With this week’s announcement of the impending 4K release of the 1997 neo-slasher classic I Know What You Did Last Summer, fans might be left scratching their heads over one particular bonus feature noted in the upcoming disc’s press release. In addition to a new scan of the film and a new Dolby Atmos audio track (as well as numerous supplements ported over from the original DVD and Blu-ray releases), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has seen fit to include 6 new deleted scenes and an alternate ending – none of which have been seen before on previous home video editions of the film.
But what could these I Know What You Did Last Summer deleted scenes be? What might that alternate ending entail? While we here at BD don’t know yet for certain, this writer reviewed the third draft of Kevin Williamson’s screenplay, dated March 12th, 1997, to try and suss out what these sequences might be. While the script reads almost exactly how Jim Gillespie’s resulting film plays out, there were five particular scenes in the text which are certainly not in the finished film. In addition, the ending is noticeably different as well.
So to gear up for this upcoming re-release of a summer slasher favorite, let’s take a look at what these additional scenes could possibly be.
Scene 1: EXT. OLLIE’S OYSTER BAR – LATER
Just after Helen Shivers is crowned Croaker Queen, Williamson’s script initially followed up with a brief scene between Barry and Ray, hanging out by Barry’s new BMW during the town’s big Fourth of July party. The relationship between the two friends is set up deftly by Williamson, who reveals Ray’s insecurities about his working class background compared to his friends’ wealth.
Always the jerk jock, Barry takes a potshot at Ray over his obvious envy. When Ray jokes that he got a jet for graduation, Barry fires back with “And how many food stamps did that set your aunt back?”
The ensuing conversation also reveals that Barry and Ray’s girlfriend Julie will be going to Boston U together, while Ray and Helen are both heading to New York. In a rare moment of sincerity and vulnerability, Barry asks Ray to keep an eye on Helen (“Make sure she’s okay and stuff”), and promises to do the same with Julie.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) – Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr, Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar
This promise is paid off in the finished film (albeit without the necessary context) when Barry shoves away a smitten Max, who was attempting to flirt with Julie at the party. Curiously, Max is described in the script as “A HULK OF A GUY … tad shady. None too bright”, which seems a far cry from the Max we got with Johnny Galecki.
Scene 2: EXT. ROAD – MINUTES LATER
While the quartet’s drive to Dawson’s Beach is reduced to a quick shot of Barry’s beamer zipping around a winding, deserted road, Williamson’s script originally took us inside the vehicle.
Barry drives drunkenly as Helen stands up through the car’s sun roof, waving her Croaker Queen wand around dramatically (“I am a Seagull…”). Helen sits back inside the car, bemoaning the fact that this group of friends is fated to split up soon. Barry suggests that they make a pact to stick together no matter what happens. This of course presages a much darker pact the four will be making later on that very night.
Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
The scene ends with Barry recklessly racing through Reaper’s Curve, scaring the hell out of Julie and Ray – leading to a brief exchange between he and Julie which hints at the eventual antagonism between the two.
Scene 3: INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – LATER
After Barry’s first run-in with the Fisherman leaves him wounded and laid up in a hospital bed, the film feature a scene with the four leads meeting in his room to discuss the increasing threat that’s haunting each of them.
Williamson’s script includes a significant chunk of dialogue in this sequence that didn’t make the final cut, as Julie reveals that Barry nearly died in Boston when he was rushed to an infirmary to get his stomach pumped. Barry is shocked that she even knows about this (“It was all over the campus in an hour, Barry.”), and eventually tries to play it off as though it were an accident.
Ryan Phillippe as Barry in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
“An accident,” Julie asks. “How do you accidentally swallow a pharmacy? Oh, Barry, you pretend to be so on top of it. But you’re just as fucked up as the rest of us.”
Helen seems shocked at this, revealing that she may still have feelings for her ex-boyfriend.
Scene 4: INT. HELEN’S BEDROOM
Just after Helen wakes up and realizes that her hair has been chopped up, the film cuts away once she sees the message scrawled on her bedroom mirror (“SOON”). In Williamson’s screenplay, the scene continues as Helen’s mother and her sister Elsa race into the room. Realizing that she can’t explain what’s actually happened, she tells her mom that she cut her own hair. She then breaks into tears as her mother holds her, sobbing and unable to tell her the truth. Elsa finds the whole scene amusing (“She’s lost it”), before retrieving an anti-depressant for Helen to take.
Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) loses her hair in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
It’s worth noting here that, unlike the film, Helen’s hair was nearly completely shorn. “She sits up as the CAMERA WIDENS to reveal all of Helen’s hair…HAS BEEN CUT OFF,” the script reads. “…shredded even. It sticks out from all different angles, closely cropped to the scalp.”
Scene 5: EXT. SIDE STREET
During the Fourth of July Croaker Parade, Barry sits on Helen’s float, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Fisherman somewhere in the crowd. At the beginning of this sequence, Barry and Helen share a brief but tender exchange.
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Helen in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
When Helen complains about her hair, Barry snaps at her (“We could lose the vanity. We have other concerns”). Helen fires back, asking “Why do you hate me so much?”
“Her eyes pierce his,” the script reads. “This catches him off guard. For a moment his wall comes down. His face turns soft…his eyes gentle.”
“I don’t hate you, Hellie.”
He touches her hair, jokes that he likes the whole “European thing” happening with it.
While it’s a sweet moment, the film makes the smarter choice, efficiently reducing all of this dialogue to a meaningful look shared between the two.
Alternate Ending: INT. DORM ROOM – PRESENT – LATE NIGHT
In Williamson’s original scripted ending, Julie and Ray are still together one year later. Julie is rejuvenated. “The CAMERA comes upon her face and it appears a revelation. This is the Julie of old. Her youthful face has been restored.”
She sits at her computer, messaging Ray, who is revealed to now be in New York.
After a quick jumpscare featuring her roommate Deb, Julie finds a new e-mail in her inbox from an unidentified sender. She clicks on it, and “COMPLETELY FREAKS OUT. Her face turning a ghostly white as the life is sucked from it.”
On the screen, a single sentence: “I Know What You Did Last Summer”.
A chilling, but far more subdued ending than the one we got with the film.
Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) in the final moment of I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
So what do you think of these I Know What You Did Last Summer deleted scenes? Should they have been left in, or is it best that they were removed?
Is it likely that these scenes are the ones that will be featured on the disc? And if so, where’s that sixth one? If not, what else might be awaiting us on that 4K set?
We’ll find out when the film hits 4K Ultra HD on September 27, 2022!
