I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Review

 

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I Know What You Did Last Summer follows four friends who reconvene a year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, only to find out somebody knows their secret and they’ll kill because of it. 

After the smashing success of Scream, everybody and their mother wanted to get in on the resurgence of the slasher genre. Only one in particular stands out upon the mockery though and that’s IKWYDLS, which was actually written by Scream writer Kevin Williamson (so if it seems hugely similar, that’s why). I think what separates this from the pack (and from Scream specifically) is it’s tone. Where most any of those films relied on a mix of humor and horror, this goes pretty deep into serious territory and never once threatens to lighten the mood. It weighs the consequences of ones actions on the entire group and for a teen slasher flick, that’s not something you see all too often when considering the future implications something like ‘killing’ and hiding a body can have on a group of blossoming teens. 

It also benefits from really good direction, with inventive shots, some decent scares, and excellent pacing that never quite lets up, even after it’s tense opening. The movie (I’m guessing thanks to Williamson’s script) additionally gets the mystery factor pretty right, though the choice to show the killers face through his get up made it pretty easy to rule anyone out, just not rule anyone in. 

Probably the most impressive thing about this film in hindsight, is it’s cast, starring Muse Watson, Johnny Galecki, Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie. Prinze Jr., and Jennifer Love Hewitt. While Phillippe sticks out like a sore thumb, I was really impressed with Gellar, Prinze Jr., and Hewitt, who give some pretty great performances, and plenty of screams, so early in their careers. 

Based on the book by Lois Duncan, I Know What You Did Last Summer, directed by Jim Gillespie, certainly falls in line with most teen slasher flicks of the 90s, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, with this likely being one of the better ones to come out of that craze. 

8/10