If horror films in the ‘80s were defined by the predominance of stalker/slasher flicks and the current decade seems to be going down in history as a period of re-horror (as in remake, remix, reimagining, and regurgitated), then the mid- to late-‘90s could certainly be called the “hip horror for teens” decade. The film most responsible for this new renaissance in horror was undoubtedly 1996’s runaway hit Scream, directed by the seasoned Wes Craven but penned by then-newbie scribe Kevin Williamson. Hot on the heels of Scream, Williamson adapted a popular young adult novel by Lois Duncan titled I Know What You Did Last Summer that once again tapped into the zeitgeist of teen angst and yielded another horror hit.

Although it has its moments and is undeniably well-crafted, I Know What You Did Last Summer is certainly no match for Scream, which perfectly balanced parody and self-referential in-jokes about horror movies within the framework of a film that was actually suspenseful and frightening. Williamson’s sophomore follow-up is a little more confined by its source material and ends up being closer to a straight killer-on-the-loose mystery akin to something Scooby-Doo and his cohorts might have undertaken. (That characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer would often refer to themselves as the “Scooby Gang” is no coincidence.) With newcomer Jim Gillespie calling the shots instead of Wes Craven, I Know What You Did Last Summer is also a lot less intense and gory than Scream. For a film that’s now over ten years old, though, it still offers a few good thrills and plays better than most of the current crop of pointless remakes.

Taking a page from so many other horror scripts, the terror begins when a group of four high school seniors are out partying one summer night and their drunken antics lead to a horrible accident; they run down a stranger in the road. Although Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) was sober and the one driving, both Barry (Ryan Phillippe) and Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) are afraid they’ll all be charged as accessories to murder. Despite Julie’s (Jennifer Love Hewitt) insistence that they go to the police, she’s outnumbered by the others and they finally agree to dispose of the body in the nearby ocean and make a solemn pact to keep the whole ugly ordeal a secret. Flash-forward to a year later when Julie returns home after her freshman year in college only to receive a cryptic note that simply reads, “I know what you did last summer.” Cue the scary music.

Initially, they all brush it off as a prank played by someone who’s apparently overheard one of them talking. But they think twice when an unknown driver makes an attempt to run down Barry with his own car as he leaves the gym one night. And then a mysterious figure in a black rain slicker, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Gorton’s fisherman, starts showing up, ala Michael Myers, to stalk Helen and Julie. After Helen wakes up one morning to find her hair has been neatly chopped off, everyone else begins to suspect Ray, since he’s the only member of the foursome who hasn’t been targeted in some way – and he’s also the only one who was sober that fateful night. This leads to some natural infighting and tension among the group, which always makes for great drama.

The Gorton’s fisherman goes about his work and soon, one-by-one, members of the secret-squirrel foursome are victimized. Gillespie does get some nice mileage out of great sequences of unlikely death and mayhem. Anne Heche also turns up for a memorably creepy cameo as a woman named Missy Egan who may or may not be the sister of the man killed. Her scenes with Julie and Helen have a palpable sense of unease and dread. Despite this being an early vehicle for most of them, all four of the leads are competent and credible in their roles. Jennifer Love-Hewitt, in particular, does stellar work as the guilt-ridden Julie.

If the film has any flaws, it’s in the final showdown between the teens and that mysterious man in the slicker aboard a fishing trawler. Predictable and forced, it’s not as clever or smart as the rest of the movie and seems tacked on – although not being familiar with Duncan’s source novel, I don’t know whether the blame belongs to her or Williamson. And the final shot is an obvious rip-off of the final shot in Phantasm. But the first 80 minutes or so are well-paced and offer some unexpected scares that made me jump. My favorite is when Julie and Helen are sitting in the car after visiting with Missy Egan and Missy suddenly pops up and bangs on the window… to return the cigarettes they’ve left behind! It’s one of those out-of-left-field moments that only horror movies dare to attempt.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s original 2.40:1 aspect ratio is presented in a sharp and detailed high-definition transfer using the AVC video CODEC. For an older catalog title, this film looks remarkably good and vibrant with just a hint of that three-dimensional depth found on reference-quality BDs. Details such as the textured fabric of the sweater Barry is wearing during the big parade and the small, encrusted jewels on Helen’s pageant-winning tiara all pop off the screen. While all the exterior daytime scenes are particularly bright and strong, the nighttime sequences are just as detailed and vibrant. Black levels are very impressive and remain deep, dark, and rich throughout. Color balance is also superb and flesh tones all look naturally-rendered. There were no signs of compression artifacts, black crush, or edge halos. Overall, a superior video presentation.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is just as impressive as the video presentation. Right from the opening Mandalay Films logo, which is accompanied by a music cue with thumping jungle drums, the track offers a full, enveloping aural experience with discrete surrounds and deep, profound bass. Music and effects are given equal play through the six-channel matrix and sequences such as the fatal car accident early on provide a loud and aggressive soundstage. Dialogue is always clear and concise through the center channel; the bottom end remains active and punchy; and there’s ample discrete content through both the front and rear channels. Although I found the trendy rock remakes of Deep Purple’s “Hush” and The Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog” out of place, they are given nice placement through the stereo front channels; and, the original score by the prolific John Debney (Sin City) has a great orchestral feel that fills out every channel. Overall, an impressive audio presentation.

There are also compressed Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks in French and Spanish. The optional subtitles are in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin; the optional commentary subtitles are in French and Dutch.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

First up is a feature-length running audio commentary track by director Jim Gillespie and editor Steve Mirkovich. Both provide some interesting anecdotes about the making of the movie and while Mirkovich contributes a bit early on, the latter half of the track is dominated by Gillespie. Not that that’s a bad thing; the affable director with his thick Scottish accent is both informative and entertaining. He reminded me a bit of TV’s Craig Ferguson, who has a similarly compelling and charming demeanor. The director talks a lot about working on this as his first major feature gig and what a thrill it was to work with his talented cast. While his influences are a bit obvious – Hitchcock, Carpenter – he’s also candid about them and doesn’t let his ego muddy the waters like a lot of other less-experienced filmmakers. Overall, it’s an engaging and surprisingly educational listen.

Director Jim Gillespie’s short film Joyride (10:10) is next offered with optional running commentary by the director. This BFI-produced film festival darling — which one critic described as “Die Hard in the trunk of a car” — is actually quite good, although the non-anamorphic standard definition transfer leaves a lot to be desired. Despite the video quality, this is still an impressive debut and I can understand why it became a noteworthy calling card for the director.

The featurette Now I Know What You Did Last Summer (27:05) is another of those typical EPK making-of offerings that includes interviews with various members of the cast and crew. The producers discuss how the project came to fruition and Kevin Williamson also talks about how he was tapped to write the script in the aftermath of Scream’s breakout success. Director Jim Gillespie adds a lot of color commentary about the casting choices made for the film and credits much of the film’s success to his four lead actors. He also heaps praise on Anne Heche’s great turn as the quirky and oddball Missy Egan. It’s a well-done and informative segment, but my only personal disappointment was the lack of input from co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar, who, for some unknown reason, doesn’t seem to participate in any of these behind-the-scenes features.

There’s also the music video of “Hush” by Kula Shaker (2:56), a faithful but tepid remake of the far-better Deep Purple classic. And the disc is equipped for additional BD Live material that I couldn’t access with my Profile 1.1 player.

The BD includes the standard Sony Blu-Ray promo reel along with the trailers for I Know What You Did Last Summer, 21, and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder.

The 101-minute film is divided into sixteen chapters.

Final Thoughts

As one of the first films to follow in the footsteps of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer is a competent and well-crafted horror entry that boasts a predictable but well-written story and a talented cast. Light on blood and gore but effectively scary in spots, it’s a solid stab (pun intended) at resuscitating the horror genre. With a stellar video and audio presentation and a nice complement of bonus material, this BD is an easy recommendation.


Here’s a note about the apparent duplicate Buy Guide. Our I.T. people are still hard at work on a large project and have not yet had the time to modify the underlying site database formatting code to accommodate the new 0-to-10 rating scales. So until they do, for HD on disc, I’ll insert this note and a Buy Guide at the end of the review text and leave the conventional 0-to-5 Buy Guide blank.