I Know What You Did Last Summer Information

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. The film was directed by Jim Gillespie, from a screenplay written by Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream.

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

Four high-school seniors - Julie, boyfriend Ray, best friend Helen and Helen's boyfriend Barry - drive home from a party. While driving, Ray becomes distracted, hitting a pedestrian. Another teenager, Max, stops nearby. Julie convinces him everything's okay; he drives off. The group decides to dispose of the body. At the docks the man revives, attacking them before falling into the water.

A year later, Julie's 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. Barry suspects Max. The trio go to the docks where Max works as a fisherman. Barry threatens Max with a hook. Julie discovers that Ray works there; he tries reconciling with Julie. 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." Going outside, Barry is almost run over by the slicker-wearing figure, driving Barry's car.

Julie reveals that the person they hit was David Egan. Ray still suspects Max. Julie and Helen think the killer may be a relative. They head out to the Egan's home. They find David's sister Missy, who explains that David's death devastated their family. Missy tells them that "Billy Blue" paid his respects after David died, claiming to be his friend.

That night Helen prepares for the Fourth of July parade. Max's killer sneaks into her house, cuts off her hair and writes, "Soon," in lipstick on her mirror. As Julie goes to Helen's house, she finds Max's corpse in her trunk. When she goes to show the others, the body's missing, causing Barry to think she hallucinated. Julie, Helen, and Barry confront Ray about recent events. Ray claims that he received a similar letter.

As Helen and Barry participate in the Fourth of July 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 threateningly.

Julie revisits Missy. Missy tells Julie that David left a suicide note. As the writing matches that of the note she received, Julie tries convincing Missy that it's not a suicide note but a threat. Missy orders her to leave. At the annual Croaker Pageant, Barry is killed while watching from a balcony. Helen rushes to the balcony with a police officer and finds no sign of the killer or Barry. The officer offers to drive Helen home.

Julie researches David Egan's death. A year before the accident, he and his girlfriend Susie were in a car crash near the scene of the foursome's accident. David survived, but Susie died. The research now mentions Susie's father, Ben Willis. Julie believes they ran over Ben, who 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 lets her in. The killer enters through a side door and kills Elsa. Helen manages to evade the killer by making it to the second floor and jumping out the window, but she is eventually killed, too.

Julie goes to the docks to tell Ray her theory but is disbelieved. She notices the name of the boat he's working on: Billy Blue. Julie runs off, mistakenly believing Ray is the murderer. Ray pursues, but a fisherman stops him and puts Julie on his boat. Looking around, she finds a room containing photos and articles about her. Julie realizes she's on Ben Willis's boat. Ben sets the boat adrift. Ray catches up to Ben's boat with a motorboat. He uses the rigging to cause Ben to lose his hook-carrying hand as he plummets over the side. All that's found of Ben is the severed hand with the hook. When the police question Julie and Ray, they deny knowing why Ben attempted to kill them.

A year later, Julie is two weeks away from returning home to see Ray. As she enters the showers at school, she notices one of the steamy glass doors has the sentence "I still know" written on it. A dark figure crashes through the door.

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 mostly mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of comments were positive. In another review, Metacritic reported an aggregate score of 52 out of 100. 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, raking #1. By the end of its run, I Know What You Did Last Summer grossed $72,586,134 domestically and $53,000,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $125,586,134.

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.

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Work	Result
1997	ASCAP Award	Top Box Office Films	John Debney
1998	Saturn Award	Best Horror Film	"I Know What You Did Last Summer"
	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Female Newcomer	Jennifer Love Hewitt	rowspan= "3"
		Favorite Actress
		Favorite Supporting Actress - Horror	Sarah Michelle Gellar
		Favorite Actor - Horror	Freddie Prinze Jr.	rowspan= "6"
		Favorite Actress - Horror	Jennifer Love Hewitt
		Favorite Supporting Actor	Ryan Phillippe
	International Horror Guild Award	Best Movie	"I Know What You Did Last Summer"
	MTV Movie Awards	Best Breakthrough Performance	Sarah Michelle Gellar
	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress	Jennifer Love Hewitt

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 were the only returning actors from the first film. The second sequel has very little relation to the first two, other than the premise, having the same producers of the original and the Fisherman being the main villain. However, the film featured completely new characters and an entirely 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. Sony also states that the film is a high priority and is set for a 2016 release.