Product Details

• Actors: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anne Heche, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr.
• Directors: Jim Gillespie
• Writers: Kevin Williamson, Lois Duncan
• Producers: Erik Feig, Neal H. Moritz, Stokely Chaffin, William S. Beasley
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: August 31, 1999
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (362 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0800184319
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,879 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #38 in	Video > Horror > Teen Terror
  #75 in	Video > Horror > Slasher Flicks

• This is item 1 in The I Know What You Did Last Summer Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Just what the world needs, another riff on that post-Psycho horror cliché: the slasher movie. In this version, which considerably dumbs down the Lois Duncan book, the bad guy chases naughty teenagers with a hook, all the while dressed as a dark version of the Gorton's fisherman. They seem to have killed someone in a car accident while out partying, and a price must be paid. Nothing new is added to the genre, though it would be unfair not to note that this does have some scary moments. That is about all it has, because as much as this wanted to be another Scream, it hasn't the heart or the script. It does, however, have the requisite cast of small-screen stars (including Party of Five's Jennifer Love Hewitt and Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar) to have snagged box-office success, spawning a sequel. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're going to bury the truth, make sure it stays buried, May 6, 2002

By	Emily Todd (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Know What You Did Last Summer (DVD)

Yes, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" does seem like some corny teenybopper popcorn flick; but it's not. Believe me, I went into this film with pretty low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised with the level of terror provided! And it's not cheap terror, it's genuine because of the suspense director Jim Gillespie consistently builds.

It's the fourth of July and four friends Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Junior), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Barry William Cox (Ryan Phillippe) are celebrating their high school graduation and Helen's beauty pageant win. On their way home they hit a man walking down a curved corner in the road. They panic when they learn he's dead and in hopes of saving their futures, decide to dump the body into the ocean. The four friends make a pact to keep it a secret. It was an accident, but it was one they cannot forget.

Their friendships are ruined and they all leave for college and don't talk to each other; they are all depressed and upset. When Julie returns home for summer vacation there is a letter waiting for her. It reads, "I Know What You Did Last Summer". Frightend, Julie goes to find her old friends for help. Was someone else there that night? They think it's only a prank until a man in a slicker with a hook begins to stalk the four friends and torment them in the most vile and disgusting ways imaginable (dead bodies in their trunks, cutting off their hair in sleep, trying to run them over, etc.

Realizing that if they don't find out who's doing this and get rid of him fast, they'll be dead, they search for answers, all the while receiving even more terrifying threats. It sure is a thrilling ride and there are a remarkable number of points in this movie when you jump in fright and scream!

One reason this movie is terrifying is because the situation the characters are in could happen to anybody. Hitting someone with a car could happen to anybody, and what happens after the crash is also believable. The acting by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe are phenomenal coming from such young actors. These two are now big stars, but they weren't when they did "I Know What You Did Last Summer" so it's interesting to see how they were before they were famous. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Junior aren't quite as convincing as Hewitt and Phillippe, but they are still enjoyable.

The script for "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was adapted from Lois Duncan's best-selling novel by Kevin Williamson, the writer of "Scream". Yes, the script is in good hands! Williamson's script is a very visual one filled with twists, witty dialogue, and plenty of scares.

The DVD for "I Know What You Did" last summer values quality over quantity and provides only a theatrical trailer and commentary. The trailer is terrifying, very enticing and fun to watch. The commentary by director Jim Gillespie is very informative and insightful for fans of the film. It focuses mainly of production design, but has some interesting blurbs about music, casting, and script changes. Gillespie has a wonderful Scottish accent, which makes the commentary even more delightful to listen to.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one of my favorites , January 19, 2005

By	Lauren Nicole "Lauren Nicole" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Know What You Did Last Summer (DVD)

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a (loose) adaptation of the childrens book, by Lois Duncan. It focuses primarily on the four main characters... intelligent, level headed, heroin Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), her well intentioned, typical nice guy boyfriend Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr), her best friend the rich and popular beauty queen Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Helens rich, macho, handsome football star boyfriend Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe) The four teens have just graduated high school and are prepared to spend a summer of "immature adolescent decadance" as said by Barry. Things didnt go as planned
On July 4th Helen appeats in the Miss Croaker beauty contest and is crowned queen, much to the excitement of her friends and especially Barry. The four kids decide to celebrate by heading down to a secluded beach for a night of scary stories, drinking and sex, your typical teenage summer night. In what is to be their last decent decision of the movie, they agree Ray is to drive drunken Barrys BMW home that night. Barry stands up through the sunroof, spills alcohol and distracts Ray long enough to hit a crossing man head on. At first they disagree on what to do, call the police, or dump the body. Barry argues that if they come clean theyre dreams will be ruined. His as a football star, Helens as a famous actress, Rays as a writer, and Julie's as a lawyer. Much to Julie's dismay, they agree to dispose of the body in the ocean. They vow never to speak of the incident again.
One year later everythings changed. Julie comes home for the summer (after practically failing out of college in Boston) and recieves an anonymous note from someone claiming they know what happened the previous summer. Panicked, Julie turns to her former best friend Helen for help. Helen immediately wonders how now ex boyfriend Barry will react. Barry is skeptical, sure its someone messing around. After hes nearly run down with his own car by a man in an impossibly creepy fishing slicker, his attitude changes. The estranged foursome is forced to come back together to fight for their lives. From then on, the movie is a series of scares and edge of your seat suspense. Especially the famous Helen chase.
All and all great movie with respectable acting. Jennifer Love Hewitt was actually tolerarble in a sense other than being easy on the eyes. Freddie Prinze was sincere and adorable. However the always beautiful Sarah and the absolutely hunky Ryan stole the show. Both were believable and managed to make their stereotypicaLly vapid characters dimmensional. It hit me how well the acting was done when Helen watched Barry get hooked and I actually cared, felt bad for them. Rent this one for fun, but not in search of meaningful messages. Dont watch it alone ;)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good., July 20, 2007

By	Tina "retail queen" (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Know What You Did Last Summer (DVD)

I Know What You Did Last Summer is probably most known as the movie that launched the acting careers of 4 young Hollywood actors. Most don't consider this movie to be at all scary. However, I don't find it as bad as others do.

So what's this movie about? It starts out with a group of friends who accidentally hit a pedestrian and decide to dispose of the body. They vow to keep it a secret but they learn a year later that they weren't the only ones who know what happened. A serial killer is out to get them and the rest of the movie has the cast running away from the fish hook-wielding psycho.

What's to like about this movie? Although I didn't find the killer to be scary whatsoever, the writers did a great job in building suspense and keeping you on the edge of your seat in anticipation. This is what truly makes a great scary movie. Furthermore, all along, this movie has you guessing and reguessing the identity of the killer. The ending is quite interesting and it will have you biting your nails when everything is uncovered.

And what's not to like? Look, this movie was released in 1997, 10 years ago. The movie industry obviously has come out with better storylines and better technology-related ideas since this movie came out. I don't think the storyline is unique whatsoever. I don't think the acting is all that great. I DO consider this film to be a sort of classic "scary" movie and at the time of its release, it scared the bejeezus out of people. Even to this day, I still enjoy watching it with the knowledge that it's more real than horror movies that have been recently released.

Bottom line, if I could, I would have given this movie 3.5 stars rather than 4. It's pretty good considering it came out 10 years ago. People looking for a good scare will enjoy this film.