Review by Peter Syslo
Well, I’m going to come right out and say it – I KNOW WHO KILLED ME (2007) wasn’t that bad of a movie. As always, I am honest in the way that I feel about the films I review and in keeping with that tradition, I thought that this was an original and decent horror film. I could care less about all of the Lindsay Lohan commotion that surrounded this film; I am objectively analyzing this picture regardless of the extraneous drama and I am giving it the “fair shake” that any film deserves. With that public service announcement out of the way, I feel that there are some positive aspects to this film and I actually enjoyed it for the creepy serial-killer/forensic film that it is.
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME is directed by Chris Sivertson and is written by Jeff Hammond. The movie stars Lindsay Lohan (in the dual roles of Aubrey/Dakota), Neal McDonough, Julia Ormond, Brian Geraghty, and Thomas Tofel (the best performance in the film) as Douglas Norquist.
I will give a brief overview of the film, because I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises. Basically, Aubrey (Lohan) and her friends are shaken up after a classmate disappears and turns up dead. There is a serial killer on the loose, whose M.O. is to amputate one hand and one foot from his victims before killing them. Aubrey is the next victim to fall into the clutches of the killer and this is the point where things become really convoluted. A few days later, Aubrey is found along the side of the road; she apparently survived the killer, but she is now calling herself Dakota. Aubrey/Dakota cooperates with investigators in order to figure out what really happened to her and to figure out how she escaped death. As you may have guessed, many surprises are in store for the end – we learn who the killer really is and Aubrey/Dakota fi nally gets to the bottom of her identity crisis.
It may sound like a bad soap opera, but I actually enjoyed the film. First off, I thought that it was a really original approach to the semi-tired serial-killer/forensic movie, which, more often than not, turns out to be a bland clone of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Second, I liked the convolutions in the story line – it really wasn’t predictable and it gave it sort of a stylish edge, like a Cronenberg film (shades of DEAD RINGERS). Third, I enjoyed the serial killer; I thought that he was scary and effective and the actor’s performance was as creepy as Ted Levine’s Buffalo Bill. Also, the killer was fairly original for this type of film – the amputations, the blue latex gloves and mask, and the killer’s lair were all done very well. Fourth, I thought that Lohan did a decent job with this role. In fact, I thought that she was better than m ost of the typical adolescent women who are cast (or miscast) in these “slasher-esque” roles. Say what you will, I think that Lohan fit the part well and she did carry the film.
Moving on to the negative aspects of the film, one of the main problems that I had with it was that nearly all of the supporting cast, except for Neal McDonough (Aubrey’s father), were just like pieces of furniture in the room. The supporting cast neither added nor took anything away from the film – they were just simply present in the film, like set pieces. Also, good actors like McDonough and Julia Ormond were really underused – their acting talent didn’t get much of a chance to shine through (although McDonough had a larger part than most and was the standout of the supporting cast). Another negative was the whole “bad stripper” persona of Dakota – I realize that the filmmakers wanted to emphasize the contrast between Aubrey and Dakota, but the “trashiness” of Dakota was sort of unnecessary and it seemed like it was exploiting Lo han in an “adult” role. Although, you can argue that the exploitation factor may have added a bizarre splash of color to the film (and I’m not just talking about seeing Lohan strip); the Dakota role had sort of a BASIC INSTINCT flavor to it, but I felt that it really wasn’t needed in the story.
Cutting to the chase: I KNOW WHO KILLED ME wasn’t bad. There were things that I enjoyed about it and there were things that I didn’t like. Whatever you may think, I believe that the story was an original approach to familiar material (even though it’s a little far-fetched) and there was a fair amount of true horror involved. The effects are actually pretty good and they range from frostbitten fingers to fantasy-like visions and the sets, namely the killer’s lair, were interesting and created an appropriate atmosphere. If you like your horror with a twist, the TV show “Nip Tuck”, old Cronenberg pictures, serial-killer films, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, or celebrity cult-status films, then you may enjoy I KNOW WHO KILLED ME. I will stand by my words and I will give it a 6 out of 10.