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I Know Who Killed Me

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I Know Who Killed Me
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChris Sivertson
Written byJeff Hammond
Produced byFrank Mancuso Jr.
David Grace
StarringLindsay Lohan
Julia Ormond
Neal McDonough
Brian Geraghty
Garcelle Beauvais
CinematographyJohn R. Leonetti
Edited byLawrence Jordan
Music byJoel McNeely
Production
company
360 Pictures
Distributed byTriStar Pictures
Release date
  • July 27, 2007 (2007-07-27)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million
Box office$9.7 million

I Know Who Killed Me is a 2007 American psychological thriller film directed by Chris Sivertson, written by Jeff Hammond, and starring Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough, Brian Geraghty, and Garcelle Beauvais. The film's story revolves around a young woman who is abducted and tortured by a sadistic serial killer. After surviving the abduction, she insists that her identity is that of another woman.

I Know Who Killed Me was released by TriStar Pictures on July 27, 2007 and was a critical and commercial failure. It was nominated for nine Golden Raspberry Awards and won eight: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie, and Worst Rip-off (of Hostel, Saw, and The Patty Duke Show), setting a new record for most awards won in a single year[1] until Jack and Jill won ten in 2012. Lohan tied with herself to win Worst Actress and also won Worst Screen Couple for both characters she portrayed. Ormond was nominated for Worst Supporting Actress.

Plot

The quiet suburb of New Salem is being terrorized by a serial killer who abducts and tortures young women, holding them captive for weeks before murdering them. Aubrey Fleming, a pianist and aspiring writer, appears to be his latest victim when she disappears during a night out with her friends. She is later seen bound and gagged on an operating table as her hands are exposed to dry ice. As the days tick by, the special FBI Task Force convened to track the killer begins to lose hope of finding him before it's too late.

Late one night, a driver discovers a young woman by the side of a deserted road, disheveled and critically injured. The girl is rushed to the hospital, where Aubrey's distraught parents, Susan and Daniel, wait by her side as she slips in and out of consciousness. When she is finally able to speak, she shocks everyone by claiming to be a down-on-her luck stripper named Dakota Moss, who has never heard of Aubrey Fleming. Convinced Aubrey is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, her doctors, parents, and law enforcement officials can only wait for rest and therapy to restore her memory. But after returning to her parents’ suburban home, she continues to insist she is not who they think she is, despite bearing bizarre wounds identical to those of the serial killer's previous victims, which include her hand and half of her leg cut off.

An FBI psychologist believes Dakota to be a delusional persona of Aubrey, and the agents speculate the persona is to distance and protect Aubrey from the events that happened. Examining Aubrey's laptop, they discover a short story about a girl with an alter ego named Dakota. In addition, a DNA test confirms that Dakota is Aubrey.

Unaware of this, Dakota explains away her injuries as various events that happened before she arrived in town. She begins to suspect she may be Aubrey's identical twin sister, and comes to believe her injuries are sympathetic resonance with her twin's wounds, in a stigmata-like fashion. However, Susan shows Dakota a video of her pregnancy ultrasound clearly revealing there was only one fetus in her womb. Dakota then confronts Daniel and asserts Susan's child died shortly after birth, and that Daniel took Aubrey from Virginia Sue Moss (another character from Aubrey's short story), a crack addict, leaving her with Dakota to raise alone.

Confused and terrified, Dakota starts seeing visions of a menacing figure slowly butchering his captive. One of these visions takes Dakota to a nearby cemetery. After investigating the grave of Aubrey's recently murdered friend, Jennifer Toland, Dakota finds a blue ribbon from a piano competition, with a message from Jennifer's (and Aubrey's) piano teacher, Douglas Norquist. She is followed by Daniel, and declares "I know who killed me".

The two go, without FBI backup, to Norquist's home to confront him. Daniel heads into Norquist's house alone leaving a panicking Dakota in the car alone. Attempting to calm herself, Dakota refers to herself as Aubrey. Daniel is seemingly overpowered, and it is implied killed, by Norquist. Dakota, having entered the house, attacks Norquist in self-defense and cuts his hand off before being overpowered and tied up. Confused, Norquist asks why she has returned and exclaimed he had buried her (referencing an earlier vision Dakota had). Freeing herself, Dakota kills Norquist and heads into the nearby wood, finding where Norquist had supposedly buried Aubrey alive. Using her prosthetic hand, she smashes the front of the glass coffin that Norquist had buried Aubrey in, revealing her barely alive in a white dress. This seemingly verifying Dakota's version of events and relieved to have found her long-lost twin, Dakota lies on the ground next to her.

Cast

Production

Before filming Lohan took pole-dancing lessons to prepare for her role as a stripper.[2][better source needed]

Filming dates took place between December 2006 and March 2007. Principal photography was mostly held in California. In the first week of production, filming was halted after Lohan was hospitalized, her representative saying "she was overheated and dehydrated."[3] Production stayed halted soon after as Lohan underwent appendix surgery.[4][5][6] Filming was soon then delayed even longer after the incision was infected and the filmmakers were waiting for a doctor's approval for Lohan to continue working.[2] This all occurred around the same time Lohan admitted herself to the Wonderland Center rehabilitation facility for a 30-day stay.[7][8] During the stay she continued shooting the film, returning to the facility at night.[9][10] Because of all the negative reputation Lohan was getting she could not even walk to her trailer without the paparazzi photographing her, sometimes they would even end up in the background of some shots of the film.[2]

In July, Lohan was arrested for driving under the influence, which prevented her from doing promotion for the film. She even had to withdraw from a scheduled appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in which she had been due to promote the film.[11][12][13][14][15]

Reception

Box office

The film premiered on July 27, 2007, to what Entertainment Weekly called "an abysmal $3.5 million."[16] The film ultimately grossed $9 million worldwide on a $12 million budget, making it a box office bomb.[17]

Critical reception

The film was not screened in advance for critics.[17] Rotten Tomatoes reports a 9% approval rating based on 77 reviews, with an average rating of 2.17/10. The website's consensus reads: "Distasteful and ludicrously plotted, I Know Who Killed Me is a career nadir for all involved – particularly Lindsay Lohan in a dual role".[18] On Metacritic it holds a 16/100 rating based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[19] CinemaScore audience polling gave the film an F;[20] as of April 2020, it is one of only 19 films to receive such a rating.[21]

Richard Roeper ranked it number one on his "Worst movies of 2007" list; a few years later, Roeper named it the worst film of the 2000s. Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter said "There's a fresh candidate in the running for worst movie of 2007 honours. "I Know Who Killed Me", a ridiculous thriller (minus the thrills) starring the embattled Lindsay Lohan in a dual role, has all the hallmarks necessary for qualification: A nonsensical plot that grows sillier by the second, tawdry special effects, heavy-handed symbolism that's big on electric-blue hues and mechanical performances are all culprits as far as the title's concerned." Empire Online named it number 34 on its 50 Worst Movies List, saying "Remember how great Lindsay Lohan was in Mean Girls? Or Freaky Friday, or The Parent Trap? Well, if you do, be sure never to watch this, because it will spoil those memories forever. We could forgive Lohan for wanting to make a racier, adult thriller. If only it were thrilling."[22] It was also on MRQE's 50 Worst Movies list.[23][24]

The film did receive some positive reviews. Fangoria praises the film's imaginative use of color, saying "[T]he director and his visual team bathe the film in deep blues and reds, a welcome departure from the dirty green, sodium-lit palette of similarly themed horror fare, and the end result is simply a beautiful, eye-popping visual treat, so stylized that one can't help recalling Argento's approach to Suspiria."[25] The Radio Times also alluded to the director "recalling the style of Dario Argento" in a "twisty, perversely fascinating psycho thriller."[26] The horror-movie website BloodyDisgusting.com gave the film a glowing review and suggested that, "Lohan's continual issues with drugs/alcohol/DUI’s/rehab/on-set bitchiness" were part of a "whirlwind of media frenzy" that was unnecessary and "irrelevant to the movie". The film itself was "a more-than-pleasant surprise, well-filmed, well-acted, especially by Lohan herself, and a surprisingly intriguing and gruesome little thriller."[27] Boston Globe critic Ty Burr compared the film favorably to Brian de Palma's Sisters and Body Double, as well as the works of David Lynch.[28]

The film received nine Razzie nominations, the most of any film that year. It won eight, including two awards for Worst Actress (Lindsay Lohan playing twins), Worst Picture, Worst Director (Chris Sivertson), Worst Screenplay (Jeff Hammond), Worst Screen Couple (Lohan and Lohan), Worst Remake or Rip-off (rip-off of Hostel, Saw, and The Patty Duke Show) and a special category, Worst Excuse for a Horror Film.[29] The only award it lost was Worst Supporting Actress (Julia Ormond), who lost to Eddie Murphy for his role in drag in Norbit. The film set a record for the most Razzie wins in a single year, previously beating the tie held by Battlefield Earth and Showgirls with seven wins each, though Battlefield Earth has surpassed eight awards with wins in subsequent years.[30] The record for most wins in a single year was broken in 2012 when Jack and Jill won all ten awards.

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray versions were released on November 27, 2007. The art cover of the DVD shows Lohan, in blue, pole-dancing, with the faces of her alter egos Aubrey Fleming and Dakota Moss on either side.[31][32] Among the extras are alternate opening and ending scenes with the latter showing that the entire plot was actually written by Aubrey. However, test audiences thought this ending was too predictable, so it was cut from the film. Other extras include an extended version of Lohan's strip dance at the club and bloopers. By January, the DVD had grossed $11.99 million.[33] The Region 2 DVD was released January 28, 2008 with different cover art showing a close-up of Lohan, in red, doing her pole-dance at the strip club.[34] In total the film grossed $27,849,387 in DVD sales.[35]

Soundtrack

I Know Who Killed Me
Film score by
Joel McNeely
ReleasedJuly 31, 2007
Recorded2007
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length1:35:09
LabelVarèse Sarabande
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[36]

The score for I Know Who Killed Me, composed by Joel McNeely, was released on July 24, 2007.[36] Despite the film's critical and commercial failure, the score itself (which had drawn comparisons to the television mystery scores by Billy Goldenberg) received almost unanimously positive reviews from film music critics, with James Southall of Movie Wave saying the "unexpectedly classy score seems to go beyond the call of duty"[37] and Clark Douglas of Movie Music UK rating it 5 stars and calling it "one of the year's best scores, a must-have for those who are willing to take a trip into a deep, dark, and sometimes terrifying musical world".[38]

The score was subsequently nominated as Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller Film by the International Film Music Critics Association.[39]

  1. "Prelude for a Madman"
  2. "Duality"
  3. "Fairytale Theme"
  4. "A Daughter Is Dead"
  5. "End of Innocence/Aubrey Is Gone"
  6. "A Mother's Grief"
  7. "Search for Aubrey"
  8. "The Bus Stop"
  9. "Spontaneous Bleed"
  10. "Going Home"
  11. "Jennifer's Room"
  12. "Some People Get Cut"
  13. "Investigating Stigmata"
  14. "The Mirror"
  15. "The Graveyard"
  16. "I Know Who Killed Me"
  17. "The House"
  18. "Dad Dies"
  19. "Death of Norquist"
  20. "Prelude/Reunited"
  21. "Valse Brillante, Op. 34, No. 2 in A Minor"

Awards and nominations

At the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, the film won eight awards from nine nominations, was the big winner of the evening, receiving eight awards for a new Razzie record.[1][30]

Award Ceremony date Category Subject Result
Golden Raspberry Awards February 23, 2008[30] Worst Picture Won
Worst Actress (as Aubrey Fleming) Lindsay Lohan
Worst Actress (as Dakota Moss)
Worst Screen Couple
Worst Remake or Rip-off (of Hostel, Saw and The Patty Duke Show)
Worst Director Chris Sivertson
Worst Screenplay Jeff Hammond
Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie
Worst Supporting Actress Julia Ormond Nominated
March 6, 2010 Worst Actress of the Decade (also for Herbie: Fully Loaded and Just My Luck) Lindsay Lohan
Worst Picture of the Decade

References

  1. ^ a b Leopold, Todd (February 23, 2008). "Lohan's 'Killed Me' sets worst-film record". CNN.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "I Know Who Killed Me (2007)".
  3. ^ "Lindsay Lohan Sent to the Hospital". People. July 26, 2006. Archived from the original on February 25, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  4. ^ "Appendix Surgery for Lindsay Lohan". People. January 5, 2007. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2010. Lindsay Lohan had surgery to remove her appendix on Thursday. "She does have appendicitis, and she is getting her appendix removed," her rep, Leslie Sloane, told PEOPLE Thursday afternoon.
  5. ^ "Lindsay Lohan Checks Into Rehab". People. January 18, 2007. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2010. Lohan, 20, has been filming the thriller I Know Who Killed Me, and a rep for the movie tells PEOPLE production had already been on hold due to Lohan's recent appendix surgery. It's uncertain when filming will resume.
  6. ^ Finn 2007. "Production had already been halted at the beginning of January, when Lohan took a timeout for an appendectomy. She received the go-ahead from her doctor to go back to work early last week."
  7. ^ "Us Exclusive: Lohan Enters Rehab". Us Weekly. January 18, 2007. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  8. ^ "Star checks out of treatment centre". NOW. February 19, 2007. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  9. ^ "Lindsay Lohan Checks Into Rehab". People. January 18, 2007. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2015. Lindsay Lohan has checked into rehab, she said in a statement Wednesday. 'I have made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health,' she said. "I appreciate your well wishes and ask that you please respect my privacy at this time.'
  10. ^ Finn 2007. "Per her rep, Lohan has been free to work and carry on with her life during the day and head back to Wonderland at night. She returned to the set of the upcoming thriller I Know Who Killed Me Jan. 26, nine days after starting treatment. 'She's on set today,' Zelnik added."
  11. ^ Halbfinger 2007.
  12. ^ "Lindsay Lohan Arrested For DUI, Narcotics Possession". KNBC. July 24, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  13. ^ Winton, Richard; Blankstein, Andrew (July 25, 2007). "Just out of rehab, Lohan arrested again on DUI, drug charges". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  14. ^ "Arrested Lohan Says 'I Am Innocent'". Associated Press via AOL News. July 25, 2007. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  15. ^ "Lohan says 'I'm innocent' after latest arrest". The Guardian. UK: Guardian Media Group. July 25, 2007. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  16. ^ Smith, Sean (August 7, 2007). "I Know Who Killed Your Career". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  17. ^ a b Sanford, James (July 27, 2007). "How bad is Lohan's latest? You don't want to 'Know'". Mlive.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  18. ^ "I Know Who Killed Me". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  19. ^ "I Know Who Killed Me Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  20. ^ "19 of the Most Loved or Hated Movies: Films That Got A+ or F CinemaScores (Photos)". Thewrap.com. 2017-11-22. Archived from the original on 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  21. ^ Dowd, A. A.; Rife, Katie (April 3, 2020). "Is an "F" from CinemaScore Actually a Good Thing? Our Critics Weigh In". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  22. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2015-07-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ "50 Worst Movies". Movie Review Query Engine. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  24. ^ "I Know Who Killed Me (2007) Movie Review – MRQE". Mrqe.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  25. ^ Decker, Sean (December 22, 2007). "I Know Who Killed Me". Fangoria. Archived from the original on 2007-12-22. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  26. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20120328034814/http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=185&programmeId=96989755&jspLocation=%2Fjsp%2Fprog_details.jsp. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2009. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ^ ""I Know Who Killed Me" Movie Info, Review, Headlines, Gallery". Bloody Disgusting. 2007-07-27. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  28. ^ "Talk Movies with Ty Burr". The Boston Globe. 2007-08-14. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
  29. ^ "Razzies© 2007 Nominees". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  30. ^ a b c "28th Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Award "Winners"". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
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  32. ^ "I Know Who Killed Me [DVD]]". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  33. ^ "I Know Who Killed Me (2007) - DVD / Home Video Rentals". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  34. ^ "I Know Who Killed Me". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  35. ^ "I Know Who Killed Me (2007) - Financial Information". The-numbers.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  36. ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. I Know Who Killed Me at AllMusic
  37. ^ Southall, James. "McNeely: I Know Who Killed Me". movie-wave.net. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  38. ^ Douglas, Chris (July 27, 2007). "I Know Who Killed Me - Joel McNeely". Movie Music UK. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  39. ^ "2007 IFMCA Awards". filmmusiccritics.org. 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
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