Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

I Know What You Did Last Summer 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 6, 2022

Sony has released the 1997 Teen Horror film 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio. Several new extras are also included. This is a major upgrade from the old Blu-ray, which is also included in this set.

Four friends live in a sleepy North Carolina fishing town, leading seemingly perfect lives. Juile (Jennifer Love Hewitt), her steady, level-headed boyfriend Ray (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), her beauty pageant queen friend Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Helen's potty-mouthed boyfriend Barry (Ryan Phillippe) hit something one night with Barry's BMW on a secluded mountainside road. Rather than a dog or a deer, it turns out that they've struck a man. Panicked, the four make a pact to throw his body into the Atlantic and never speak of it again. A year passes, and the friends find themselves separated and failing to live out their dreams. Julie receives a note that says, "I know what you did last summer," a note which reunites the friends and drives them to madness as they attempt to discover the identity of who they killed and avoid the deadly hook as a mysterious fisherman hunts them down one-by-one.

For a full film review, please click here.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

This is a sizably transformative image. Sony's new 2160p/Dolby vision presentation of I Know What You Did Last Summer rewrites the history of the film's home video performance, which to this point has been disappointing at best. Both the original Sony and the later Mill Creek versions were hardly lookers in any sense of the term (though the Sony disc was passable for the day), and of course the film was grossly limited on old standard definition formats. Here, however, under these new parameters, the film looks practically brand new. Gone is that DVD-era processed appearance, replaced by a formidable filmic image that is in every way -- large and small alike -- the old Blu-ray's great superior. Here, the picture is very filmic. Grain retention is obvious, and the grain presentation is natural and flattering. The picture looks healthy and just like it should, true to the film medium and without any signs of heavy-handed processing. Textures are super sharp, very fine, and intimately complex. Gone is the pervasive flatness and artificial sharpness, replaced by a wonderful, natural appearance. Facial and hair complexities are striking. Locations are super complex, and the sense of cinematic purity and perfection are obvious. There are no source blemishes or encode artifacts to report, either.

The Dolby Vision color grading brings a formidable depth to the palette, to the point that elements can take on an entirely different look. Gone are the flat and pallid colors and present is a much richer, more lifelike color presentation. Look at Julie at the 43:16 mark. On the old Blu-ray, her hair looks red, and the brown eyes appear to be a similar shade. On the UHD, the hair looks like a very dark brown, teetering on black, and the eyes are much darker, too. The shot's overall tone transforms from what looks like sun pouring in through the window to something much darker and tonally reserved. The change is radical, but it appears to be much truer to the film's natural gradations. Not every shot or scene is so significantly altered, but in every shot and scene one can find clear evidence of the color grading's superiority for overall depth and accuracy. Primaries are a good deal punchier and more refined. Earthy tones appear more naturally firm and rich. Whites appear greatly improved, offering a substantial leap from creamy on Blu-ray to brilliantly pure here. Black levels, vital to the overall experience, enjoy positively transformational presentation parameters, here enjoying greatly deeper and more accurate depth and stability. Flesh tones are likewise more solidified. Sony has hit this one out of the park.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The new Dolby Atmos soundtrack offers a commanding listen. The audio is bold, with musical depth and immersion just about perfect. Whether bold, intense note or subtle strings, the level of sophistication and clarity are always in evidence. The music soars to new heights -- literally with the help of some supportive overhead content -- to a level of pinpoint accuracy and lifelikeness that the old 5.1 track cannot match. The track offers a good number of discrete elements, much as when Julie hers something in the back of her car in the 58-minute mark. Lighter environmental effects are satisfyingly full, while more complex din at a parade during the 64-minute mark effortlessly draws the listener into the location with remarkably specific and detailed clarity of individual cheers and instrumentals. Horror elements offer pounding depth and slashing realism which, combined with music, offer a delightful array of hard-hitting and sonically terrifying intensity. Dialogue is, no surprise, clear and center focused for the duration.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of I Know What You Did Last Summer includes a few extras on the UHD disc which are either new altogether or new to the Blu-ray/UHD format while the included Blu-ray, which is identical to Sony's 2008 issue, includes all of the legacy Blu-ray extras. New content is covered below. Returning supplements are listed; please click here for full coverage of those. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

UHD:

• NEW! Deleted Scenes (1080p upscaled, 5:06 total runtime): Included are Ray and Barry Discuss Their Future, Stick Together, Fisherman at the Door, Barry at Hospital, Fishing Truck, The Plan, and Original Ending.
• NEW! "My Own Summer" -- Interview with Director Jim Gillespie (1080p, 29:39): This interview, recorded during the Covid lockdowns, features the film's director talking about his life and this film in detail, including casting and characters, the shooting process, working with the studios, making various scenes, adding some teeth to the film, shooting locales, set anecdotes, and much more.
• He Knows What You Did -- An Interview with Muse Watson (1080p, 14:43): The man who played the iconic Fisherman talks about his acting career and, of course, playing the film's villain in detail.

Blu-ray:

• Audio Commentary: Director Jim Gillespie and Editor Steve Mirkovich.
• Director's Short Film: "Joyride."
• Featurette: "Now I Know What You Did Last Summer."
• Music Video: "Hush" by Kula Shaker
• Theatrical Trailer
• BD-Live
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What a gem of a catalogue release! I Know What You Did Last Summer isn't a movie deserving of Sony's prestigious multi-volume Columbia Classics collection, but the studio has nevertheless given it the same treatment. This new 2160p/Doby Vision/Doby Atmos UHD is a treat. Few UHDs are this fundamentally transformative next to their old Blu-ray counterparts. This one looks brand new, and sounds brand new, too. The video and audio both are absolutely top-notch. The studio has even tossed in a few new extras to boot. The movie is campy, sure, but it's still one of the best examples of 90s Teen Horror there ever was. I enjoyed it so much it just might sneak into the top ten list for 2022. Highly recommended!