I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

Prince, Hewitt, Gelar, Phillippe

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997), Director: Jim Gillespie. 

Two teen couples in the fishing village of Southport -- Barry (Ryan Phillippe) and Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar); Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) -- are out celebrating 4th of July when they accidentally run over a man on the road. They not only cover up the crime -- Barry, who was driving, is especially adamant -- but even throw the body in the ocean -- although the man is still alive! A year later Julie, the only one of the foursome who has any kind of conscience, gets a note saying "I Know What You Did Last Summer;" she and the others are then stalked by a fisherman in a slicker wielding a meat hook. Now the race is on to unmask this killer and save all of their lives. 

Watch out for that hook!

I Know What You Did Last Summer is based on the notable seventies young adult novel of the same name by Lois Duncan. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson has taken the four main characters and the basic premise and turned the story into a slasher film for the nineties. The fisherman killer is not in the novel, which may not have enough suspects but also does not have the incredible moments of illogic that are in the movie -- typical of the genre. The screenplay does offer up some intriguing moments, and Anne Heche scores as a woman who is related to the dead man -- the four main characters are also well-acted for the most part, as is the killer. 

the cast of Last Summer

Whatever its flaws, I Know What You Did Last Summer is suspenseful and exciting and emerges as one of the better slasher films of the period, with a more involved storyline and better characterization. It is not a black comedy like the Scream movies. There are some well-handled sequences, such as a murder in an alley with a parade passing by only a few few away, a sequence with a cop car and the killer, and a desperate chase inside an empty store. Despite some revelations that develop before the end of the film, the main romantic couple is still rather morally bankrupt. The movie was successful enough to engender two inferior sequels, and a new TV series, presumably based on the book, will debut on Amazon Prime in October 2021.

Verdict: Imperfect but safisfying teen thriller. ***.