This franchise is by no means a groundbreaking franchise, yet it holds a special place in my heart as being one of the first films that got me into horror. Truthfully, it's quite hard to take anything this film does seriously these days after the majority of lines and scenes in this film would go on to be spoofed hilariously in the original 'Scary Movie' film. That being said, this is still one of the better slashers to come from the 90's 'Scream' dominating era. Whilst heavily drawing inspiration from the urban legend 'The Hook', there are more than enough plot twist and red herrings along the way to keep this story fresh. And although I enjoy the effort that went into creating these 'who-done-it' elements, I don't necessarily think it needed to be here, and if you weren't really paying much attention, I can see how this subplot might go unnoticed. Considering this comes from the creative mind of writer Kevin Williamson, it more than delivers on that 'Dawsons Creek' style teen drama element that is synonymous with the majority of his back catalogue. The cast do a good enough job with what they have to work with, with the exception of Freddie Prinze Jr. He is a man who I struggle to understand has managed to create a career for himself in Hollywood. Every line he delivers feels so unconvincing and as though he is reading from an autocue. Ryan Phillippe is by far the strongest cast member in this production, outshining the rest of his cast members in every scene. Even the short scenes we get from Johnny Galecki as Max are by far stronger than anything the vast majority of the leading cast deliver here. Considering the 90s teen audience, the hook wielding fisherman killer has more than his fair share of entertaining kills throughout this film. However, it is the chase sequence between himself and Helen, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, that is the real show stealing moment. This scene is not only the highlight of this film, I think it is one of the best the slasher genre has to offer. Feauturing some genuine moments of high tension and even introducing a few additional kills along the way, just as you think Helen is about to make it to safety, she reaches her ultimate demise. I cannot speak highly enough about this entire 10 minute sequence, it is choreographed to absolute perfection. My love for this film (if I'm being completely honest) is solely based on nostalgia, and under a recent critic rewatch it's not hard to distinguish all of the major flaws and issues this film has. Although this film has some great moments throughout, for those of you who have experienced this film much later in life, I can certainly understand why you would be confused regarding the admiration fans have for this film. That being said, regardless of its flaws, this and its sequel are still a yearly rotation for me and will likely continue to be long into the future.
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