I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1998). Director: Danny Cannon. 

Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) has tried to forget the bloody events of I Know What You Did Last Summer (the epilogue to which turns out to be a dream). Julie's friend, Karla (Brandy Norwood), wins a radio contest which is amazingly simple, and the two women -- along with Karla's boyfriend, Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer) and pal Will Benson (Matthew Settle) -- find themselves on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the resort is practically empty because the rainy season is about to begin, the manager (Jeffrey Combs) is a weird-looking grump, and someone is stalking the few people who remain on the island. Meanwhile back on the mainland, Julie's on again/off again boyfriend, Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.), learns something that propels him to take off pell mell to the Bahamas to warn her and save her life. The mysterious fisherman from the first film is back and using his big hook to slice and dice employees and guests. Potential victims include not only the main foursome but also a likable doper (Mark Boone Junior) and sassy, attractive bartender (Jennifer Esposito).

Jeffrey Combs as the weird Mr. Brooks

I Still Know is an entertaining and generally fast-paced slasher film, but it is so ridiculously contrived that it almost seems like a cartoon parody. The killer or killers in the film have come up with such an absurdly convoluted and elaborate revenge scheme that you wonder what they might have accomplished had they put all this energy and money to something that might have actually improved their lives. I must say that the cast in this is likable and enthusiastic, which helps put the whole thing over; Matthew Settle makes a particularly good impression. Muse Watson also has fun as the man with the meat hook. 

Verdict: Sequel goes in a bizarre direction to put it mildly but is fun if you're not in a discriminating mood. **1/2.