Horror is a genre that is constantly changing. If we arrange its development in as much of a linear form as we can, it is possible to see the ebb and flow of certain concepts and styles in terms of popularity and how artistic innovation influenced so many different phases of a genre that has been impossible to pin down to a particular style or set of conventions. The slasher genre, in particular, is fascinating because, in many ways, it has always existed in some form – the premise is hopelessly simple since all it requires is a group of characters who find themselves in a precarious situation and a sinister antagonist that wreaks havoc by killing them off one by one. Many associate this sub-genre with certain decades where they consider it to be at its peak, but the reality is that we can find its roots even in the earliest days of terror-based filmmaking, right up until the present day, albeit where it took on different forms while keeping the central structure somewhat intact. One of the most notable revivals of the slasher genre emerged in the 1990s, with films like Scream and the topic of the present discussion, I Know What You Did Last Summer, both of which are seen as somewhat responsible for a renewed interest in these stories, which had slightly faltered as a result of the glut of sequels to films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, which remained very popular but started to go off the rails in terms of how they told their stories. This film, in which screenwriter Kevin Williamson and director Jim Gillespie loosely adapt the novel of the same title by Lois Duncan, sets out to return the genre to its roots, telling the story of four free-spirited teenagers who find themselves at the receiving end of some destructive force after they accidentally kill someone in a drunken hit-and-run incident, which leads to a period of absolute terror as they realise that their attempts to hide their tracks are not at all effective. Frightening and endlessly entertaining, I Know What You Did Last Summer has become something of a cultural touchstone for reasons that become quite clear upon watching the film.

Understanding the appeal of I Know What You Did Last Summer requires us to know precisely what it is that makes the slasher genre so effective since, in many ways, this is the prototype for what these films tend to be at their most fundamental level. This is not a film that features particularly complex storytelling or a plot that spirals into many different subjects, nor does it contain protagonists who are overly endearing or a villain that is designed to be entirely memorable. It is a simple, straightforward story of a crisis that is resolved poorly and in haste, with the eventual consequences being that these characters are bound to meet a grisly end if they’re not aware of their surroundings. The simplicity of this film is exactly why it is so effective since there’s very little space for it to hide certain elements. High-concept storytelling is not always needed for these films, and everyone involved in the production seemed to be operating under the same general principles, honouring the genre and attempting to take it back to its grisly, more unfurnished iteration most prominent during the 1970s, where directors like Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper created a sinister but wickedly entertaining style of filmmaking in which 90 minutes of violence could be truly engaging, granted it was done with some sense of precision. Honouring a genre that is often viewed as too overly simplistic is challenging, especially when it comes from a director like Gillespie, who was somewhat untested by this point, but the sense of slight anonymity actually works in the film’s favour, since there aren’t any clear expectations, and instead, we can acknowledge the film for its underlying merits and how it manages to scrounge together some genuinely off-kilter ideas, arranging them in an order that is simultaneously entertaining and unsettling, which is the fundamental purpose of a good slasher, finding the balance between two very different elements and executing them effectively – no pun intended.

One of the benefits of these slasher films produced in the 1990s is that they had some degree of popularity that was enough to make whoever starred in them immediately notable, with several young actors leveraging these films to get a boost in the industry, even if they didn’t become entirely defined by the horror genre. I Know What You Did Last Summer features a quartet of actors who weren’t necessarily newcomers but had not yet experienced the meteoric rise to become teen idols, which would occur in part as a result of this film since it led to further opportunities for all of them. The two primary characters are portrayed by Jennifer Love Hewitt (as the de facto protagonist) and Freddie Prinze Jr., both of whom are effortlessly charismatic and have a distinct approach to these roles. They’re joined by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe, who may be saddled with the roles of the more expendable of the main cast but who are nonetheless fantastic when given the opportunity, which is precisely why they all managed to become icons of this era, and actors who will forever be remembered for their contributions to the genre. Arguably, none of them are doing particularly daring work but rather making use of their bundles of charisma, which is as good of a technique as any since there’s something profoundly compelling about how the film uses them and their wholehearted commitment to taking on these slightly challenging but captivating roles. It’s very strong work from the entire cast, and even those in smaller supporting parts (such as Johnny Galecki and Anne Heche) shine in their few moments, proving that a good slasher film may not need to depend on strong performances, but it does make it a more engrossing experience when the actors are willing to put in the effort.

Ultimately, the reason I Know What You Did Last Summer works is because it understands the nuances of the genre but doesn’t take them so seriously that it becomes a dour experience. While it may not be as tinged in humour as much as Scream (a film to which it is frequently compared, both positively and negatively), it does lean into the absurdity on more than one occasion, showing that it isn’t too focused on taking these ideas so gravely that it loses its more enjoyable qualities. It’s a very well-made film – the design of this small riverside town in North Carolina is well done to the point where the location becomes a character in itself. Like many slasher films, I Know What You Did Last Summer doesn’t restrict itself to a specific location and makes the most of its setting – and considering quite a bit of the story takes place in broad daylight in some of the most unexpected locations, Gillespie does focus on finding some sense of originality without making the plot overly dense or too wacky, which ultimately works in the film’s favour, allowing it to have many memorable setpieces that immediately distinguish it from many other similarly-themed films. The filmmaking may not seem particularly impressive at a cursory glance, and it is indeed teeming with the tropes and cliches we often associate with this genre (and which have gone on to be massively parodied over time), but there is an unexpected grit that punctuates this film and makes it such a delightfully irreverent work, with its outward simplicity concealing something quietly more compelling, and which we only begin to realise as the film progresses and we see how it handles some of its more unnerving subject matter.

While I Know What You Did Last Summer may not reinvent the slasher genre, it certainly played its part in reviving it at a time when audiences were growing weary of the same kind of trite horror being presented to them, and along with a couple of other notable works in the surrounding years, it became clear that this particularly brand of off-the-wall, slightly deranged violent terror was a feasible artistic and commercial endeavour. It’s not the most original work, and it does draw from several years of slasher horror, but it’s still a wonderfully entertaining film that doesn’t strive to be anything more than an enjoyable work that uses violence as an artistic tool to catch our attention – and anything beyond this is merely supplementary, but we can always find value in how it approaches these themes. Nothing particularly serious, but it is still very compelling in how it bares its intentions from the start and never does anything more than what it aims to accomplish. Anchored by some terrific performances, informed by a genuinely compelling sense of chaos and humour, and filled to the brim with solid, well-crafted ideas, I Know What You Did Last Summer is a very entertaining work and one of the signature entries into a genre that has often felt quite unintentionally daring, proving that it is possible to do something new with familiar material.