In 2025, Fans return to the world of I Know What You Did Last Summer with a new sequel. Some familiar faces may return (and Freddie Prinze Jr. is expected to return), so many are excited about this new movie. However, I am not one of those people.
I Know What You Did Last Summer has always been one of my least favorite Kevin Williamson projects. I just didn’t enjoy it like the Scream films and my beloved Dawson’s Creek. I have been a devoted Williamson fan for decades and have seen almost all of his film and TV projects, so, I truly mean this when I say I did not like I Know What You Did Last Summer.
However, though I have seen the movie and sequel several times, I decided to give it another chance. Maybe seeing it now would give me a new appreciation for this slasher flick. After rewatching I Know What You Did Last Summer, it is still one of my least favorite Williamson projects but I enjoyed it more this time. I also gained new insight and confirmed some of my original opinions. Let’s discuss.
Warning I Know What You Did Last Summer Spoilers are ahead.
I Still Think Helen Should Have Survived I Know What You Did Last Summer
Helen’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) death has always been my main issue with I Know What You Did Last Summer. She fought so hard to survive but still died. Why couldn’t she just keep running into the crowd!? That decision still haunts me.
Some fans of the movie have argued that her death is one of the most iconic horror movie deaths because of the battle to live. I can understand this sentiment but it’s a film death that breaks my heart.
If a horror movie character fights that hard, they should live. We have seen countless horror movie characters just do nothing and live. It didn’t feel fair that she worked so hard not to die and still did. And obviously, I Know What You Did Last Summer is a horror film so characters must die, but I still find this death aggravating. This plot decision gets my thumbs-down. Helen should have lived.
The Kids Deserve Ben's Revenge
Rewatching I Know What You Did Last Summer made me appreciate the unlikability of the main four characters. No one deserves to die but unlikable victims in horror movies make their deaths easier to accept. These four at least kind of earned their ends. Let us not forget how they callously left a man for dead. I Know What You Did Last Summer excels at showing that the four characters are remorseful -- even Barry (Ryan Phillippe) shows a tiny sign of it -- but the ending proves that they still don’t quite learn their lessons.
Ben (Muse Watson) is pretty evil. He killed his daughter’s boyfriend because he blamed him for an accident, and then killed a bunch of kids for hitting him with a car. However, I still found myself siding with Ben because he was kind of teaching them a deadly lesson that they needed to learn. They didn’t learn it, but I respect the effort.
Ray Should Have Been The Killer In I Know What You Did Last Summer
Julie and Helen seem to feel the most remorse, but Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) also clearly feels guilty. It is the reason why he checked on Missy (Anne Heche). However, he also may have done it to cover his tracks. Maybe he didn’t want it to get out that he helped nearly kill a man. Ray was the one driving too so he’s the most guilty.
I Know What You Did Last Summer could have had more of an impact if Ray was the actual killer. It may have been too similar to another horror film with the boyfriend did it twist, but I think it would have raised the stakes.
Basically, Ben is some random dude who seeks revenge but imagine how shocking it would have been if Ray was the killer and did it because he was secretly the victim’s friend. The incident could have made him lose his mind and take revenge on all of them. That could have been a bit more exciting than the red herring about Ray being the killer. Ben as the killer is a bit anticlimactic.
Julie Is Still Not One Of My Favorite Final Girls
I love a good final girl because they help carry a horror movie franchise. Some of the best horror movie franchises are built because of their excellent villains and their final girl foes. Julie as the final girl is another main reason I never cared about I Know What You Did Last Summer. I just didn’t enjoy her character.
I haven’t seen I Still Know What You Did Last Summer in a while, but I remember Julie being slightly improved as a final girl in this film. However, not enough for me to cheer her on as I have done for other horror movie final girls, such as Sydney (Neve Campbell), Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), Tree (Jessica Rothe), and many of my other favorites.
I just never felt an attachment to Julie as a lead. Hewitt plays her well but nothing about her character made me want to see her again and again. However, I Know What You Did Last Summer 3 must have Julie. Whether I enjoy her or not, she’s the face of the franchise.
I've Gained An Appreciation For The Signature Kevin Williamson Elements
I didn’t realize until this rewatch how much I Know What You Did Last Summer feels like a prequel to Dawson’s Creek. North Carolina’s river towns heavily influence the setting of both. I Know What You Did Last Summer is set in Southport, NC, and the first four seasons of Dawson’s Creek films in Wilmington, NC.
Williamson’s North Carolina roots likely influenced these projects. Additionally, there is a place in I Know What You Did Last Summer called Dawson’s Beach. Williamson may have already been envisioning Dawson’s Creek when developing this film. The dialogue at times also seems very grandiose and dramatic for teen conversations.
The conversations sound like ones you would expect to hear from Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes). Julie and Ray almost feel like early prototypes of them, especially Julie. She reminds me of a less exciting Joey. You could also compare Helen and Jen (Michelle Williams) and Barry and Pacey (Joshua Jackson). They all share some similarities.
I don’t think these similarities are intentional but are instead a clear sign of Williamson’s signature teen character style.
The Many Other Horror Movies And Pop Culture References
I Know What You Did Last Summer isn’t as referential and pop-culture-heavy as Scream, but there are quite a few pop culture references, including a mention of Murder She Wrote and The Silence of the Lambs. The film also clearly pays homage to some of the greatest horror movies, such as Psycho, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and When A Stranger Calls.
Like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer highlights Williamson’s love and respect for the genre. It's reflected in how he honors these movies with this film.
The Film Perfectly Captures The Era
I Know What You Did Last Summer feels very late-'90s. There is no denying when the film took place because it encompasses many great things about the best '90s movies. The fashion, language, and even the dramatics of a bad haircut are all present in I Know What You Did Last Summer.
It takes you right back to that era in the best way.
I Appreciate The Ending Of I Know What You Did Last Summer
One of my favorite things about classic horror movies, such as Halloween, is that some of them end on cliffhangers. The villain manages to survive. This lets us know that this monster will likely come back in a sequel. The hero or heroine can also not live in peace because they’re either about to die or the killer will torment them in the next film.
I Know What You Did Last Summer ends with a cliffhanger: Julie is still tormented by The Fisherman. It is one last classic homage to horror films and the perfect way to end the movie.
