The producers of the high-class teen slasher film
I Know What You Did Last Summer knew how to get audiences into theaters, hiring hip TV stars
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar as the leads. As far as the soundtrack goes, they weren't quite as successful. Much of the album either consists of alt-metal acts like
Korn or covers of classic songs by alternative acts. There's something fascinating about
Type O Negative's goth "Summer Breeze," and
Kula Shaker's "Hush" is a fine copy of
Deep Purple's original, while
L7 does a good job with
Blue Öyster Cult's "This Ain't the Summer of Love." Unfortunately, these covers are the best part of the collection, since most of the originals are interchangeable. Among the remaining cuts,
Southern Culture on the Skids contributes a good slice of psychobilly with "My Baby's Got the Strangest Ways," and even if "Proud" isn't
Korn's best, it sounds better than
Flick,
Goatboy, and
Hooverphonic. Furthermore, it's not even clear if the film's intended audience -- teenagers, that is -- really would listen to
Din Pedals or
Green Apple Quick Step. They'd listen to
Korn and
Type O Negative, but the inclusion of many of the other bands feels forced, which makes the soundtrack much less of a teen dream than the film itself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine