One summer night, four friends and recent high school grads accidentally run a man over, then dump his body in a lake. A year later, someone takes revenge by trying to kill them--but who is it, and can they stay alive long enough to find out?
Also known as: Last Summer (English title in Japan)
Subgenres: murder, mystery
Director: Jim Gillespie
Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar
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The post-Scream teen-horror craze had just gotten started when I Know What You Did Last Summer hit the scene, and it made me wish that said craze was just ending. Forget about the dumb kids--I was rooting for the Gorton's Fisherman-looking killer. Although you don't have to like the potential victims in a slasher film (who of the teens--besides Jamie Lee Curtis--did you like in Halloween?), there has to be some aspect of the film to groove with. In this hopefully brief period of snarkily postmodern horror, filmmakers all too often are afraid to go for an honest scare. Maybe they figure we think we're too sophisticated for it. I don't know, really; but here's what I do know--I want to see a horror film that tries to get under my skin with something other than a butcher knife. (Sep 9, 1999) philjohn.com - approaching the unexplained 
I didn't expect much, big mistake. This one's great - better than Scream, better than its first sequel. This might be due to the cast, featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), and to the fact that this is a somewhat new concept. It really is horror, and we see the friends struggling with the decision, and breaking apart because of it. There are some fine new actors here, with great potential. The movie starts with a terrific title sequence, flying over the coastline. As every good horror movie, the future victims are portrayed believably and with some depth and edges, and out of a sudden, the message arrives: "I Know What You Did Last Summer." The search for the stalker, the quest for his identity gets somewhat lost when you know the sequel in advance, but that's naturally my own fault. This movie isn't comedy, it isn't slasher, it is horror - something rare these days in the theaters. It might contain some stereotypes, but it stays shocking till the very end. (Oct 21, 1999)
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Followed by a sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and perhaps an upcoming third (and reportedly final) film.
DVD and VHS editions available in a two-pack with I Still Know.
