I Know What You Did Last Summer



I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American slasher film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Jim Gillespie. The film is loosely based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Lois Duncan. The film also draws inspiration from the urban legend known as The Hook.

The film stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze, Jr., with Anne Heche, Bridgette Wilson, and Johnny Galecki appearing in supporting roles. I Know What You Did Last Summer centers on four friends who are being stalked by a killer, one year after covering up a car accident in which they were involved.

I Know What You Did Last Summer received mixed reviews from critics, but was commercially successful, grossing over $125 million at the box office. It was also nominated for and won multiple awards. As a result, the film has been parodied and referenced in popular culture.

The film was followed by two sequels, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) and the straight-to-DVD release I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006). Though the former film sees a continuation of the plotline established in its predecessor, the latter film establishes a new plotline and does not star any cast members from the previous two installments.

Plot
On the Fourth of July, Julie James (Hewitt) and her friends Ray Bronson (Prinze), Helen Shivers (Gellar), and Barry Cox (Phillippe) drive home from a party. While driving, Ray becomes distracted, accidentally hitting a pedestrian. Max (Galecki), who has a crush on Julie, stops nearby. Julie convinces him everything is okay, so he leaves. The group decides to dispose of the body and agree to never again discuss what had happened.

The following year, Julie is home from college for the summer. She receives a letter stating, "I know what you did last summer." She tells Barry and Helen about the note. The trio go to the docks where Max works as a fisherman. Barry accuses Max, threatening him with a hook. Julie discovers that Ray works there, and he tries to reconcile with her. That evening, Max is killed by a figure in a rain slicker wielding a hook. Barry discovers a note in his gym locker containing a picture of his car and the message, "I know." His jacket is stolen and he is almost run over by the slicker-wearing figure driving his own car.

Julie investigates and concludes that the person they hit was David Egan. She heads out with Helen to the Egan home. They find David's sister Missy, who explains that David's death devastated their family. Missy tells them that an old friend, Billy Blue, paid his respects after David died.

As Helen prepares for the Fourth of July parade, the killer sneaks into her house, cuts off her hair while she sleeps and writes, "Soon," on her mirror. As Julie rushes to Helen's house, she finds Max' corpse wearing Barry's jacket in her trunk. When she goes to show the others, the body is missing. Julie, Helen, and Barry confront Ray about recent events. He claims to have received a similar letter. As Helen and Barry participate in the parade, Barry notices people wearing the same kind of slicker. Chasing one, Barry leaves Helen on one of the parade floats. As it passes by a building, she notices a shadowy figure in a slicker wielding a hook menacingly.

That same day, Julie revisits Missy. Missy tells Julie that David left a suicide note. As the writing matches that of the note she received, Julie tries to convince Missy that it is not a suicide note but a threat. Missy forces her to leave. At the Croaker Pageant, Helen witnesses Barry being murdered while he is watching from a balcony. She rushes to the balcony with a police officer but finds no sign of the killer or Barry. The officer offers to drive Helen home.

Julie finds out that the year before, David and his girlfriend Susie were involved in a car crash near the scene of the foursome's accident. David survived but Susie died. The research mentions Susie's father, Ben Willis (Muse Watson). Julie deduces they ran over Ben, who had just killed David. While driving home, Helen and the officer are stopped by a stalled truck. The officer is killed by a dark figure with a hook. Helen rushes to her family's store, where her sister Elsa (Bridgette Wilson) lets her in. The killer enters through a side door and kills Elsa. Helen finds Elsa's body and attempts to flee. The killer drags Helen away and slashes her to death, her screams drowned out by the noise of the parade.

Julie meets up with Ray and tells him her theory, but Ray refuses to believe her. Ben knocks Ray out and puts Julie in his boat. Looking around, she finds a room containing photos and articles about her and her friends, and pictures of Susie. Ben sets the boat adrift, but Ray awakens and boards via a motorboat. He uses the rigging to sever Ben's hook-carrying hand and send him overboard. When the police question Julie and Ray, they, to cover up the accident, deny knowing why Ben attempted to kill them.

A year later, Julie returns home to see Ray. As she enters the shower, she notices one of the mirrors has the sentence "I still know" written on it. A dark figure crashes through the mirror.

Cast

 * Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie James
 * Sarah Michelle Gellar as Helen Shivers
 * Ryan Phillippe as Barry Cox
 * Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson
 * Bridgette Wilson as Elsa Shivers
 * Anne Heche as Missy Egan
 * Muse Watson as Ben Willis
 * Johnny Galecki as Max Neurick

Music
The film produced two soundtracks. One of them featured the score composed by John Debney, while the other contained various rock songs found in the film.

Soundtrack

 * 1) "Hush" by Kula Shaker (2:55)
 * 2) "Summer Breeze" by Type O Negative (4:57)
 * 3) "D.U.I." by The Offspring (2:26)
 * 4) "Kid" by Green Apple Quick Step (3:17)
 * 5) "This Ain't the Summer of Love" by L7 (3:09)
 * 6) "Losin' It" by Soul Asylum (3:01)
 * 7) "Hey Bulldog" by Toad the Wet Sprocket (2:31)
 * 8) "My Baby's Got the Strangest Ways" by Southern Culture on the Skids (3:59)
 * 9) "Waterfall" by The Din Pedals (3:47)
 * 10) "Clumsy" by Our Lady Peace (4:27)
 * 11) "One Hundred Days" by Flick (3:40)
 * 12) "Great Life" by Goatboy (3:50)
 * 13) "2 Wicky" by Hooverphonic (4:44)
 * 14) "Don't Mean Anything" by Adam Cohen (3:43)
 * 15) "Proud" by Korn (3:17)

Reception
The film received mixed reviews upon release, inevitably drawing both positive and negative comparisons to Scream, also written by Williamson. Mick LaSalle thought it inferior to 'Scream', but Richard Harrington compared it favorably, stating that it was "...a smart, sharply drawn genre film with a moral center and a solid cast of young actors to hold it." Variety was also enthusiastic, calling it a "polished genre piece with superior fright elements that should perform at better than average theatrical levels." On Rotten Tomatoes, 35% of reviews were positive. Metacritic reported an aggregate score of 52 out of 100 based on 17 reviews. Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 1/4 stars and wrote in his review, "The best shot in this film is the first one. Not a good sign."

Jennifer Love Hewitt was praised for her performance as Julie James by an Entertainment Weekly columnist stating that Hewitt knows how to scream with soul.

Box office
In its opening weekend the film grossed $15,818,645 in 2,524 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1. By the end of its run, I Know What You Did Last Summer grossed $72,586,134 domestically and $53 million internationally for a worldwide total of $126 million.

Home media
The film was released on DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment in the US on June 16, 1998. Special features included a theatrical trailer and filmmaker's commentary. It was released on DVD & video in the UK by Entertainment in Video with no special features. The film was released on Blu-ray for the first time ever on July 22, 2008, with more special features including the director's short film: "Joyride" with optional commentary, a featurette titled "Now I Know What You Did Last Summer", a music video of Hush by Kula Shaker and also included the theatrical trailer and filmmaker's commentary from the DVD. Though it was released in the US, it is available to be watched in regions A, B & C. The Blu-ray was re-released by Mill Creek Entertainment on September 30, 2014 in the US. It contains no special features and is only available in Region A.

Sequels and remake
The film was followed by two sequels: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006), which went direct-to-video. Both were critically panned. In the first sequel, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Muse Watson reprise their roles. The second sequel has very little relation to the first two, other than the premise, the villain, and the producers. It featured new characters and a different setting. On September 14, 2014 Sony reported that they have plans to remake the film; Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard are writing a script. In a June 1, 2016 Blumhouse.com "Shockwaves" podcast, writer Mike Flanagan revealed and further confirmed this new iteration and re-imagination of the franchise would not have any inventions of the Lois Duncan novel (the antagonist being a central character) nor the 1997 feature (the fisherman Ben Willis and 4 primary protagonists Julie James, Helen Shivers, Barry Cox, and Ray Bronson). Further, the new direction and scope of the film necessitates an estimated budget of $15-20 million. Sony also states that the film is a high priority and is set for a release somewhere between 2017-2020.