I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

First things first: Jennifer Love Hewitt does not get naked in this movie. These new teen slasher films are missing one key element of the genre: gratuitous nudity. They've got blood, a few surprises, even a couple laughs, but they've also got young network TV stars afraid to alienate their preteen audiences with the boob shots late-teen audiences live for. Hence I Still Know What You Did Last Summer abounds with the same mild cleavage and tight shirts as its predecessor. Not that watching Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brandy flounce around in skimpy shirts is a bad thing -- it's just not enough to carry the film.

Last summer, Julie James (Hewitt) ran over someone with her car and dumped the body in the water. Soon after, the murder was avenged by a scary fisherman with a scary hook as his scary weapon. Then it was the father avenging his son's death, but now it seems to be the victim himself doing the avenging . . . even though it still looks like the father . . . well, it scarcely matters -- the basic plot here is, "People try to kill Julie and her friends; Julie and her friends run." There's some lame suspense about who the bad guys are (with embarrassingly predictable answers), and lots of people die semi-gory deaths.

It's better than the original, but only because the original was so heinous -- the sequel actually benefits from the thinner plot. Unfortunately, it's just not scary. Director Danny Cannon tosses in plenty of formulaic things-jumping-out-of-nowhere, but he doesn't provide the spooky vibe of Nightmare on Elm Street or even Scream. The horror elements here are like Jennifer Love Hewitt's camisoles -- exciting but in the end frustrating as they hint at far, far greater pleasures. At the Harbour Mall, Opera House, Showcase, Tri-Boro, Westerly, and Woonsocket cinemas.

-- Dan Tobin