Although based on Lois Duncan's young adult novel of the same name, the similarities don't go any further than basic plot points and the title. On the 4th of July before they set off to college, four North Carolina teens -- Julie (Jenifer Love Hewitt), Ray (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Barry (Ryan Phillippe) -- set out for a wild, alcohol-filled night on the beach. While driving around the Carolina coast, the quartet hits an old man standing in the middle of the road. Rather than report the accident, they instead drop his barely breathing body off a pier and vow to never speak of the incident.
Flash forward a year later, and Julie comes back to her hometown after her first year in college. Not only does she discover that her friends' lives have all gone in different directions, but someone is leaving her messages saying, "I know what you did last summer".
I Know What You Did Last Summer works for the same reasons that Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" does. At its core, the movie is still a slasher flick, but most of the scares come from the paranoia of what isn't seen rather than what is seen, adding a fun "jump at your own shadow" feel. It also doesn't hurt that all four of the main characters are likable. Though they teeter in the edge of being stereotypical, only Helen really runs the risk of taking a tumble. In a sense, many of the reasons I liked I Know What You Did Last Summer were the exact things I hated about The Ruins. All of the characters are well-defined and it isn't hard to look at them and not see people you know. Once the teens start to break down due to the repeated threats and, eventually deaths, you begin to feel bad for their situation.
The only major problem with the movie is the villain and the resolution - both of which are about as ridiculous as an episode of Scooby-Doo. Actually, two members of Mystery Inc. are in... nah, too easy a joke.
The included audio commentary from director Jim Gillespie and editor Steve Mirkovich is brief, but entertaining. Considering the move is a decade old, Gillespie blasts through his thoughts about the movie as if it was filmed ten weeks ago. Gillespie also includes his short film, "Joyride" (which has no relation to the movie Joyride), which is what helped him to get the job. The only disappointing aspect of the "Making of..." featurette is the lack of cast participation outside Jennifer Love Hewitt and Anne Heche. For some reason, things like that always bug me - but whatever.
Even after ten years, I Know What You Did Last Summer still holds up as an enjoyable movie. The Blu-ray upgrade isn't enough to warrant a repurchase if you already own the DVD, but it's a good deal otherwise.
