I Know What You Did Last Summer Year: 1997 Director: Jim Gillespie Written by: Kevin Williamson Threat: Psychopath Weapon of Choice: Hook Based upon: novel - Lois Duncan IMDb page:

Other movies in this series:
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

Rish Outfield's reviews
In the years we've been doing this website, I've taken a lot of ribbing over my undying (some would say Stevie Wonder-esque) devotion to this film. I don't really have any excuse for my love for I Know What You Did Last Summer, except that I had something of a crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt at the time, and that it's a really good movie.
And you thought I was going to apologise.
I Know What You Did... tells the tale of four teenagers who, after a bit of celebrating a summer ago, run down a pedestrian on the street late at night. Instead of putting their futures in jeopardy by letting the authorities know, they ditch the body and make a pact never to speak of it again. When we catch up with our little group a year later, life isn't going so hot, and it gets unhotter when they start getting messages from a mysterious someone who Knows What They Did Last Summer.
I first saw IKWYDLS on February 13th, 1998 with a good buddy of mine who's since gone his separate ways from me. The film had opened months before, and frankly hadn't appealed to me (probably for the same reasons that people criticise it today), but was opening in our cheap second-run theatre that night, a college hangout where I saw more movies in my four years of college than I have before or after. It was a Friday the 13th, and I figured, what better way to celebrate that lucky day than by seeing a scary movie? My pal, Rob, agreed, though neither of us had huge expectations for the film.
Perhaps that's why I loved it as much as I did. But that's not the only reason. In my 1998 review of the film, I wrote "Fantastic! Well-written, well-acted, well-executed. The best horror film in years." While I've seen literally hundreds of horror flicks in the six years since, I've gotta say, most of that statement still holds true. Sure, flicks like Scream and The Sixth Sense are probably better movies, but this was something I could really latch onto: a glossy, updated version of the slasher movies of the Eighties I grew up on. It was honestly scary, it was funny in places, it kept me guessing, jumping, and happy, all the way through. It may have had a lot to do with my interest in creating this website.
I wrote, Screenwriter Kevin Williamson's follow-up to Scream works in all the best of ways, and he really outdoes himself here, creating a well-rounded and powerful story. It was real characters with real emotions that made this film rise above the rest. The clever references to urban legends don't hurt either.
Jennifer Love Hewitt was wonderful, wholly attractive, and haunted. The rest of the cast proudly delivered the goods, even in small roles. You look at the actors, fresh faces from TV or commercials (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddy Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillipe, Bridgette Wilson), many of whom went on to mainstream stardom in much the way yesteryear's Jamie Lee Curtises, Johnny Depps, and Tom Hankses did. Of course, I may be overstating things here.
I still feel that the ending is perfect. It left me walking out of the theatre laughing and excited, like I'd just been on a great roller coaster. That's still one of my all-time favourite endings, even though the cheap cash-in sequel ruined all that.
Unfortunately, this film was probably best on the big screen, with a crowd of screaming young people, and loses something on television, which is how 21st Century audiences will have to view it.
Best Scare: There's a moment when white trashy Anne Heche bangs on a car window, scaring the bejeezus out of everyone. I shrieked like a six year old girl seeing a banshee in her bedroom closet.
I'd Recommend It To: Hell, I even told my mother to go see it. In retrospect, perhaps I should only recommend it to Slasher fans and Horror enthusiasts.
Posted: September 14, 2004

The tyranist's thoughts
I remember being nothing but impressed when I first saw this one. We were in the midst of a sort of horror revival. Unfortunately, the only real result of that revival seems to be a glut of terrible direct-to-dvd horror flicks with pretty covers and not much more.
It had been a while since I had watched this one and it seemed like it might be time to take it down and give it another look. And luckily, nothing has changed.
Kevin Williamson's writing is just as sharp and Gillespie's direction right on. I still have a thing for Sarah Michelle Gellar and it has never been difficult to watch Jennifer Love Hewitt. From top to bottom, this is a slick production that, while it never achieves greatness, is a solid addition to the genre. It's especially nice to discover this having seen hundreds of horror flicks since the first time I saw this. The fact that it stands up nicely, only speaks well of it.
It has become popular to dismiss this film and its siblings as so much late '90s tripe that should be looked back on with disdain. For my money, these movies stand up well and would be just as good in the theatre today as they were then.
The Fisherman was a frightening villain. So much more human than some and yet still anonymous. Perhaps the best scene in the movie is the parade when there are suddenly fishermen everywhere and you realize just how easy it is for the killer to move around unnoticed.
At any rate, if you have a chance to give this one another look, or a first one for that matter, do it. You may fall into the camp that likes to dismiss it, but you ought to at least give it a chance. Perhaps you'll feel as I do, that there was great horror made in the '90s.
Posted: April 8, 2005

Total Skulls: 15

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?