I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997)

 

(Director: Jim Gillespie. Screenwriter: Kevin Williamson.)

Plot: A year after a Fourth of July hit-and-run accident, those responsible for or witness to the death reunite, and are terrorized by a mysterious murderer bent on revenge.

 

Review

Loosely based on Lois Duncan’s 1973 bloodless suspense YA novel of the same name, this violent, R-rated film is considerably more violent when compared to Duncan’s book.

Kevin Williamson’s script (penned before he wrote SCREAM, 1996) is sometimes-clever, genre-knowledgeable and, for the most part, tight. Williamson fans may appreciate KNOW’s brief dialogue nod to one of his other creative gigs, DAWSON’S CREEK (1998-2003). Make no mistake—KNOW is nowhere near as good as SCREAM, but, judged on its own dumb-character merits and intended audience (horror-lite fans), KNOW mostly works.

The acting, often melodramatic (especially Jennifer Love Hewitt’s), suits KNOW and its late-adolescent audience, as does its now-dated 1990s soundtrack, settings (primarily Southport, North Carolina) and its overall look. Its stalk-and-slay scenes are effectively tracked and relatively bloodless, and while there are too many jump scares, the twists, for the most part, work, making KNOW a solid soft entry into the mainstream thriller genre for those who aren’t hardcore about their terror films—and, just as importantly, can forgive its young characters who do massively stupid things. (Thematically, Duncan’s relatively low-key KNOW was about young adults struggling to transition from high school to adulthood, something that gets less play in the noise of its cinematic counterpart.)

KNOW has a solid-to-good cast. Jennifer Love Hewitt played Julie James, the oft-hysterical embodiment of the hit-and-run group’s conscience. Sarah Michelle Gellar (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 1997-2003) played Helen, the blond, uncertain opposite number of Julie. Freddie Prinze Jr., Gellar’s now-husband and co-star in the SCOOBY-DOO films, played Ray Bronson. Ryan Phillipe (Gellar’s co-star in CRUEL INTENTIONS, 1999) played an angry, alcoholic Barry Cox.

KNOW’s support players include: Anne Heche as Melissa “Missy” Egan, grief-haunted sister of David Egan─Anne Heche, in a later interview, said she was hired “to be scary,” and she is; Johnny Galecki (RINGS, 2017) as Max; Muse Watson as Ben Willis/Fisherman. An uncredited Patti D’Arbanville, seen briefly in one shot while Helen is on the phone, played Mrs. Shivers, Helen and Elsa’s mother.

The ending doesn’t ruin the movie, but it comes close. On a story level, it’s forced and perhaps studio-mandated, an unnecessary finish that demands an unnecessary sequel. Despite its unfortunate wrap-up and its melodrama, KNOW is a mostly solid entry in the barely-an-R-rated thriller genre, made for viewers who aren’t big horror fans and are fans of pretty actors.

Two sequels, I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1998) and I’LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (2006), followed, as did an Amazon Prime/streaming show. A remake of the original is said to be in the works.