I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Directed by Jim Gillespie and written by Kevin Williamson - whose screenplay is loosely adapted from the YA novel of the same title by Lois Duncan - I Know What You Did Last Summer tells of a group of friends who cover up their involvement in an apparently fatal car accident. One year later, their dark secret resurfaces in the form of a mysterious stalker intent on terrorising them and spilling their blood.
Coming in the wake of The Craft and Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer was produced in the late nineties, a time when teen horror was officially hot (titles such as Urban Legend, Halloween H20, The Faculty and Cherry Falls would soon follow). Like Scream before it, it heralded the arrival of Kevin Williamson and his distinctive brand of horror drama, driven by likeable, literate, pop-cultured characters the audience were invited to care for. Williamson’s work slyly (and not so slyly) references, subverts and pays homage to the very tropes and conventions it springs from. Deeply inspired by the slasher films of the late 70s and early 80s (Williamson’s favourite film is Halloween), I Know What You Did Last Summer navigates very similar territory but is updated for a much more genre-smart audience. In the grand tradition of slashers such as Terror Train, Prom Night, Friday the 13th, and The House on Sorority Row - and indeed classic fairy tales and urban legends that warn youngsters of dire consequences if they commit social transgressions - the teens in I Know are being punished for their part in a past misdeed.
Elements of the Gothic ripple to the surface in the form of the past returning to haunt the present, the revelation of dark secrets, and psychological turmoil. Indeed, while the coastal setting lends proceedings an interesting atmosphere of nautical, seaside Gothic, it also highlights the limited options faced by the characters: they have no place left to go, except the deep, dark sea, which is where they find themselves as events surge towards a tautly knotted climax. The Gothic is also very apparent in the character and abode of Missy Egan (Anne Heche), the sister of the man the friends believe they accidentally killed. She lives inland in a plantation style house set amidst a forested landscape. For different reasons Missy is also unable to move on from events of the previous summer, a ghost in her own life.
Williamson cares deeply about his characters. He ensures they’re smart, funny, articulate and relatable. The developmental arcs afforded them are not typical of slasher film characters, as each grapple in their own way with their overwhelming guilt. The story is driven by Julie’s (Jennifer Love Hewitt) determination to find out who is tormenting them. Tension arises not just from the mysterious stalker who seems to be watching their every move, but also from their isolation. Each appears lonely, merely existing on the periphery of society. Julie’s mother tries to reach out to her, but Julie pushes her away. Ray’s (Freddie Prinze Jr.) parents are out of the picture, and he never knew his father. Barry (Ryan Phillippe) is similarly unengaged with his parents – his mother is briefly glimpsed talking on the phone. Helen’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) father completely ignores her when she comes home, he doesn’t even look up from the TV when she says hello. The police are also ineffectual, even disbelieving and condescending. This lack of support from the adults and authority figures in their lives adds to their plight and highlights their vulnerability. They have only each other, and their bonds are already frayed.
Slasher films often feature high body counts, and usually, characters are only afforded the most rudimentary of personalities, painted in the broadest strokes. Williamson’s characters, like those in Scream, are more fleshed out than most, and I Know even offers a rare example of a strong emotional impact made by the death of a character. Spoiler Alert Thanks to Williamson’s writing and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s performance, Helen in particular emerges as a deeply sympathetic, flawed character whose fate feels tragic and genuinely sad. Beginning the film as a confident, fun-loving young woman full of hopes for an acting career in New York City, it’s eventually revealed that her dreams have been dashed. Her hopes of rekindling a friendship with Julie also come tumbling down around her. After an incredibly tense chase sequence – arguably the film’s standout set-piece – Helen comes so close to safety and escape, but like her plans for New York, she just never quite makes it. She puts up a damn good fight though.
The antagonist cuts a striking, imposing figure. Clad in a full-length rain-slicker and wielding a large hook, there’s a touch of the Scooby-Doo villain about him, but he rages against the teens with all the ferocity of the sea. While I Know features moments of bloody violence, the focus is mainly on the psychological aspects of the story. Gillespie and Williamson deftly convey how each character has been changed by the guilt that eats them up from the inside. Suspense is created by their fractured friendships and isolation, and from the anticipation of the threatened violence to come. The fisherman toys with them, sadistically enjoying seeing their mounting desperation and helplessness. As the story advances, Gillespie’s direction works to slowly tighten the net around the characters and raise the tension to full-sail.
If it’s a straight-up slasher you’re after, without the obvious self-awareness or effacing humour of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer is a slick and suspenseful creeper, and a love letter to the no-fuss slashers of the 80s. Atmospheric, taut and twisted, it's also an engrossing, character-driven murder-mystery with more than a few well-timed shocks.
