- "Some secrets will haunt you forever."
- ―Tagline
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1998 American-Mexican co-production slasher film directed by Danny Cannon from a screenplay written by Trey Callaway. It is the sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), and the second installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. Produced by Mandalay Entertainment, like the former, it stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Muse Watson, who reprise their role from the first film, while Brandy, Mekhi Phifer and Matthew Settle also star.
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was released theatrically in the United States on November 13, 1998. It received negative reviews and grossed $40 million domestically on a budget of $24 million. Worldwide, it earned $84 million, making it a certified box office success.[3]
It was followed by a straight-to-video standalone sequel, I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, in 2006. A direct legacy sequel is scheduled to be released by Sony Pictures on July 18, 2025.[4]
Plot[]
Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is getting over the events of the previous film which nearly claimed her life. She hasn't been doing well in school and is continuously having nightmares involving Ben Willis (Muse Watson) still haunting her (such as the nightmare in the bathroom from the end of the last movie). Approaching the 4th July weekend, Ray surprises her at her dorm. He invites her back up to Southport for the croaker queen pageant. She objects and tells him she hasn't healed enough to go back and that it's just her. He tells her she needs some space away from Southport and him and leaves in a rush.
Late that night someone enters her room alerting Julie. She grabs a knife out of her bedside drawer and hunts all over her room for the suspected fisherman. She runs into her room mate Karla (Brandy) who tells her she needs to get out and have some fun. They go out to a disco with Karla's boyfriend Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer) and Julie's friend Will Benson (Matthew Settle). After having an illusion of the fisherman she leaves in a hurry.
The next morning Karla gets a phone call from a radio station and wins a contest for a holiday to the Bahamas. Julie invites Ray who is not sure if he should go and tells her to have a good time if he can't make it. Ray's friend Dave (John Hawkes) convinces him to go and surprise her. Late that night while driving up to Julie's college they run into Barry's Beamer (from I Know What You Did Last Summer) and the fisherman lying dead on the road. While Ray goes to inspect, Dave is violently killed by the actual fisherman who has his sliced off hand replaced by a huge hook after Ray discovers it was a dummy dressed as the fisherman. The fisherman tries to run Ray down but Ray jumps down a steep hill and disappears from the fisherman's sight supposedly dead.
The next morning, Karla has taken the courtesy of inviting Will and Ti regardless of Ray. Julie is disappointed in Ray and goes ahead with the trip. Upon their arrival they learn that the storm season begins that very day. Ray wakes up in hospital and escapes immediately realizing that the fisherman is coming for Julie and the others. Back at the Bahamas, the group are introduced to the bartender Nancy (Jennifer Esposito) who recommends using the karaoke machine. As Julie sings to Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", the telepromptor reads "I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER!". In fear, she runs back to her room only to be surprised by Will who tells her he really likes her and wants her to have a good time and hands her a rose.
Outside on the docks, the dockhand Darik (Benjamin Brown) is slashed across the head by the fisherman. The maid is killed after being impaled in the back by the fisherman. The poolboy Titus (Jack Black) is viciously killed after being pinned to the table by a hook and stabbed in the chest with a pair of hedgeclippers. Ray tries calling the hotel, but is unsuccessful and decides to take matters into his own hands. Back on the island, all alone in her room, Julie finds the dockhand's body in her closet and runs outside to tell everyone. When they all go back to check, they find the body gone and all the blood cleaned up. The hotel manager Mr. Brookes (Jeffrey Combs) tells them the next few days will be rough and tells them to stay put in the meantime. Baggage handler Estes (Bill Cobbs) performs a voodoo ceremony on the stolen possessions of the four to protect them.
Ray goes to a pawnbroker and sells his engagement ring for Julie and buys a loaded six-shooter. The next morning Julie and Karla go to the gym to work out while Tyrell and Will go out to find the pool boy. Julie is locked in a tanning bed by the fisherman who turns the temperature up to the max while Karla finds the body of the maid. After finding the horribly bloodied body of Titus , Will and Tyrell realize the girls are in danger and save Karla first and hear Julie's screams and break the bed open. They all go to find Brookes and find him with a machete through his head and the radio destroyed. All the boats have been cut loose and Estes is the prime suspect. They go to find him in his room and find all their possessions and go to find weapons. Julie runs into Estes who informs her he knows who Ben Willis is and that he lived on the island for many years and raised a family.
Ray goes to the docks and holds the manager up for a boat. Julie, Karla, Will, Estes and Tyrell go out to the graveyard and find a tombstone with Julie's name on it. Estes has disappeared once again and Will runs off to find him. Will finds Estes dumping a boat in the ocean and attacks Will with an oar. Back in the hotel, Julie, Karla and Tyrell go and hide in the pantry where Nancy has been hiding. She attacks Tyrell thinking he's the killer. Tyrell is impaled in the neck by the fisherman and the three women run out up to the attic with the killer following behind them. They lock the door below them and climb across the beams but Karla gets her foot stuck in the roof of the room below as the fisherman breaks through and attacks her but they fall through the roof and into the room below. Karla runs for her life and jumps off the balcony into the glass house below.
Julie and Nancy run down to the glass house and find Karla okay. As Nancy tries to find the key, the fisherman enters the glass house and narrowly misses Karla after Julie breaks the window on the door open with an axe. They all go to hide in the storm shelter and find all the bodies of the fisherman's latest victims down there. Will comes in and tells them the fisherman's gone. Inside the hotel, Julie tends wound Estes inflicted on Will while Nancy and Karla go and look for the first aid kit. At the main desk, Nancy runs into Estes who has been impaled with a sharp tool and falls onto her as the fisherman comes in and pushes the tool through Estes and into Nancy killing her as Karla watches in horror. He runs after Karla and presumably kills her.
Meanwhile Will reveals the blood on his shirt is not his but Estes' and that he is Ben Willis' son. He drags Julie out to the graveyard where Ben Willis meets them and unmasks. As he is about to kill Julie, Ray shows up aiming his six shooter at them. He fires a blank and Will jumps for Ray and eventually weakens him. As the fisherman is about to hook Ray but he jumps out of the way in time and Ben accidentally kills his son. While Ben is distraught from killing his son,tried to kill Ray but Julie shoots Ben several times after saying "Just Fucking Die!" until he falls into the open grave. Ray and her embrace as the mud begins to fill the grave covering Ben.
The next morning, the coast guard informs them a rescue team is on the way. Karla is still alive and is delighted to see Ray. A while later, Julie and Ray have bought a home. One night, Julie suspects someone is in the house. Ray is in the bathroom, but the door strangely shuts. Julie convinces herself it's nothing, but is pulled under her bed by Ben. The movie ends without the audience knowing whether Ray and Julie really died, or if it was another of Julie's nightmares.
Cast[]
- Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie James
- Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson
- Brandy as Karla Wilson
- Mekhi Phifer as Tyrell Martin
- Muse Watson as Ben Willis/the Fisherman
- Bill Cobbs as Estes
- Matthew Settle as Will Benson
- Jeffrey Combs as Mr. Brooks
- Jennifer Esposito as Nancy
- John Hawkes as Dave
- Ellerine! as Olga
- Benjamin Brown as Darick the Dockhand
- Jack Black as Titus Telesco (uncredited)[5]
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Helen Shivers (uncredited/photo)
Production[]
Development[]
In 1997, director Mike Mendez pitched a sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer that would have brought back Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in a college setting.[6] The following February, British filmmaker Danny Cannon was announced as director, unrelated to Mendez's idea.[7] In a 2018 interview, writer Trey Callaway revealed that he was asked by Mandalay Pictures if he was interested in penning the script for the sequel. Being a fan of the original, Callaway agreed, pitched his take, and was hired. In order to capitalize on the success of the first movie, the studio was eager to get production underway, with filming starting around six months after Callaway sold his pitch. Mandalay had also hired Stephen Gaghan to write a different version of the screenplay, with it reportedly set in New Orleans. They eventually chose Callaway's script over Gaghan's; however, in early promotional trailers, Gaghan was listed as co-screenwriter.[8]
Casting[]
On March 19, 1998, Matthew Settle joined the cast while confirming Hewitt and Prinze Jr.'s returns and Brandy's casting.[9] On April 13, 1998, Jennifer Esposito joined the cast.[10]
Filming[]
Principal photography began on April 27, 1998 in Los Angeles, California though it is set in The Bahamas. Filming also primarily took place at El Tecuan Marina Resort Costalagree, in Jalisco, Mexico, and Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. Filming concluded on July 3, 1998.
Music[]
The soundtrack was released on November 17, 1998 by Warner Bros. Records. On January 19, 1999, "How Do I Deal" was released a single, backed by Jory Eve's "Try to Say Goodbye." A music video for "How Do I Deal" was made available to music television networks.
Score:[]
- Sugar Is Sweeter (Danny Saber Remix Featuring Justin Warfield) (04:57) - CJ Bolland
- How Do I Deal (03:23) - Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Relax (03:51) - Deetah
- Hey Now Now (04:37) - Swirl 360
- Blue Monday (04:32) - Orgy
- Polite (04:25) - Bijou Phillips
- Try To Say Goodbye (03:35) - Jory Eve
- Testimony (03:59) - Grant Lee Buffalo
- (Do You) Wanna Ride (03:33) - Reel Tight
- Getting Scared (04:51) - Imogen Heap
- Górecki (06:22) - Lamb
- Julie's Theme (02:52) - John Frizzell
Reception[]
Box office[]
The film made $16.5 million from 2,443 theaters during its opening weekend, finishing second behind holdover The Waterboy.[11] At the end of its 15-week run, the film grossed $40 million in the United States.[12][13] Worldwide, the sequel earned a strong $84 million during its entire theatrical run.[14]
Critical response[]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 7% based on 58 reviews and an average rating of 3.5 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Boring, predictable and bereft of thrills or chills, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is exactly the kind of rehash that gives horror sequels a bad name."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 21 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[16] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[17]
Sequel[]
On August 15, 2006, a direct-to-video film titled I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer was released. The film is unrelated to the two previous films and features no returning cast members. It was originally proposed to continue where I Still Know What You Did Last Summer left off. Instead, the film features an unrelated plot with a brief mention of the first two films.
In February 2023, a new legacy sequel was announced to be in development with Hewitt and Prinze Jr. in talks to star, and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson directing from a script by Leah McKendrick.[18][19] I Know What You Did Last Summer is set to be released on July 18, 2025.[4]
Book[]
A paperback edition of the screenplay was published in 1998.
Trivia[]
- Peter Jackson was asked to direct.
- Early promotional material, including the theatrical trailer, credit Stephen Gaghan as co-writer of the screenplay. In the final credits, only Trey Callaway is credited.
Body Count[]
- Dave - stabbed; killed by Ben
- Darick - slashed; killed by Ben
- Olga - slashed and stabbed; killed by Ben
- Titus Telesco - stabbed; killed by Ben
- Mr. Brooks - stabbed; killed by Ben (off-screen)
- Tyrell - stabbed; killed by Ben
- Estes - stabbed; by Will (off-screen)
- Nancy - stabbed; killed by Ben
- William Willis - stabbed; killed by Ben (inadvertently)
Quotes[]
Julie: "Just. fucking. die."
Chronology[]
| I Know What You Did Last Summer | |
|---|---|
| Films | I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) • I Still Know What You Did Last Summer • I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer • I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) |
| Other | Novel • Lois Duncan • TV series |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
- ↑ I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (18)
- ↑ Sony to Reboot ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sony Dates ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ For Summer 2025
- ↑ I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Blu-ray Review
- ↑ 'I Know What You Did Last Summer 2' – Mike Mendez Recalls His Unmade Pitch Phantom Limbs
- ↑ Summer II Cannonized
- ↑ Writer talks 'I Still Know…' – 20 Years Later
- ↑ 'I Still Know' to star Settle
- ↑ Esposito joins 'Summer' sequel
- ↑ 'Waterboy' Outpaces Death in Two Different Forms
- ↑ I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) - Financial Information
- ↑ I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
- ↑ Sony to Reboot ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’
- ↑ I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
- ↑ I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
- ↑ CinemaScore
- ↑ 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Sequel In Works At Sony With Jennifer Kaytin Robinson Directing; Jennifer Love Hewitt And Freddie Prinze Jr. In Talks To Return
- ↑ 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Reboot Director On New Film Ignoring Sequel: "Definitely Not"