I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

JOHN DEBNEY

Rating:

Original Review: In the wake of the Scream phenomenon, for a while it seemed as though every other week ushered in a new "hip" horror movie with young protagonists who, despite being acutely aware of the ludicrous nature of their predicament, are gorily dispatched by an unknown, seemingly unstoppable killer. I Know What You Did Last Summer was penned by Kevin Williamson, the creator of Scream, to be a more straightforward take on the teens in terror scenario, and became one of the smash hit successes of 1997.

With a cast that included hot young things Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr., IKWYDLS (as it became known) tells the tale of four young friends from a small fishing town in North Carolina. One summer, during the town's annual festival, the friends accidentally knock down and kill a man on a lonely country road. Racked with guilt but fearful for their futures, the friends do not tell the police, and instead dump the body in the ocean as if nothing had happened. A year passes without incident, but the first anniversary of the accident coincides with the arrival of a sinister note and the appearance of a sou'wester-clad spectre with a meathook instead of a right hand - and the discovery of several filleted bodies...

In horror movies, appropriate underscore is one of the most essential items. I can't remember who said it, but someone was quoted as saying that "a horror movie without music is not scary - just funny". Therefore, in accompanying the shocks, jumps and gory murder scenes, John Debney's original music does exactly as it was supposed to do. It's just that listening to a CD of an orchestra screaming and shouting for three quarters of an hour can play havoc with your ear drums. This comment is perhaps a little unfair on John Debney, because his exciting dissonance works wonders in conveying the mood of mounting panic and general uneasiness whilst watching the film. The problem is that most of it is rather generic and uninspired, unflinchingly adhering to the familiar musical stereotypes of the genre without any hint of him wanting to try something new.

Low, whooping brasses, tick-tock slashing strings and heavy percussion are dominant in many of the action and chase sequences, with 'Barry's Underwater Adventure', 'Crabhouse Gaffing', 'Chased', 'The Pursuit of Helen', 'No Escape for Helen' and the relentless 'Julie Takes A Cruise' and 'Final Confrontation' being prime examples of the style. Tense cues such as 'The Houseguest', 'His Name Was Car Trouble' and 'The Note' rely mainly on creeping and groaning high-range strings with subtle electronics, while the urgent, booming 'Julie Discovers The Truth' virtually explodes with intensity, but quite a few sequences are nothing more than ambient filler music accentuating the fragility and desperation of the scene. There is a little melodic content as well, such as the moodily mysterious 'Julie's Theme' (parts of which occasionally make their way in to the action cues in leitmotivic fashion), the dark and romantic 'Homecoming' and 'Fond Memories' (two of the best but shortest cues on the CD), and the surprisingly soothing 'Missy's Story' and 'The Night Softly Whispers', which does pretty much as the title suggests.

Only one track of Debney's score was included on the commercially released soundtrack, leading the composer to produce this promotional CD of the score. Since its initial release in mid-1998, IKWYDLS has increased dramatically in price and scarcity, making it one of the most sought-after scores in existence today. To be honest, it's not worth spending a small fortune on. It is a prime example of a solid, workmanlike modern horror score which gives credit to Debney's versatility, but never reaches a level much beyond mere acceptability.

Track Listing: Running Time: 49 minutes 53 seconds

Promo (1997)

Music composed and conducted by John Debney. Orchestrations by Brad Dechter, Jeff Atmajian, Frank Bennett and Don Nemitz. Recorded and mixed by John Richards. Edited by Tom Carlson. Album produced by John Debney.


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