I Know What You Did Last Summer

This article is about the film. For the original novel by Lois Duncan, see I Know What You Did Last Summer (novel). For the Supernatural episode, see I Know What You Did Last Summer (Supernatural).

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jim Gillespie
Produced by	William S. Beasley Neal H. Mortiz Stokely Chaffin
Screenplay by	Kevin Williamson
Based on	The novel by Lois Duncan
Starring	Jennifer Love Hewitt Sarah Michelle Gellar Ryan Phillippe Freddie Prinze, Jr. Bridgette Wilson Johnny Galecki
Music by	John Debney
Cinematography	Denis Crossan
Editing by	Steve Mirkovich
Studio	Mandalay Entertainment
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	October 17, 1997
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$17 million (est)
Box office	$125,586,134

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American horror film based loosely off the book by Lois Duncan of the same name. The film stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. The screenplay was written by Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream, and very loosely based on Lois Duncan's popular novel of the same title. The film was followed by two sequels, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and the straight-to-DVD release I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. The latter film did not star any of the cast from the previous two.

The film received negative reviews from critics. However, the film was highly successful, grossing $125,500,000 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.

Plot

After Helen wins a beauty pageant, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Barry (Ryan Phillippe) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) go out of town to celebrate after Barry has a fight with Max. Returning in Barry's new car, they hit and apparently kill a man, who is unknown to them. They dump the corpse in the ocean and agree to never discuss again what had happened.

One year later, Julie is returning home from college. She has not spoken with Helen, Barry or Ray since the accident. Upon return home, Julie receives a letter that reads "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER!" Panicking, Julie goes to see Helen's sister at Shivers, Elsa, who tells Julie that Helen has been working there. Julie shows Helen the letter and they decide to visit Barry. After going over the incident, Barry accuses Max. The trio go to see Max (Johnny Galecki), but Barry insists on going in the factory alone. Barry persuades Max to go into the back room and attacks him, telling Max he should keep his mouth shut. Julie finds Ray working on the docks. Ray tries to make up with Julie but she runs off. Inside the factory, Max is murdered by someone wielding a hook. The killer attacks Barry next, running him over with Barry's car. The killer is shown wearing a raincoat and wielding a hook on one hand.

Julie arrives at the hospital to see Barry and finds Helen and Ray there. Julie believes the man they hit was named David Egan, because a newspaper article a few weeks after the accident mentioned his body washing up on shore. Helen and Julie go to visit Missy (Anne Heche), David's sister. The duo is convinced that she is innocent. Missy tells them she had a visit from a man claiming to be David's friend named Billy Blue.

At Helen's home that night, the killer breaks in, hiding in her closet. The next morning, Helen wakes up with most of her hair cut to bits and "SOON" written in lipstick on her mirror. Julie gets a call from Barry, who tells her to come to Helen's. On the way, Julie hears rattling in her trunk. She opens the trunk to find it full of live crabs and Max's dead body. She shuts the trunk, runs to Helen's and brings her and Barry to her car, but the body and crabs have disappeared. Julie is convinced the killer took the body and they are not safe. Later they run into Ray, who tells them he got a letter. Julie decides to see Missy again while Helen and Barry watch each other's backs at the parade.

Julie meets Missy again and Missy admits that David committed suicide that night. David had been wracked with guilt after accidentally killing his fiance, Susie, in a car accident on the same road on the same night a year before. Missy shows Julie an alleged suicide note written in the same style as Julie's letter from the killer. Julie tries to explain that she was in a car that hit and killed David that night, but Missy becomes irate and tells Julie to leave.

At the Croaker pageant, Helen sees Barry murdered by the killer during a performance of Irene Cara's "Fame" of one of the entrants who had once entered the year before. However, neither the killer nor the body are found afterwards . A police officer (Stuart Greer) drives Helen home, but the killer lures the cop into an alley and kills him after tricking him that his car has broken down. Helen runs to her store screaming and crying where Elsa is working, but the killer finds both of them and whilst Elsa is locking the back door he kills Elsa. Helen manages to elude the killer by jumping out of the window into a dumpster after finding Elsa dead and flees through the back alleys to the roaring parade. Helen then turns around and is then stopped by the killer who shoves her into a stack of tires and slashes her to death, her screams are to no avail as the noise of the parade drowns it out.

Julie learns that the killer is Ben Willis (Muse Watson), a fisherman. He murdered David Egan after David and Ben's daughter Susie were involved in a car crash near where the four teenagers hit Ben. Susie was killed in the accident and David was unharmed. Ben blamed David and killed him a year later, making it look like a suicide. On the way home, Ben was hit by the group.

Julie goes to see Ray on his boat and tells him the story, but he does not believe her. Julie notices the name on his boat is "Billy Blue", the same name used by David's friend who had visited Missy, and accuses him of the murders. He chases her but is knocked unconscious by a man who tells Julie to get on his boat. After she does, she learns he is Ben Willis, the real killer. She is chased all over the boat while Ray regains consciousness and steals a boat to save Julie. In a room full of ice, Julie finds Helen and Barry's bodies. Ray climbs aboard and is almost killed by Ben, but is caught in the boat's net. He climbs back aboard and saves Julie. Ben gets his hand caught in a rope and Ray hoists him into the air where his hand is cut off in the pulley and he falls into the ocean. On land, Ray tells Julie that the reason he went to see Missy was because he was guilty and had to know who they hit. He tells her he loves her and they embrace. When a policeman asks for any reason why Ben would want to kill them, Julie and Ray both say they don't know. Ben's body is not recovered.

A year later, Julie is in her sophomore year of college and is planning a trip to New York with Ray. She receives a letter resembling the one she had got from Ben, but it only contains a pool party invitation. Julie returns to the bathroom, which has filled with steam. On the shower mirror, "I STILL KNOW" is written. Ben jumps through the mirror, attacking her.

Cast

See also: List of I Know What You Did Last Summer characters

• Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie Nicole James

Back in the Habit. Julie is a pleasant, red haired female student with low self esteem who barely who enjoys getting involved with conversations and talking to her mother. Julie's relationship with Ray is very different to anyone else's because she can be seen as trying to avoid or escape her past relationships.

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Helen Shivers

Helen is a popular, blonde female student with confidence, especially towards her looks and body. She also works with Elsa at Shivers, being a department store where Helen and Elsa mainly specialise in clothes and women's fragrances. Helen is also in a relationship with Barry, and at times Helen can be seen as only an accessory to Barry due to her looks giving a statement about her personality. Helen's relationship with her sister Elsa is also very confusing as at one point Elsa is kind to Helen, especially at the start when she offers to give Helen a ride home as oppose to when she show signs of Helen's beauty. Helen is also well known for being the winner of the Croaker Queen pagaent and her death chase from the pagaent to Shivers. Helen is murdered after she sees Barry being killed from the balcony during the pageant where she is then attempted to be escorted home by a policeman but fail. Helen then watches the death of the policeman and runs to Shivers but is killed when running back to the pageant near the tires by the fisherman.

• Ryan Phillippe as Barry William Cox

Barry is the popular, good looking, blonde, football jock and the joker of the group. His character can also be seen as cocky as well as 'the ideal man' someone who Helen wouldn't mind marrying and starting a family with. He mainly takes control of the situation and dilemma when the group choose to dump the body which shows importance and superiority than his other friends. Barry is very loyal to Helen and is attacked twice. Once where, he is almost ran over by the killer at the Gym and when he is murdered on the balcony during the pageant.

• Freddie Prinze Jr. Ray Bronson

Ray is an important member of the group because he is a possible suspect of the events that happened to Julie (the letter and the death of Max), Barry (almost being ran over) and Helen (the cutting of the hair and the message on the mirror). Ray is also seen as a caring, considerate yet secretive character because he shows several sides to his personality, whereby he cares about his relationship with Julie and his private visit to Missy. Ray can be seen as the odd one out of his group of friends because the other three are seen as having more background to their personality.

• Bridgette Wilson as Elsa Shivers

Elsa can be seen as the opposite to her sister Helen due to her lack of lacks. As a result, she chooses to make comments about Helen's beauty and personality especially about her hair and winning the pageant. Elsa is 100% focused on her work at Shivers and feels that she needs to run a 'tight ship' in order to maintain control. Elsa is then murdered when Helen tries to be saved from the killer's chase. Elsa can be seen as only being murdered because she got in the way of Helen's death, like Max and his relationship with Julie as someone who was suspicious, having conflicts with Barry and having feelings for Julie.

• Anne Heche as Missy Egan
• Johnny Galecki as Max Neurick
• Muse Watson as Ben Willis
• Stuart Greer as Officer David Caporizon

Music

The film spawned two soundtracks. One of them featured the score composed by John Debney while the other showcased various rock songs found in the film.

Score

I Know What You Did Last Summer (Original Motion Picture Score)
Film score (Digital download)/Audio CD by John Debney
Released	October 7, 1997
Length	50:44
Label	Super Tracks Music Group

1. A New Beginning (Julie's Theme) [1:52]
2. Barry's Underwater Adventure [2:33]
3. Homecoming [0:53]
4. Crabhouse Gaffing [1:10]
5. Someone's Watchin'/Chased [3:26]
6. Missy's Story [2:10]
7. The Houseguest [1:57]
8. A Little 'Trim'/Trunk Surprise [3:12]
9. His Name Was.../Car Trouble [3:29]
10. Hiding the Body [3:15]
11. In Pursuit of Helen [2:50]
12. The Note [1:39]
13. Gaffing Barry/Missy's Home [3:19]
14. No Escape For Helen [2:32]
15. Julie Discovers the Truth [3:21]
16. The Night Softly Whispers [1:49]
17. Fond Memories [0:43]
18. Julie Takes a Cruise [2:56]
19. Taking a Stand [1:09]
20. Final Confrontation [4:03]
21. Julie Takes a Shower [1:20]

Soundtrack

I Know What You Did Last Summer (The Album)
Soundtrack album (Digital download)/Audio CD by Various
Released	October 7, 1997
Length	51:14
Label	Sony Music

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 negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of comments were positive. In another review, Metacritic reported an aggregate score of 52 out of 100. Critic Roger Ebert 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.'

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Result
1997	ASCAP Award	Top Box Office Films, John Debney	Won
1998	Saturn Award	Best Horror Film	Nominated
1998	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Female Newcomer, Favorite Actress, Jennifer Love Hewitt	Won
1998		Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror, Sarah Michelle Gellar	Won
1998		Favorite Actor – Horror, Freddie Prinze Jr.	Nominated
1998		Favorite Actress – Horror, Jennifer Love Hewitt	Nominated
1998		Favorite Supporting Actor, Ryan Phillippe	Nominated
1998	IHG Award	Best Movie	Nominated
1998	MTV Movie Awards	Best Breakthrough Performance, Sarah Michelle Gellar	Nominated
1998	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress, Jennifer Love Hewitt	Nominated

External links

• I Know What You Did Last Summer at the Internet Movie Database
• I Know What You Did Last Summer at AllRovi
• I Know What You Did Last Summer at Box Office Mojo
• I Know What You Did Last Summer at Rotten Tomatoes