How a 1973 novel became a 1990s slasher icon

Entertainment · Published 9 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before it was a staple of 90s teen horror, I Know What You Did Last Summer was a rushed production born from the success of Scream. It transformed a suspenseful novel into a straightforward slasher, blending urban legends with a gritty morality tale about a secret that refuses to stay buried.

The film's journey to the screen began with Lois Duncan's 1973 novel, a youth-oriented suspense story about four teenagers involved in a hit-and-run. When producer Erik Feig pitched an adaptation to Mandalay Entertainment, writer Kevin Williamson was tasked with retooling the source material. Unlike his previous work on Scream, which was defined by satire and self-referentiality, Williamson intentionally reworked the plot to mirror the straightforward style of 1980s-era slasher films. He also infused the story with personal touches, such as changing the setting to a fishing village and creating a hook-wielding villain inspired by his father's career as a commercial fisherman.

The production was notably fast-tracked by Columbia Pictures following the massive success of Scream. To capture the right atmosphere, director Jim Gillespie and cinematographer Denis Crossan utilized a color scheme dominated by heavy blues and a lack of bright colors. Filming took place over ten weeks in 1997, with approximately seven of those weeks occurring at night. To stand in for North Carolina, the production utilized coastal areas of Sonoma County, California, for the opening scenes, while the majority of the remaining footage was shot in Southport, North Carolina, including locations like the Amuzu Theater and the Shiver's Department Store.

The film's narrative structure relies on a specific psychological hook: the transition from a shared secret to a personal haunting. The killer's weapon, a hook, serves as a direct nod to the "Hook" urban legend discussed by the characters at the start of the movie. Gillespie noted that the film was designed to play with the audience's expectations—acknowledging that they had seen these tropes before while still aiming to elicit a genuine jump scare. This balance of familiar tropes and a grounded morality tale helped the film revitalize the slasher genre in the late 1990s.

The casting process was equally deliberate, seeking actors who were "beautiful, but likable." Jennifer Love Hewitt was cast as Julie James specifically for her ability to project vulnerability. A young winner of a competition to design a cinematic highlight actually devised and managed the iconic street-side shriek performed by Julie. Despite Hewitt's initial dislike of the idea, the scene ultimately became one of the most recognizable parts of the film, illustrating the unpredictable nature of its production.

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