Horror Facts Vol. 17: I Know What You Did Last Summer

With it being the 4th of July and all, what better time to look back at one of the most iconic ’90s slasher films? The 17th edition of Horror Facts focuses on I Know What You Did Last Summer.

/ Director Jim Gillespie worked with cinematographer Denis Crossman to achieve the colour palette for the film which consists of heavy blues and a lack of bright colours.

/ Melissa Joan Hart received a formal letter from filmmakers offering her the role of Julie James. She turned it down stating that she thought it was just a ripoff of Scream.

/ Kevin Williamson wrote the script for IKWYDLS before Scream but was originally unable to sell it. Following the huge success of Scream, Columbia Pictures swooped in to buy the film in 1997.

/ Jennifer Love Hewitt had just wrapped up filming House Arrest with Jamie Lee Curtis in 1996. JLC was also filming a movie in North Carolina the same time JLH was on set for IKWYDLS. Hewitt said Curtis visited the set to wish her luck on her first horror film and would frequently visit to give her hugs.

/ Jim Gillespie originally didn’t want to make his movie too graphic and used very little blood. The producers, however, had other plans in mind which resulted in a reshoot of the scene where Elsa Shivers gets her throat slashed.

/ Anne Heche could relate to the role of Missy as she lost her brother in real-life to suicide. In the film, she believes her brother took his own life.

/ Author of the novel, Lois Duncan hated the film and was strongly opposed to the book becoming a slasher. The filmmakers were unaware that her daughter was killed in an unsolved shooting which made her unreceptive to on-screen violence. She always wasn’t happy with the many changes to the script, like making the hit and run victim an adult fisherman instead of a young boy on a bike.

/ The ice in the boat that Jennifer Love Hewitt needs to crawl around in was actually made of gelatin so she could comfortably film the scene.

/ 20 years after the original, Ryan Phillippe received a creepy Twitter message from Muse Wilson, the actor who plays Ben Willis. Phillippe claims the message came on the 4th of July and said something along the lines of “Hello, old friend”.

/ In the film’s first marketing campaign, Sony used the tagline “from the creator of Scream”, since Kevin Williamson wrote both films. Miramax wasn’t pleased they referenced one of their biggest hits to sell a competitor’s movie and threatened to sue for false advertising. Sony soon dropped the line from all of their ads.

/ Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar thought they were going to be fired after renting a car one night to go for a spin and getting it stuck in a sand dune. A tow truck had to come to remove the car but luckily filmmakers didn’t find out about the incident.

/ Since filming took place in a quiet Southern town, the cast would throw little parties to entertain themselves. Freddie Prinze Jr., being the only cast member who was 21 with a license, would be the drink buyer.

/ The teens visit “Dawson’s Beach” at the beginning of the film which is a reference to Dawson’s Creek, also written by Kevin Williamson. The roads surrounding the beach, where the hit and run takes place, is the same location used in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

/ The famous scene in which Julie twirls around and screams “What are you waiting for?” was directed by a fan. The film held a contest where fans could enter to create a moment for the movie. At first, Jennifer Love Hewitt thought it was silly but it ended up being one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

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