, especially if the corpse turns out not to be completely dead while you're disposing of it!

It isn't until a whole year has passed and the gang have separated, forgetting all about that tragic night, that things start to shake up again as they discover that someone knows what they did and wants them to pay for it.

It's based on a novel by Lois Duncan, which I haven't read, so can't really comment on. But the story is pretty good, bearing in mind it's of an Urban Legend nature and comes from some of the people involved in the Scream franchise.

What separates it, for me, from a lot of other 'teen horrors' is that the characters are relatively well-rounded and, while remaining stereotypes, are almost indispensable. Also, as a 'Big Bang Theory' fan, I enjoy that Max is played by Johnny Galecki, and, as a Whedon fanatic, I can enjoy Sarah Michelle Gellar in almost any role!

A fun little horror film with some decent, but not too OTT gore and even a jump or two, providing that you haven't already watched this film to death during your teens.

[Image: Mandalay Entertainment]

Hani

The Return

"The Return" (2006, Asif Kapadia, Universal Pictures, Rogue Pictures) is a psychological thriller about a troubled young professional woman who begins to experience visions of the murder of a woman whom she's never met.

Joanna (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a truck rep, making a name for herself in the industry. She heads to Texas to chase down a new perspective customer, when she begins experiencing the visions.

As her life begins to get a bit hectic, considering that she keeps passing out or daydreaming away the vital minutes, she begins to try to work out what the visions are and who they are from.

She meets a guy called Terry (Peter O'Brien), who's wife, Annie (Erinn Allison) had died several years ago.

As Joanna begins to piece together the strange visions and memories, she starts to realise that perhaps this woman's unfortunate and untimely demise is in fact linked to her in some way or another.

A nice slow burning thriller with some jumpy bits and not a lot of dialogue, "The Return" keeps you watching, waiting on more of the puzzle. SMG proves yet again, that she excels at deep and strong female characters, and can act without any need for words, as she works her way through this artistic piece.

While not a horror in the conventional sense, there are some jumpy bits and the bad guy (J.C. Mackenzie) is quite scary. Not to mention the fact that the 'memories' are really the ghost of the dead woman telling Joanna what happened in order to get her 'Rest In Peace'. Or, perhaps Joanna is no longer Joanna, and hasn't been for some time...!!!

Some spooky music and supernatural electronic disruption, ghostly visions and general spookiness allow this film to fall into the horror genre, although if you're looking for gore, go elsewhere.

A' horror' for those who don't really like horror, this film is entertaining and mellow. I really liked it!

Apparently there's an alternate ending, but like most American productions, only the Region 1 version gets the good stuff. Poor show!

 [Picture: Universal Pictures & Rogue Pictures]

Hani

The Grudge

"The Grudge" (2004, Takashi Shimizu, Columbia Pictures, Ghost House Pictures) is the American remake of the Japanese original from all the way back in, check this, 2003.

Now the Japanese version is terrifying! And the American version is too. This was my first viewing of the American one, and I have to admit to some jumping.

Similar to "The Ring" and "One Missed Call", two other excellent Japanese horror stories, the plot is based around a terrible death in a house in Japan, a curse and a Chinese-whispers-esque/domino effect resulting in the inevitable pile of corpses.

True to the style of the Japanese original, the remake of "The Grudge" keeps the terrifying can-come-out-of-anywhere ghost with straggly hair (an onryō ghost, Wikipedia tells me). Usually, seeing all ruins the effect, but this film is truly haunting, even if it does show you all the details.

I'm a Sarah Michelle Gellar fan, so naturally I was pleased with her performance as care worker Karen. And it's always nice to see Ted Raimi.

The child ghost Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) is absolutely terrifying in a very sad way. And naturally Kayako (Takako Fuji) is the stuff of nightmares as the vengeful female ghost.

The special effects are awesome and will keep you on the edge of your seat. While I prefer the Japanese original, this remake did everything right. Scary stuff!

[Picture: Ghost House Pictures]

Hani