I Know What You Did Last Summer: Impact of a Legend

By early to mid 1997 the teen slasher Scream (1996) had become the biggest movie in the world due to its revitalization of the slasher genre. Late 1997 would see the release of its spiritual offspring written by the same screenwriter, Kevin Williamson. That slasher offspring which contributed to the newfound slasher revival was I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

Loosely based on the 1973 young adult thriller novel of the same name, written by author Lois Duncan, I Know What You Did Last Summer tells the story of four high school graduates who seemingly commit a hit and run while driving drunk. After attempting to bury their secret, which happens to be the victim, the four teens end up being stalked by a mysterious character who sends them notes labeled “I Know What You Did Last Summer”. The four protagonist are then sent into a frenzy as they are all individually taunted by the mysterious figure who dons the identity of a fisherman in a slicker.

The film stars an ensemble cast of young actors with Jennifer Love Hewitt as the leading protagonist Julie James, Freddy Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Helen Shivers and Ryan Phillippe as Barry Watson. The film is also supported by the thrilling performance of actor Muse Watson as the film’s antagonist Ben Willis.

The film has a very interesting backstory to how it was conceived. Kevin Williamson adapted the screenplay for the film between the late 80’s and early 90’s. He actually wrote the screenplay before he wrote the screenplay to his debut hit Scream (1996), but at the time that it was written and sold to Columbia Studios they shelved the project for nearly two years. After the success of Scream Columbia decided to bring Williamson back into the picture and put the film in immediate production. With Jim Gillespie being chosen as the film’s director I Know What You Did Last Summer was crafted into another whodunnit slasher as opposed to the novel’s more teen thriller tone to follow the impact of Scream.

The results proved great as the film was an instant hit grossing 125 million dollars on a 17 million dollar budget. The film soared in its appeal due to its charismatic young ingenue cast, thrilling plot, and it’s suspenseful whodunnit tone, much like it’s spiritual predecessor Scream. With the now revamped slasher genre the film spawned its 1998 sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, with Love Hewitt, Prinze Jr. and Watson returning and being joined by R&B sensation Brandy, Mekhi Phifer and Matthew Settle. The sequel film does a great job at incorporating the parts of the novel that the original film left out, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is a thrilling continuation of the first film that also proved to be a successful addition to the slasher revival of the late 90’s.

Since it’s release I Know What You Did Last Summer is one of the most memorable slasher flicks of the 90’s and staple on pop culture having been alluded to so much in entertainment culture. It helped propel the careers of its cast and crew, launched a popular Netflix series and is scheduled for a sequel reboot in 2025. I Know What You Did Last Summer has definitely been one of my personal favorites my whole life thanks to my favorite screenwriter Kevin Williamson. Like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer inspired my writing technique when it comes to fleshing out dialogue and characters and building a great story, I also loved how it was filmed in mines and Kevin Williamson’s home state of North Carolina. It’s a cinematic masterpiece when talking about great filmmaking in horror and the impact to which it contributed and made will never be forgotten.