I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

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.             

Dexter: Original Sin (Season 1)

Creator: Clyde Phillips
Starring: Patrick Gibson, Christian Slater, Molly Brown, Christina Milian, James Martinez, Alex Shimizu, Reno Wilson, Patrick Dempsey, Michael C. Hall, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brittany Allen, Raquel Justice, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sarah Kinsey, Jasper Lewis, Aaron Jennings, Roberto Sanchez, Randy Gonzalez, Isaac Gonzalez Rossi, Amanda Brooks, Roby Attal, Joe Pantoliano
Original Airdate: 2025

★★★ (out of ★★★★)    

For those still keeping track, Showtime's Dexter ended its eight season run in 2013 with a much maligned finale before returning nine years later for its continuation, New Blood, which fans still rejected despite getting the ending they supposedly clamored for. But when plans for subsequent seasons were scrapped after Michael C. Hall's title character seemingly met his demise, it appeared we were done. That is until creator and showrunner Clyde Phillips realized the best way to ward off complaints was to ensure the series never ends again, resulting in this prequel, Dexter: Original Sin.

Taking place fifteen years prior to the start of its first season, the new series opens with the shocking revelation that our favorite serial killer/blood spatter analyst Dexter Morgan may have survived the shooting in New Blood. And now with Hall back to narrate the character's past from his death bed, there's still a direct sequel ahead with Dexter: Resurrection, as well as the proposed Trinity Killer prequel spin-off focusing on John Lithgow's murderous psychopath. 

Returning us to the show's comfortably familiar Miami surroundings for a period piece that delves deeper into how this complicated anti-hero came to embrace his "Dark Passenger," Original Sin has promise. And while the central mystery is its weakest aspect, casting and performances pick up the slack, especially one from a lead who expertly channels Dexter in all the ways you'd want from an actor playing Hall's younger counterpart. Filled with easter eggs, wonky creative choices and even some occasional retconning, it's not perfect, but builds a solid enough foundation that viewers will want to stick around.

It's 1991 and eccentric, socially awkward 20-year-old Dexter Morgan (Patrick Gibson) is hired as the newest forensic intern at the Miami Metro Police Department, where his adoptive father Harry (Christian Slater) works as a homicide detective. Keeping an eye on Dexter in hopes of curbing his increasingly dark and violent impulses, Harry also has his hands full with angry, rebellious daughter Deb (Molly Brown), who's still coping with the recent death of her mom and Harry's wife, Doris (Jasper Lewis).

Learning the ropes from unshakeable forensics chief Tanya Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar), wise cracking analyst Vince Masuka (Alex Shimizu), fedora wearing detective Angel Batista (James Martinez) and his dad's partner Bobby Watt (Reno Wilson), Dexter joins a squad rocked by a series of child kidnappings. As Captain Aaron Spencer (Patrick Dempsey) explores a possible cartel link, he assigns Harry to keep an eye on the first female Miami PD homicide detective, María LaGuerta (Christina Milian), who's investigating a string of murders she suspects is the work of a serial killer. 

Meanwhile, Dexter's applying Harry's "code" to satiate his worst urges, targeting only society's worst criminals as he builds confidence with each new kill. But his youthful hubris and inexperience also leads to some major rookie mistakes that could get him caught, or worse. Haunted by past trauma and guilt, Harry fears losing control of his adopted son, continuing to shield Dexter from the grisliest details of a childhood he's subconsciously blocked out.

With the exception of New Blood, the original series always followed a certain formula that usually ended with the big bad on Dexter's table by season's end. And in showing how this all started, these ten episodes don't necessarily stray from that template.While remaining emotionally detached from Morgan family problems, Dexter sloppily navigates his way around as a killer, still searching for a system that works as he implements the tactics he'll later hone. 

Whether it's how Dexter chooses his victims, the first use of an Etorphine injection, the origination of his kill room, or solving the body disposal problem, this is him still figuring everything out. A few missteps alarm an already stressed Harry, who harbors major secrets of his own about Dexter's upbringing. And the childhood backstory we only heard about or saw brief glimpses of now gets a full fleshing out with '70's set flashbacks of Harry's affair with his cartel drug mole Laura Moser (Brittany Allen), mother of Dexter and older brother Brian. 

While we know how Dexter witnessing his mom's murder in that shipping container shaped him and future "Ice Truck Killer" Brian, the entire unfiltered experience is laid bare here. But the biggest revelations concern Harry, who's presented as being far more responsible for Laura's death and the brothers' evolution than we previously suspected. He's also heavily flawed and careless as a detective, developing a savior complex as his attempts to protect Laura go awry, putting her in harms way and nearly destroying his own marriage.

Since James Remar's version of Harry only appeared in brief flashbacks and as an apparition during the classic series, it's unfair to compare his take to Slater's since both serve entirely different purposes. But Slater's tremendous, making few attempts at directly imitating what Remar did as a father and cop torn apart by the guilt of failing his family. Though the writers have Harry make unbelievably incompetent mistakes, Slater's has it covered, shedding light on why he's so protective of Dexter and obsessed with shielding him from the truth about his past. In this sense, Harry's "code" to curb Dexter's darkest urges is also an effort to shield his own shortcomings, rationalizing that if he couldn't save Laura, there's still hope for her son. Or at least one of them.

Learning what not to do as Harry breathes down his neck, Dexter fumbles his way through the killings of a murderous nurse (Tanya Clarke), loan shark (Roberto Sanchez) and mob hitman (Joe Pantoliano), all of whom have left innocent victims in their wake. As Dexter, Patrick Gibson's brilliant, adapting portions of Hall's detached approach while simultaneously providing a blueprint for what we know will follow. 

With Dexter still lacking a full understanding of himself or his capabilities, it's all about not screwing up as a skeptical Harry hovers over him. But Gibson's even better at depicting Dexter's awkwardness in social situations, displaying some great comedic timing as he navigates a relationship with Deb's best friend Sofia (Raquel Justice) or clumsily attempts to endear himself to co-workers.

Because Jennifer Carpenter was so physically distinctive as Deb, they were never going to fill that part with her doppelganger, leaving Molly Brown to turn the volume up in incorporating the character's various personality quirks. Reeling from her mom's death, the anger and swearing is off the charts as she seethes at all the attention Harry gives Dexter. And with the two now suddenly working together, she's never felt more invisible, causing her to rebel by dating the older Gio (Isaac Gonzalez Rossi), who talks a smooth game, but might be trouble.

Unfortunately, Deb's subplot with Gio amounts to less than expected, sort of fading away without any concrete resolution. Despite that, Brown brings sass to the part, excelling most in the moments she vulnerably displays concern and affection for her "weirdo brother." It's through this, her strained bond with Harry and a series of personal roadblocks, that the seeds are planted for a future career in Miami homicide. 

The rest of the cast is uniformly strong, as Shimizu and Martinez are dead ringers for younger incarnations of Masuka and Batista, while Christina Milian gives the season's most underrated turn as the no-nonsense LaGuerta, eerily capturing previous actress Lauren Vélez's demeanor and inflection. Her feud with Dempsey's Captain Spencer is an ongoing thread, with him thoroughly insulted someone so publicly critical of the department would be brought in to undermine him. Besides helping to explain how LaGuerta became the hardheaded boss we know, it also sheds some light on her noticeably different treatment of the Morgan siblings.

Whenever any character pops up in a prequel who wasn't in the original there's wild speculation about why they weren't. And the more recognizable the star, the crazier these theories get. So as much as the writers try to distract us from it, it's impossible to ignore the presence of billed guest star Sarah Michelle Gellar as Tanya Martin, or stop wondering what her overall purpose is. 

Unfortunately, they do so little with Gellar it's almost as if whatever plans were in place for her character got completely scrapped. As a result, we're left wondering what could have been, especially since she steals every scene she's in as a dry, sarcastic forensics expert who actually shares a lot in common with Dexter. The possibilities seemed endless, so while Tanya's influence is still felt in some choice scenes, it's a missed opportunity they won't get back since Gellar's now attached to a Buffy reboot.    

It's somewhat ironic that everything involving Dexter perfecting Harry's code and finding his sea legs as a vigilante is more engaging than the season's big arc involving the murdered and kidnapped kids. Once the perpetrator is revealed, you'll start counting down the minutes until Dexter closes in, but not before the writers jump through hoops to avoid explaining too many details of the killer's convoluted plan.

When it's all over, there are lingering questions you're forced to kind of just let slide, mainly because Harry and LaGuerta's side hunt for the NIH killer so quickly overtakes the main case in interest. More directly tied to what Dexter was and who he'll eventually be, it also provides a further glimpse into Harry's motivations with a surprising twist that skillfully sets the stage for forthcoming seasons. 

Despite some messiness getting there, this does finish on a strong note, with the added benefit of an early 90's milieu and soundtrack that really captures the period's specificity. Narratively and stylistically faithful to its predecessor, it also updates the show's iconic opening title sequence by cleverly incorporating the supporting players into Dexter's superficially tedious, but sinister morning routine.

The advantage of Dexter's origin story being this heavily expanded upon can be a handicap when loyal viewers pick apart every detail, carefully hunting for inconsistencies. But with so many clever callbacks, it's a real trip seeing the his formative years depicted in such detail, prompting us to rethink popular theories. And if this is any indication, the Dexter franchise shows no signs of slowing down, evolving into a full blown multiverse with a shelf life as long as the character himself.            

Southland Tales

Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore Running Time: 144 min.
Rating: R

**** (out of ****)

For the past two years or so I’ve been telling anyone willing to listen that if something were to happen to me like, say, accidentally getting hit by a MAC truck, that my only request is that it occurs AFTER I’ve seen and reviewed Southland Tales. To fully understand why requires a little bit of explanation. You see Southland Tales is what I like to refer to as a "Jeremy Movie." Such films, which only seem to come down the pike every few years, follow a certain set of rules. The first of which is usually that they don’t follow any. They’re also self-indulgent, tend to make little or no sense on an initial viewing, take huge risks, feature insane casting and sometimes, but not always, are directed by a filmmaker who just doesn’t seem to give a shit whether their movie is embraced by the public.

These films often elicit harsh, polarizing reactions from audiences and critics. When I tell anyone I happen to love one of them I can read the frustration on their faces, even if they’re too polite to say anything. They just can’t stand it. The second I saw the trailer for for this I thought: "Awesome. Richard Kelly made a really insane film…just for me." Well, me and just a couple of other people who might be crazy enough to appreciate what he’s trying to do. Nearly everyone else will probably despise it.

Southland Tales is the most ambitious, self-indulgent film to ever be released by a major studio. By comparison, Kelly’s own Donnie Darko and last year’s Grindhouse look like tame, mainstream crowd pleasers. It’s a sci-fi epic, a dark comedy, a drama, a romance, a musical, an action-adventure and a religious allegory all rolled into one messy inaccessible package. It’s also the most biting political satire since Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. In presenting a dystopian fantasy, it ends up saying more about the world we live in than any of the heavy-handed political dramas Hollywood force-fed us over the past year.

Its nearly 3-hour cut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 screened to the harshest reception there since The Brown Bunny. This cut is shorter at 144 minutes, but I can see how Kelly would’ve needed more time to tell such an expansive tale that bursts at the seams with such force and energy. Its reception at Cannes makes perfect sense. This isn’t a movie for film festivals, critics or even most audiences. Hell, this isn’t really a movie for anyone except a few. But for those few it will be very special. A little while back I almost felt the need to actually apologize for liking Juno, a polarizing movie reviled by many. You won’t be able to beat an apology out of me for this one.

It’s an alternate 2008 and the country is in political, social and environmental upheaval. A set of nuclear attacks in El Paso and Albilene, Texas in 2005 have set off a chain of events that has led America into World War III. We’re told this via clever Fox News-like visuals and a T.S. Elliot and Robert Frost quoting voice-over supplied by wounded Iraq War vet, Private Pilot Abiline (Justin Timberlake). The government responds by beefing up the Patriot Act and creating USIDent, an oppressive "Big Brother" police state. With a gas crisis on its hands the country makes a deal to use an alternative source of energy known as "Liquid Karma," the brainchild of mad scientist Baron Von Westphalen (The Princess Bride’s Wallace Shawn). The fate of the upcoming election rests solely on the electoral votes in the state of California.

Amongst the political unrest, extreme liberal cells to emerge, specifically a group called the Neo-Marxists. They’ll stop at nothing to destroy USIDent and break the Republican stranglehold in office, using movie star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) to do it. Having recently disappeared in the middle of the desert, Boxer has returned to the California Southland with a mysterious case of amnesia, which right after impotence has to rank as the next worst condition with which to be afflicted if your wife is Mandy Moore. He’s shacked up with porn star and aspiring reality talk show host, Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar). They’re working on a screenplay, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the events that unfold in this film.

Boxer becomes the target of an extortion plot by the Neo-Marxists to bring down his in-laws, Republican Presidential candidate Bobby Frost (Holmes Osbourne) and his Lady MacBeth of a wife Nana Mae (Miranda Richardson. The other two pieces of the apocalyptic puzzle are twins Roland and Ronald Taverner (both played by Seann William Scott). And this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the plots and sub-plots contained within this jam-packed film or how they merge together for a visually stunning July 4th finale that takes you as far down the rabbit hole as humanly possible, owing more to Donnie Darko than you might expect.

It’s literally impossible to see this film once and attempt to make any sense of it at all, much less form an opinion on it. This creates a problem because an initial viewing will be so frustrating for most audiences that the last thing they’d want to do is revisit it, which is a shame because they’d be missing out. I’ve only seen it twice and I say "only" because I still don’t believe I’ve come anywhere close to extracting all there is from it. I don’t think I ever will. But it is amazing how much you pick up on in another viewing because it’s structured in such a way that you really do have to pay attention to every little detail. The narration. Those tickers at the bottom of the screen. The frequent news updates. They all play a role in filling in the blanks and dropping hints. The plot is complicated in its details, yet so meticulously crafted and constructed that from a big picture perspective it holds together in some sort of insane way when you step back and look at it all. More directly, it’s an extremely loose and very clever creative adaptation of the Book of Revelation, which is quoted many times during Timberlake’s voice-overs throughout the film.

As I experienced Southland Tales I could swear it must have been based on a comic or graphic novel because what’s onscreen comes so close to creating a living, breathing comic universe. As it turns out, the story is Kelly’s creation and while graphic novels were released separately from the film, they’re based on his screenplay, not the other way around. Not unlike George Lucas with Star Wars, Kelly had originally envisioned this as a nine-part series. What we get here is the final three parts entitled: Part Four: Temptation Waits, Part Five: Memory Gospel and Part Six: Wave of Mutilation. The graphic novels are prequels and this method likely alienated mainstream moviegoers who could point to it as yet another example of Kelly’s self-indulgence. To an extent they’re right, but I’d argue the three parts we get here wouldn’t be necessarily any more comprehensible if we had more background. And the prologue (which the studio pushed Kelly to include) does help make sense of this…if you pay close attention to it.

If I could compare it to any film, the closest it comes to matching, at least in tone, is Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. But it really isn’t like that movie at all, or like anything else for that matter. Kelly wears the influences of David Lynch, George Orwell and Phillip K. Dick proudly on his sleeve, yet he somehow still manages to build a universe that’s completely fresh and original. The movie is also incredible to look at with visionary production design and special effects that, if the film had been better received (or received at all) could’ve warranted Oscar consideration. Moby’s synthesized dream-like score seems almost ingrained into the fabric of the film and story itself. It’s hard to imagine any other composer’s work being as close of a match to this challenging material as his. Music also provides the exhilarating centerpiece of the film, a Justin Timberlake lip-synched musical number set to The Killers’ "All These Things That I’ve Done." After watching it you won’t hear that song the same way again. I have no idea how much was paid for the rights to use it, but it was worth every penny.

If someone asked me what my dream cast for a movie would be, the list would read almost exactly as you see above. It’s almost surreal seeing these names assembled together for one film. You may have noticed for the first time the conspicuous absence of "The Rock" moniker in Dwayne Johnson’s billing in the credits and the ads for the film. It’s appropriate. As a wrestling fan I was disappointed when Johnson hung up his trunks and retired for a movie career. If you looked at the long, unsuccessful list of wrestlers who’ve tried acting you’d know where I’m coming from. That disappointment officially ends now. I don’t want ever to see this guy anywhere near a ring again. I had a feeling he’d star in a great movie eventually, but I didn’t think it would be this early. The role of Boxer is right up his alley and Johnson deftly handles some of the most difficult material an actor can be given: the frustrating, incomprehensible kind. He’s no fluke and that this flopped won’t hurt him in the slightest. His performance drives the movie.

Sharing top acting honors with him is Sarah Michelle Gellar, who gives real heart and depth to what should have been the shallowest character in the film while Seann William Scott comes closest here to fulfilling the potential we’ve been suspecting he had all along. As the narrator, Timberlake is our eyes and ears in a story where we need a lot of help. Compared to his larger recent roles in Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan, this doesn’t let him show as much dramatic range, but of the three, his work here is the most memorable…and craziest.

One of the biggest thrills in this is for me was seeing actors who I never thought would get a good role again (some of whose careers peaked a decade ago) finally given a chance to impress. You really get to see them like you never have before. Jon Lovitz as a psychotic cop. John Larroquette as a clueless Presidential advisor. Christopher Lambert as a weapons dealer. MadTV’s Will Sasso as a drug-dealing movie producer. Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler as an unhinged "performance artist." The biggest surprise of the film is another SNL vet, Cheri Oteri. Anyone familiar with her work on that show will be surprised that as Zora Carmichaels, the leader of the Neo-Marxist movement, she actually gives one of the strongest dramatic performances in the film… a dramatic performance made all the more impressive by the fact that it’s given in the midst of a screwball comedy.

As Madeline Frost Santaros, Mandy Moore’s free fall of terrible film choices comes to a screeching halt. It isn’t a big role yet in some strange way it ends up being one of her most exciting and, much like 2004’s Saved, represents the risky parts that for whatever reason she’s strayed away from. A completely unrecognizable Kevin Smith (looking EXACTLY like music producer Rick Rubin) even cameos as a military expert, who may have the answers everyone’s looking for. Also, keep an eye out for the appearance of one of America’s most hated directors in a "blink and you’ll miss it" moment. There are so many wild performances and cameos its impossible to single them all out and I know I’m missing many. When there are this many big names in a movie there’s a tendency for it to become a massive distraction but here there’s none of that. Everything is dead-on.

Regardless of how important it is for filmmakers to take risks and give us something we haven’t seen before, most don’t because they’re not given the creative freedom and the few that are know that walking this close to the edge is too dangerous for their careers. There’s much less downside when you have modest goals. No one will ever accuse Richard Kelly of lacking ambition or playing it safe. That says something, and it's something we desperately need more of. I’m not praising this film to be cool or different. Nor do I think being ambitious and risky automatically qualifies a movie as brilliant. You shouldn’t take chances just for the sake of taking them. The risks have to be good ones that pay off. And I’d never imply anyone who hates the film just doesn’t "GET IT." Even those who love it will probably never "get it." From where I’m sitting, the mystery accounts for much of its appeal.

Despite my admiration for Kelly’s previous feature, I’m far from one of those Emo, glue sniffing, wrist-slashing Darko fanboys who would have salivated over anything he put up on screen. I knew what I was getting into and expected to be entertained, but was also fully prepared for the possibility I’d hate it. Either way I knew I’d be getting something daring and original. There’s just no telling how something so "of the moment" and reflective of our times will hold up over the long run, but I have this sneaking suspicion it’ll age very well.

I’ve been very critical of films incorporating, or even worse, preaching politics, but when presented in the context of such a creative fantasy, it goes down so much easier. It helps that Kelly is an equal opportunity offender, hilariously taking swipes at both sides. It works as a hysterical spoof of everything from YouTube to cable news channels to celebrity culture. Maybe it’s just my weird sense of humor, but I laughed harder during this than any mainstream comedy in years. Labeling this a masterpiece is false advertising if only because it’s just such a beautifully flawed mess. Perfect in its imperfection.


In a rare, welcome case of an actor not running for cover when their film flops, Sarah Michelle Gellar has been vehemently defending Kelly and the movie. She told Sci-Fi Wire:

"You know, at the end of the day, I hope people talk about it. That’s the whole point of it. It’s not a movie made for every audience. This isn’t a film made to go across the board. And what I love about it is, I went and saw the new cut with, like, five people. And afterwards for about three hours we all talked about it, because everybody took different things out of it. She added that "The true fans, the people that are the Donnie Darko fans, that are my fans, Dwayne’s fans, I think they’re going to enjoy it. And you know what? Those are the reasons I make movies."

She offers up a much better defense than I ever could. If you want a sterile, emotionless exercise (albeit a very good one) then see No Country For Old Men. If you feel like being challenged, then see this. Sometimes I’m asked which kinds of movies excite me and get my pulse racing. Pop in this DVD and you’ll have your answer.

I was counting down the days until its theatrical release but was then disappointed when its run came and went within a week. But interestingly, when I went to pick it up the DVD this past week it was almost sold out everywhere. Either the stores didn’t order enough copies or, much like Donnie Darko, there may be a second life yet for this film. I have a theory (which admittedly isn’t much of a stretch) that Kelly deliberately set out to make a cult film with Darko. He’d probably even admit it himself. That goal seems even more intentional here since he now actually has a cult to cater to. This already feels like a cult classic so it shouldn’t be long before it unofficially becomes one.

It’s shocking Kelly was given this much freedom by the studio but even his biggest detractors have to give him credit for abusing the privilege and making the movie he and his fans wanted to see. It’s so challenging, visionary and daring he may have also just lost some of those very fans he was making it for. That any cut of this almost totally impenetrable film was even released at all is somewhat of a miracle. It was worth the wait for me.

I’ve never really had the burning desire to write or direct a film. I know my limitations and far prefer writing about them. But if I did, I do know the type of movie I would want to make … and Richard Kelly has filmed it. He even stole my cast. For nearly two and a half hours all my crazy cinematic dreams played out on screen. I still haven’t completely processed what I saw, but I know I’ll be returning to it over and over again. While nothing makes me happier than singing the praises of an underappreciated, overlooked film that needs the support, it is awkward recommending one most of you will hate. But love it or hate it, no one can deny that they’ll only ever be one Southland Tales.