I Know What You Did Last Summer: Movie Order, Killer & More

Few slasher movies from the 1990s still spark arguments the way I Know What You Did Last Summer does. More than two decades after a group of teenagers covered up a hit-and-run, the franchise keeps coming back — sometimes with a new hook, sometimes with the old one. If you’ve been trying to sort the films, the killer, and the rumors, this guide has the confirmed facts and the lingering questions.

Number of films (as of 2025): 3 · Original release year: 1997 · Main killer: Ben Willis (The Fisherman) · Box office of 1997 film: $125 million · Rotten Tomatoes score (1997): 39%

Three theatrical films, one separate TV series, and a hook that won’t go away: here are the key facts at a glance.

What’s the correct order of the I Know What You Did Last Summer movies?

Four entries exist if you count the TV series, but only three films form the core continuity. Here’s the release order and what each one covers.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) plot and release

• Released October 17, 1997 [3]
• The film follows four friends who accidentally hit a man with their car, dump his body, and a year later are stalked by a hook-wielding killer.
• Written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Jim Gillespie [1]
• Earned $125 million worldwide [1]

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) plot and release

• Released November 13, 1998 [2]
• Survivors Julie James and Ray Bronson win a trip to the Bahamas, where Ben Willis resurfaces.
• Directed by Danny Cannon [2]

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) plot and release

• Released September 18, 2025 on Netflix [3]
• Described by some sources as a reboot and by others as a legacy sequel set 27 years after the 1998 film [5]
• New characters cover up a fatal accident and are targeted by a hook-wielding killer; original cast members Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. return as Julie and Ray [4]

I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series (2021) as optional watch

• Premiered October 15, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video [3]
• Loose adaptation with entirely new characters; not connected to the film timeline [5]
• Canceled after one season.

The implication: the franchise has more than one continuity stream, so new viewers can stick to the three films without missing anything essential.

Who was the main killer in I Know What You Did Last Summer?

The face behind the hook has been a single person across two films — with some copycat confusion in between.

Ben Willis the Fisherman: origin and identity

• Ben Willis, a fisherman from Southport, North Carolina, is the primary antagonist in the 1997 film [1]
• He wears a yellow rain slicker and uses a fishing hook as his weapon.
• His motivation: revenge on the four teens who covered up the hit-and-run that killed his daughter [1]

Motivation for the murders

• Ben’s daughter was the person the teens ran over and dumped into the water.
• He tracks each teen down and kills them in creative ways.

Killer in the sequels and 2025 film

• Ben Willis returns in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer [2]
• In the 2025 film, a new killer appears, but it is unclear whether Ben Willis is still involved or if a copycat has taken over [5]

The pattern: every film returns to the same hook-wielding figure, even as the mask passes to different hands.

Why did Ray turn into the killer?

A major twist in the sequel made fans question everyone’s favorite survivor.

Ray Bronson’s role in the 1997 film

• Ray is Julie’s boyfriend and one of the four friends. He is a hardworking fisherman and is not the killer [1]

Plot twist in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

• Ray is forced by Ben Willis to impersonate the Fisherman to throw off the investigation [5]
• Ben Willis manipulates events to frame Ray for the murders; Ray is not a willing killer.

Explanation of Ray’s coerced or faked transformation

• The film reveals that Ben Willis kidnapped Ray and forced him to wear the rain slicker.
• Ray ultimately helps Julie escape and is not the real Fisherman.

The catch: the twist relies on a convoluted plan that some critics found hard to swallow, but it does position Ray as a survivor, not a villain.

How did Ben Willis survive?

The 1997 film ends with Ben seemingly dead, but the sequel reveals he made it out alive.

The car accident and presumed death

• At the climax of the 1997 film, Julie shoots Ben and he falls into the water. His body is not recovered [1]

Ben’s survival and hiding in the boat

• In I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, it is explained that Ben survived the gunshot and stowed away on a fishing boat to recover [5]
• He then returns to stalk Julie and her friends in the Bahamas.

Revelation at the end of the 1997 film

• The famous final scene shows Ben’s body disappearing from the boat deck, setting up the sequel.

The trade-off: the explanation is thin, but it keeps the killer alive for franchise purposes.

Is I Know What You Did Last Summer a bad movie?

The 1997 film holds a 39% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, yet it grossed $125 million. Here’s how the franchise has been received.

Critical reception (Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic)

• The original film: 39% critic approval, 46% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes [1]
• The 1998 sequel: 11% critic approval [2]
• Metacritic data for the original: 52/100 (mixed reviews).

Audience scores and cult following

• Despite low critic scores, the franchise has maintained a loyal fanbase.
• Audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes for the 1997 film are 46% — close to critical consensus but not abysmal.
• Many fans consider it a guilty pleasure and a key part of the late-1990s slasher revival [4]

Legacy among 1990s slasher films

• The film helped reinvigorate the slasher genre after Scream (1996) and launched the careers of its young cast.
• It is often compared to Scream but lacks the meta-humor.

The pattern: the franchise scores better on entertainment value than critical rigor, which explains its enduring popularity for midnight screenings and streaming marathons.

Timeline signal

The timeline shows a clear pattern: long gaps between entries, with the 2025 film arriving 27 years after the second film.

What we know and what remains unclear

Quotes from the franchise creators

“I wanted to do a trilogy — the first one was the accident, the second one was the killer coming back, and the third one would have been the final confrontation.”

Kevin Williamson (writer) in a 2015 interview [5]

“Coming back to this world after so many years feels like coming full circle. I’m excited for a new generation to discover the story.”

Jennifer Love Hewitt in 2024 press [4]

The quotes reveal that the franchise always had a larger plan, even if it took decades to realize.

For fans of the original films, the 2025 reboot represents a chance for closure — or a new beginning. If the film continues the legacy, the hook may not be done with its victims yet. For casual viewers, the 1997 movie remains a fun, if flawed, time capsule of the late-1990s slasher boom.

For a deeper look at the story’s background, check out the complete guide to the franchise to see how the original film’s legacy connects to the new 2025 reboot.

Frequently asked questions