The 2021 series I Know What You Did Last Summer was based on Lois Duncan’s 1973 novel of the same name, which was also the basis of the iconic 1997 film. The series was produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television, ran only for a single season on Prime Video, and was written and executive produced by Sara Goodman (Preacher, Gossip Girl, Cruel Intentions).

It’s graduation night in the small town of Wai Huna, Hawaii, and a group of teens who have been friends since kindergarten are celebrating with a big graduation party, hosted at the home of Margot ‘s(Brianne Tju) millionaire parents. The friend group includes Margot’s openly gay pal Johnny (Sebastian Amoruso), and best friend/crush, popular party girl Lennon (Madison Iseman). Lennon is nothing like her boring identical twin sister Alison (also Iseman), a virgin who has been pining over classmate Dylan (Ezekiel Goodman) all her life, but has never done anything about it. Lennon’s best friend Riley is the group’s drug supplier and the one who ensures they all have a good time.

When the cops arrive to the party, Lennon, Johnny, Margot, Dylan and Riley head off to find a new place to continue their celebration. However, while driving up a winding mountain pass, Lennon hits something with her car. They all nervously get out to check what it was, and discover a body. Scared that calling the cops or letting their parents know what happened could literally ruin their lives, the teens decide to move the body to a nearby cave and let the tides dispose of it. However, the events of the evening continue to weigh on all of them, and the friends all go their separate ways.

A year later, 19-year-old Lennon returns home from her freshman year away at college to discover the ominous message “I Know What You Did Last Summer” scrawled on her mirror, and a bloody goat head hanging in her closet. Did someone else witness what they did? And if so, what do they want? This seemingly-perfect small town is filled with secrets, not just with these teens, but also their parents. As the teens try to piece together the mystery of who is threatening them, bodies start to appear&mdashsome with heads no longer attached. As people in the town are brutally-murdered, the teens wonder if they are next. Can they unlock the truth before they become the killer’s next victim?

While I’ve ever read the original novel, the 1997 film version of I Know What You Did Last Summer is still one of my favorites. All three versions are about teens who accidentally kill someone with their car, and then find themselves stalked by a killer a year later. However, all three versions take very different approaches to the victim, killer and their motives. With 8 episodes, this TV version has more time to develop the characters and allow the story to breathe and grow. This version takes a bold and unexpected twist at the end of the first episode, which sets things up for a really interesting new approach to this material.

While I didn’t really recognize any of the main cast, I think they all do a good job with their characters. They feel like your typical teens in a horror film who are about to be picked off by a serial killer. The series itself is a small town murder mystery mixed with a slasher film that takes a lot of unexpected turns and keeps the audience guessing as to the identity of the killer and their motives. Just when the evidence starts to point towards one person, they either wind up dead, or things go in a different direction. This leads to some exciting and gruesome kills, and early on it feels like any of these characters could be killed off at any time, giving some real stakes to the series. The season ultimately comes to a conclusion in a pretty twisted way, with the reveal of the killer and their motives. This didn’t quite work for me, and seemed a bit out of the blue, but I applaud the writers for going in an unexpected direction. The series was originally planned to have more than one season, so there are a few elements that are hinted to as to where things would go, but the ending still provides enough closure to not feel like the viewer is left hanging. However, there were also several elements in this first season that didn’t quite pay off, such as a wider storyline about a cult in the town.

Sony has released the complete series of I Know What You Did Last Summer on Blu-ray for the first time. We were sent the release for review from AV Entertainment. The single season is split across 3 discs, which are placed on a swinging tray in a standard-sized Blu-ray keepcase. The third disc also contains two short TV promos for the series, but unfortunately that is all that is offered for bonus material. The technical presentation of the series is generally quite good, with a solid, detailed picture even during the darker nighttime scenes. Dialogue is clear throughout, and there are moments when the stereo and surround channels are well-utilized to provide a more immersive ambiance.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (6:15:52)

Blu-ray:
• All 8 episodes of season 1 on 3 discs:
  Disc 1 (2:21:45): “It’s Thursday”, “It’s Not Just for Dog Shit”, “A Gorilla Head Will Not Do”
  Disc 2 (2:10:43): “Hot Shrimp Salad”, “Mukbang”, “Least You Had a Spare”
  Disc 3 (1:43:24): “If Only Dogs Could Talk”, “Your Next Life Could Be So Much Happier”
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English, English SDH

Extras:

• “Acclaim” TV Spot (:32)
• “Mood” TV Spot (:45)

Final Thoughts:

I Know What You Did Last Summer is an interesting and different take on the source material, making the characters and relationships feel a bit more modern. The series also goes in a different direction, taking a surprising turn right from the start. Even though the series was canceled after just one season, these 8 episodes do still provide a sense of closure to the story. Sony’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds solid, but only includes a couple of promos for bonus material. The series is worth a look for fans of the original story concept.