The American slasher film, I Know What You Did Last Summer, gave rise to three sequels, two remakes, and a television adaptation. Several show makers got inspired to use the plot in some way. The article focuses on the original movie released in 1997.
Four friends party in a running car and supposedly hit a person. They cover the crime and part ways. One year later, they get mysterious letters with ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ and get killed one by one.
The film was made with a budget of $17 million and grossed $125.3 million worldwide. According to the original script, the character named ‘Max’ was not about to get killed. However, the producers decided to show the main characters in danger from the beginning. Thus, Max’s death scene got filmed later.
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I Know What You Did Last Summer Filming Locations
The film is set in Sonoma County, California. So, the beginning scenes got filmed in its coastal areas. Southport, North Carolina, got chosen to film the remaining scenes.
Schoolhouse Beach, Northern California
The four friends sit around a campfire and share their ideas and a few drinks near a wrecked boat at Schoolhouse Beach, Northern California. Surrounded by rocky headlands, the beach gets known for fishing, surfing, and taking leashed dogs.
The director, Jim Gillespie, got inspired by an image in a reference book. Thus, the art department hunted for an old boat in Bodega Bay, purchased it, cut it in half, and used it in the scene to fulfill Gillespie’s dream.
Kolmer Gulch
The four friends head home while partying in a car. Ray drives, and drunken Barry takes his head out of the roof, swinging his beer bottle. As they approach the Reaper’s Curve, Barry’s bear bottle falls in the car, and Ray gets distracted.
The scene got filmed on Coast Highway (Highway 1), Kolmer Gulch, California. The location got used to filming the sunset in the opening shots at a rugged coast.
Julie’s House
Julie returns to her home a year after the accident, after the four friends parted ways, and receives an anonymous letter mentioning ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer.’ Her house is near other filming locations of the film.
Julie stays at 209 Short Street near Southport Marina. It is a 1650 sq. ft. single-family house with two bathrooms and bedrooms. It is quiet, friendly, and has many restaurants located nearby.
Harrell’s Departmental Store
The director got impressed by Harrell’s Departmental Store. He made a few changes in the elements of the script and portrayed the store as Shiver’s Departmental Store. Helen drives for her life and finds her family’s department store.
Helen’s sister, Elsa, who does not realize the danger, takes time to open the door. Till then, the killer gets in and tears her throat by plunging a hook through it. The scene got filmed from behind, and the filmmakers had to add blood through visual effects.
Harrell’s Departmental Store was in Burgaw, North Carolina. It ran for more than a century but got closed in 2020 for good.
Duke University
The exterior of Boston College, where Julie studies, got filmed at Duke University. It is a private research university in Durham, NC, United States.
Dosher Memorial Hospital
Barry gets shot and admitted to a hospital. However, he lies to Ray, stating that he got shot by the robber instead of the killer. Ray meets Julie’s boyfriend, Bud, and has a small talk with him in the same hospital.
These scenes got filmed in the Dosher Memorial Hospital, a non-profit, community, and public hospital in Southport. It is one of America’s hundred best hospitals.
The Final Boat Scene
According to the final scene, Ray has a boat with ‘Billy Blue’ written on it. Julie gets caught by Ben Willis, and Ray somehow saves her after getting almost dead. He confesses his love to Julie after getting his hand cut, and both embrace.
The scene got filmed on a boat in Cape Fear River in east-central North Carolina. It meets near the Cape Fear in the Atlantic Ocean. The cast and crew of the movie could hardly film or park the boat due to the volatile waters. Thus, they had to leave it and film other scenes till the following day.
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