10 Terrible Horror Movies Everybody Loves
8. I Know What You Did Last Summer
The critical consensus when I Know What You Did Last Summer was released in 1997 was that the film was simply 10 years late to the party.
Having missed the tail-end for the Golden Age of the slasher, Jim Gillespie's picture allegedly wasn't smart or self aware enough to compete with the glowing reviews for contemporary competitor Scream. As such, many critics wrote the movie and its played-out premise off as just another horror outing, doomed to vanish swiftly into obscurity.
How wrong they were. I Know What You Did Last Summer was a smash hit amongst audiences, grossing an eye-watering $125 million against a budget of less than $20 million. Much like Scream, the newly-fledged franchise spawned multiple sequels and a television series, highlighting the fact that tropes from the slasher sub-genre did not have to be left in the 1980s to produce a rip-roaring viewing experience. Endlessly clichéd? Perhaps. Relentlessly entertaining? Unquestionably.
Despite an array of sub-par reviews - a measly 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes paling in comparison to Scream's impressive 80% - I Know What You Did Last Summer retains revered status amongst fright fans. The menacing hook handed killer and Jennifer Love Hewitt screaming her head off at regular intervals remain iconic staples of the sub-genre to this day, underlining that its most beloved installments often take a thrashing from the critics.