I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

As they celebrate their high school graduation, four friends are involved in a hit-and-run accident when their car hits--and apparently kills--a pedestrian on an isolated roadway. They dispose of the body and vow to keep the incident a secret, but a year later somebody starts sending them letters bearing the warning "I Know What You Did Last Summer." At that point the panicked foursome becomes the target of an elusive serial killer whose disguise consists of a fisherman's slicker and a lethal ice hook. Part mystery and part slasher flick, this thriller was heavily hyped as a follow-up to Scream by screenwriter Kevin Williamson (who later created the TV series Dawson's Creek), and like Scream it's a showcase for a teenage cast including Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar. And while this shocker isn't as inspired as Scream, it's guaranteed to give its target audience a few good thrills as it dives toward a routine climax of mayhem and murder. Based (rather loosely) on the popular novel by Lois Duncan. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Mildly entertaining slasher similar to "Scream" in effect.

One could do worse than watching "I Know What You Did Last Summer". In fact, it's not all that bad for what it sets out to do. Perhaps I was not expecting much, and this may be why I found this movie to be somewhat entertaining. Alright, granted, Ryan Phillipe is a total wuss and his character is therefore incredibly unrealistic, but one usually has to suspend their sense of realism when watching these types of movies anyway. That being said, Phillipe's character is incredibly obnoxious and certainly over the top considering the actor chosen for this particular character's role.

At any rate, the movie takes place at or near the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which is incidentally a beautiful place. The plot basically consists of a group of young people (supposedly in their upper teens) and they are having a nice little time out for the 4th of July, the summer before they go to college. Of course, things go bad and they have a little trouble when they accidentally run over someone on a highway close to the beach. Frantically, the teens decide what to do with the body, and they decide to dispose of the body and keep it a secret for all-time. However, did someone witness the killing and/or the cover up? Are the main characters going to be blackmailed or is something far more sinister afoot?

The creators of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" succeeded in creating a decent slasher, but this movie is nothing special. The kills are average for this type of flick. The acting was okay except for Ryan Phillipe who was horribly miscast. All and all, one could do worse than watching "I Know What You Did Last Summer", but one could do a lot better as well. The movie progresses fairly well, but the main problem with this movie is the ending when the killer's identity is revealed. They really did not do a good job with this aspect. For the entire movie, there is suspense regarding the killer's identity, and then, all of the sudden, the killer's identity was revealed in a very unspectacular way. Clearly, the best thing this movie had going for it was the mystery surrounding the killer, his motive, and the consequent suspense associated with the killer's disposition. Therefore, when the killer's identity is revealed to the audience, all the mystery and suspense dissipates. In this sense, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is very much like the "Scream" movies as I would argue that the revelation of the killers' identity in the "Scream" movies has the same effect. The same could be said for the movie "Urban Legend" as well. All three movies had the mystery and suspense associated with the killer as the best thing that the movies had going for them, but when this revelation was made, the endings of both movies were consequently anticlimactic. That being said, all three movies are also fairly entertaining, but just nothing to write home about. Hence, the two star rating for "I Know What You Did Last Summer" which indicates a slightly below average to average horror flick with some entertainment value. October 7, 2008

Kevin Williamson's Script Is On The Money.

Kevin Williamson made a good follow up to his Scream film, with this great film. The film about friends who do something and keep the secret is very terrifying and Williamson does this very good. Extra points go out to all the major hotties in the film. September 14, 2008

Slasher

Great slasher from the "screem era" of horror movies. And it looks fantastic on Blu-Ray! August 30, 2008

Kevin Williams's first flop.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is pretty lame in every way possible. Two stars go to Ryan Phillipe and Sarah Michelle Gellar who make this horror flick not so unbearable. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt on the other hand, can't act worth a dime. The plot is silly as well, these four drunk teens run over some guy after a 4th of July blowout. Kevin Williams who wrote this movie is the mastermind behind the Scream franchise and the creator of Dawson's Creek, they even made a sequel to this movie (that one is even worse than this, if you can imagine). Stay away from this hook-hand silliness. August 28, 2008

not very good, but not that bad

The main reason that I'm giving this flick three stars is because Scream, Halloween and Scary Movie all deserve at least two stars more. Another reason is that so many of the characters are such obnoxious jerks that I couldn't wait for them to die. On the other hand, most of the actors did a good job and some of them were very easy on the eyes. It's nice seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar again. Ladies and gays will appreciate the shower scene with Ryan Phillippe. The music was good. Some of the scenes will help you understand parts of the hilarious teen slasher spoof Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th. I'm not ashamed to rent this flick, but I wouldn't buy it. August 16, 2008

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