Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Starring: Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Billy Campbell, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gabbriette Bechtel, Austin Nichols, Joshua Orpin, Georgia Flood, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brandy Norwood
Running Time: 111 min.
Rating: R
★★½ (out of ★★★★)
In the pantheon of horror movie villains, The Fisherman may have trouble cracking most's top ten lists, and yet, 1997's I Know What You Did Last Summer still manages to impressively retain a devoted following of hardcore fans. Riding the wave that began with Wes Craven's Scream, a week couldn't go by in the 90's or early 2000's without teen audiences getting variations on that film's formula, even if lacking its subversive wit. So a few of the era's hottest stars, a deadly fishing hook and a somewhat compelling whodunnit was all it took, even if many wouldn't pass a quiz on key plot points or the killer's identity after it ended.
While nothing about the original stood out from similar projects in the genre released that decade, there's something to be said for getting there second and holding on long enough to earn an underwhelming follow-up, a worse direct-to-video sequel and a short-lived streaming series. For almost thirty years, it's sort of endured, proving nostalgia goes a long way, both for those old enough to have their early moviegoing experiences shaped by it and a newer generation just discovering the franchise. It wasn't a terrible idea to do this, but the bar's set higher now, as co-writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's take closely follows the basic blueprint, leaving us with a modernized, mechanical update in search of a consistent tone.
It's the Fourth of July and Ava (Chase Sui Wonders) is returning home to Southport, North Carolina to attend friend Danica's (Madelyn Cline) engagement party before she, Danica, Ava's ex Milo (Jonah Hauer King), Danica's fiancé Teddy (Tyriq Withers) and former classmate Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) go out to watch the fireworks. But when a drunken Teddy causes a commotion in the middle of the road that leads to an oncoming vehicle swerving off the side of a cliff, its driver is presumed dead. Despite Ava's pleas for them to contact the police, Teddy vows everyone to secrecy while his politically influential father Grant (Billy Campbell) covers up the accident.
Flash forward a year later and Ava's back for Danica's bridal shower, meeting her friend's new fiancé Wyatt (Joshua Orpin) and reuniting with the rest of the gang. Only now, Danica receives a mysteriously threatening note just as a new hook wielding fisherman starts targeting those involved in the crash. But while Ava seeks the help of original survivor Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), the local government and police work to hide any signs of unrest in their idyllic tourist town. That is until Julie's ex-husband Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.) reemerges to remind everyone what happened in 1997, as they all unite to uncover the Fisherman's identity and stop the carnage.
Once you get past a somewhat clunky opening, its premise of karmic retribution for careless, selfish behavior was promising the first time around and still is. But Robinson and Leah McKendrick's script telegraphs the most unnecessary, unlikable characters right away, marking them for obvious exits that usually involve a harpoon through the chest.
As the victims' gutted corpses are displayed for the public to ogle, the script assembles a suspect list that not only includes those aforementioned friends, but other shadier characters like obsessed true crime podcast host Tyler (Gabbriette Bechtel) and the potentially evil Pastor Judah (Austin Nichols). Of course by description alone both are such genre stereotypes that you can immediately cancel them out as possible killers.
Of the core five, Danica's a ditzy partier, Teddy's a drunk who can't get over their break-up, Stevie's a recovering drug addict, Wyatt's a non-entity, while pure intentioned Ava has a conscience, making her our likeliest Final Girl candidate. And in setting up a very familiar scenario where it could be anyone, the story gradually takes on this sort of feminist slant that may actually remind some of 2019's polarizing Black Christmas remake.
More noteworthy is the dynamic within town, as corrupt officials bend over backwards to erase the '97 murders from collective memory in an attempt to preserve Southport's thriving economy. Now as the killings ramp up again, they double down on denials and gaslighting, with Campbell's greedy land developer attempting to channel Mayor Vaughn from Jaws. This and the potential of a conspiracy surrounding these crimes would contain promise, if only the town had a hint of local color or sense of place to help convey a community on edge.
Since Chase Sui Wonders already seems on track to break out as a star, the best news for her is that nothing she does here compromises it. As the only honest, likable character of the bunch, the actress handles her thankless assignment well enough to laugh later without embarrassment or regret. Madelyn Cline is saddled with an airheaded part, and while she's been better, delivers what's necessary, as does Sarah Pidgeon, whose solemn Stevie has less screen time, but a more complicated past.
Possibly by design, none of the guys are really given a chance to register as they're picked off one-by-one. And though we're nearly an hour in before the legacy players show up, it's mostly worth the wait. Jennifer Love Hewitt's cranky, traumatized Julie isn't messing around about wanting no part of this again, Sarah Michelle Gellar's brief but creepy cameo as Fisherman victim Helen Shivers makes for an impactful moment while Freddie Prinze Jr. gives the film's best performance as a protective Ray. Successfully easing into middle-aged character roles of late, he anchors much of this, at times saving the story from going completely off the rails.
Slightly overlong with one finish too many, this fittingly tears a page out of Scream's playbook in how it executes a couple of big reveals, the second of which bests the first. There's also a dangling thread the filmmakers probably counted on carrying over into a sequel that won't be happen. A better effort would have taken its cues from Eli Roth's substantially more fun Thanksgiving, where an instantly recognizable villain and memorable setting was used to great effect, making it feel like a new incarnation of an old school slasher. Instead, this only repeats some of the same problems as its 90's predecessor, minus years of distance and a pair of rose colored glasses skewing viewers' perception of its quality.
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