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I Know What You Did Last Summer

  • 1997
  • R
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
168K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
270
567
Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Freddie Prinze Jr. in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:12
3 Videos
99+ Photos
Slasher HorrorTeen HorrorWhodunnitHorrorMystery

Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.

  • Director
    • Jim Gillespie
  • Writers
    • Kevin Williamson
    • Lois Duncan
  • Stars
    • Jennifer Love Hewitt
    • Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Anne Heche
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    168K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    270
    567
    • Director
      • Jim Gillespie
    • Writers
      • Kevin Williamson
      • Lois Duncan
    • Stars
      • Jennifer Love Hewitt
      • Sarah Michelle Gellar
      • Anne Heche
    • 548User reviews
    • 158Critic reviews
    • 52Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 10 nominations total

    Videos3

    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    Trailer 2:12
    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    Trailer 0:32
    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    Trailer 0:32
    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    Stars Who Turned Down 'Scream'
    Video 3:31
    Stars Who Turned Down 'Scream'

    Photos371

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    Top cast26

    Edit
    Jennifer Love Hewitt
    Jennifer Love Hewitt
    • Julie James
    Sarah Michelle Gellar
    Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Helen Shivers
    Anne Heche
    Anne Heche
    • Melissa Egan
    Ryan Phillippe
    Ryan Phillippe
    • Barry Cox
    Freddie Prinze Jr.
    Freddie Prinze Jr.
    • Ray Bronson
    Muse Watson
    Muse Watson
    • Benjamin Willis…
    Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
    Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
    • Elsa Shivers
    • (as Bridgette Wilson)
    Johnny Galecki
    Johnny Galecki
    • Max
    Stuart Greer
    Stuart Greer
    • Officer
    J. Don Ferguson
    J. Don Ferguson
    • MC
    Deborah Hobart
    Deborah Hobart
    • Mrs. James
    Mary McMillan
    Mary McMillan
    • Mrs. Cox
    Rasool Jahan
    Rasool Jahan
    • Deb
    • (as Rasool J'Han)
    Dan Albright
    Dan Albright
    • Sheriff
    Lynda Clark
    • Pageant Official
    Shea Broom
    Shea Broom
    • Contestant #1
    John Bennes
    • Old Man
    Jennifer Bland
    Jennifer Bland
    • Contestant #2
    • Director
      • Jim Gillespie
    • Writers
      • Kevin Williamson
      • Lois Duncan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews548

    5.8167.6K
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    Featured reviews

    lastact

    Everyone should love this film!

    Exactly, everyone should - but why? Because it is an excellent film, containing a good storyline (though not one of the best) and some promising new actors and actresses. In regards to the storyline, not many viewers realise that the film was actually based on a novel written before Kevin Williamson even thought up the idea to create another horror flick - therefore the general outline is not his, and so some people's comparisons between this and Scream can be considered as wrong. However, they are right in the sense that the typical horror elements are all there, and some are similar to Scream. I feel that the statement on the video cover "scarier than Scream" is to some extent true, especially the climatic ending (I won't spoil it for any of you left to see the film)!

    I enjoyed the acting performances, though sometimes the screams did get slightly out of hand - near the end, one popped up every other minute or so! Despite this, the characters were portrayed very well, and you could really notice the distinctions between them, and which characters you were likely to prefer. However one drawback to the characters was how obvious it was to spot who was going to bite it - all my sister had to do was look at the characters in a group and guess straight away.

    On the whole though, I found it to be a good horror film, done proud by the talents of writer Kevin Williamson and of the cast. If you are looking for a good scare, or simply taste other films after experiencing the wonder that is "Scream", then "IKWYDLS" should be your first choice - with its many 'jumps' making you enjoy the ride all the way!

    ENJOY, and most importantly, SCREAM ON!!!
    Red_Identity

    Fun, A Classic Chase Scene, and a Great performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar

    This film is great! The ACTING IS BETTER THAN IN MOST HORROR FILMS ALSO. Freddie Prinze Jr i the only one that fails to capture emotion. Jennifer Love Hewitt gives great acting in the actual scene where they hit the man, but other than that she is okay. Ryan Phillipe is also great, but its easy to play an air head that curses and is mad at everyone. The best performance has to be given by Sarah Michelle Gellar. She is great going from a natural beauty, to a scared off helpless girl. She conveys emotions well and her chase scene in this film is a classic. I would recommend this film for that reason only. Its fun, but kinda forgettable after a while. Anne Heche also gives a very good performance, even if its small. See it. You will be entertained.
    7Smells_Like_Cheese

    True, it's another teen slasher flick

    In the late 90's, there had seemed to be a trend of the Dawson's Creek meets Halloween slasher flicks, some had big hits like Scream, and some kinda missed like Urban Legend, then right in between came I Know What You Did Last Summer based off the book of the same name and I do mean just based on the book because the book and the movie are two entirely different tales. The book was more of a moral story while this was just a plain slasher teen flick, but over all I would say that I Know What You Did Last Summer was a decent horror flick. It starred the biggest stars of it's time: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Ryan Phillipe, and surprisingly they clicked pretty well, but I think that's because they just all have to play pretty white kids with problems, lol. But it's all good, this was a fun little horror flick.

    Four high school friends have graduated and are celebrating the fourth of July. They all have big plans: Julie is planning to go to Harvard, Helen is going to New York to become an actress, Ray is staying in town to help with the business of fishing, and Barry has a wrestling scholarship. They all are just having a big party and while driving home they accidentally hit a man, killing him. Freaked out and scarred for what might happen since alcohol is involved, they dump the body in the river hoping that it'll go away. But a year later when the friends re-unite, they are receiving letters claiming that someone knows what they did. Barry is then hit by a car, Helen's hair is chopped off, and Julie gets bodies put into her car trunk; they all must face the fisherman who is after them with a big hook and it seems like he does not want these kids to live.

    I Know What You Did Last Summer has typical Dawson's Creek drama, but it's all good, I mean it was written by Kevin Williamson who wrote the series. But the cast did click very well and as cliché'd as the movie was, it's still good for a scare. Sarah does have one of the best damsel in distress chase scenes ever, that was pretty intense I have to admit. I Know What You Did Last Summer is a fun flick I would recommend to watch at midnight in the dark, you're gonna get jumpy a few times.

    7/10
    6SnoopyStyle

    Reasonable teen slasher movie

    During the 4th of July holidays, four teens Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Barry William Cox (Ryan Phillippe) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.) are driving after drinking on the beach. Barry distracts Ray as he runs over a guy on a desolate road in the middle of the night. They argue convincing Ray to dump the body. Max (Johnny Galecki) drives by but Julie lies to him. The body has a hook for a hand but he's not actually dead as he makes a final grab at Helen. The friends agree to keep it a secret after dumping him in the harbor. Then one year later, Julia comes back to town from college and she gets a note with "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER!" Helen is working for her sister Elsa and broken up with the jerk Barry. Barry suspects Max as the one who wrote the note. Ray is now a fisherman following his father's footsteps.

    The movie has some of the best young actors of Hollywood at the time. Kevin Williamson works over the script. It's a pretty simple teen slasher movie. It has some psychological aspects and mystery of the note. In the end, it's slash and splat. It works well and gets a couple of passable scares. It never really gets truly gritty or realistic. It's just an old fashion slasher flick. It's all about the old fashion 80s kills.
    7lastliberal

    Happy Birthday Sarah Michelle

    I haven't seen a whole lot of teen slasher movies. In fact this may be the only one I have seen, and it is a fitting tribute of the genre for our birthday girl, Sarah Michelle Geller.

    Writer Kevin Williamson follows up Scream with a serious example of just how effective these movies can be if they're well-written, directed and acted.

    Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy, TMNT) and Jenniver Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer) fit perfectly together and are supported by Ryan Phillippe (Crash, Breach, Flags of Our Fathers) and Freddie Prinze Jr. Why does that sentence sound naughty? If I had to watch one film of this type, I'm glad this was it.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Kevin Williamson wrote this script before his screenplay for Scream (1996), but was unable to sell it. Following the big screen success of "Scream," Columbia Pictures immediately bought I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and produced it to capitalize on the newfound horror success. Because "I Know" is mostly a straight-up, modern update of the old slasher horror movie rather than a deconstruction of the genre, many critics and fans felt this was a huge step down from Williamson's more clever and innovative Scream scripts.
    • Goofs
      (at around 1h 30 mins) When Julie is in the room filled with ice, it jiggles when she moves it (it was made of gelatin).
    • Quotes

      Julie: Barry, stop!

      Barry: No! Wake up, Julie. He's behind all this! How many fucked up fisherman are out there?

      Ray: Look, he's after me too! I got a letter.

      Barry: Oh, you got a letter? I got run over! Helen gets her hair chopped off, Julie gets a body in her trunk, and you get a letter? That's balanced!

    • Alternate versions
      German theatrical version was slightly cut to avoid a "Not under 18" rating. The uncut version has been released on VHS/DVD/Blu-ray.
    • Connections
      Edited into I Know What You Did Last Summer: Deleted Scenes (2022)
    • Soundtracks
      Summer Breeze
      Written by Jim Seals and Dash Crofts

      Performed by Type O Negative

      Courtesy of Roadrunner Records

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    FAQ24

    • How long is I Know What You Did Last Summer?Powered by Alexa
    • How did the killer get the body in and out of Julie's trunk so fast?
    • Who is the killer and why?
    • Where does the movie take place?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 17, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Sony Pictures
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Sé lo que hicieron el verano pasado
    • Filming locations
      • Jenner, California, USA(opening scene)
    • Production companies
      • Mandalay Entertainment
      • Original Film
      • Summer Knowledge LLC
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $17,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $72,586,134
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $15,818,645
      • Oct 19, 1997
    • Gross worldwide
      • $125,586,134
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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