IF YOU’RE GOING TO BURY THE TRUTH, MAKE SURE IT STAYS BURIED.

On graduation night, four high school students accidentally hit a pedestrian with their car; they dump the body into the ocean, but that’s not the last they hear of their victim.

Kevin Williamson capitalized on his success with Scream (1996) by churning out a lackluster script that looks like something he ripped off from a 1980s slasher pic; it is largely unrelated to the novel.

Few surprises, and it runs out of steam in the final act, but the fisherman with a hook is an effective killer and it’s fun watching the four stars in the early years of their careers.

1997-U.S. 100 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Jim Gillespie. Screenplay: Kevin Williamson. Novel: Lois Duncan. Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt (Julie James), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Helen Shivers), Ryan Phillippe (Barry Cox), Freddie Prinze, Jr. (Ray Bronson), Johnny Galecki, Bridgette Wilson, Anne Heche. 

Trivia: Followed by two sequels, starting with I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998); later a TV series, I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021). Rebooted as I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025).