Image: tmdb
About This Quiz
It might surprise you, but "Last Summer" was 20 summers ago, way back in 1997! How well do you recall this teen chiller and its fresh-faced, just-coming-up stars? Find out now with our quiz!
In what state is Southport, the film's town?
California
North Carolina
All these states could have played host to the action, as they all have coastlines. In fact, California was where the car accident was filmed, as its coastal roads are curvier and its cliffs steeper than those of North Carolina.
South Carolina
Massachusetts
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On what holiday does the movie begin?
New Year's Eve
Halloween
The Fourth of July
As the film opens, we see a lonely young man drinking on some rocks over the ocean. Then colorful fireworks explode in the sky above.
April Fool's Day
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Who played the teen beauty queen, Helen?
Kristen Bell
Amanda Seyfried
Hillary Duff
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Helen's glittery crown plays a significant role in the movie. It should have gotten billing of its own!
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What title does Helen compete for and win?
Clam Queen
Croaker Queen
Southport is a fishing town, and a "croaker" is a type of fish. It's a good thing Helen didn't live in an inland state with lakes -- she could have been the "Crappie Queen!"
Miss Southport
Most Likely to Succeed
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Who played Julie James?
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar actually auditioned for each other's roles in the film. In the end, the filmmakers went with conventional casting: the blonde beauty queen and the serious-minded brunette.
Rachel McAdams
Charisma Carpenter
Alicia Witt
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What does Julie want to do for a living?
act
practice law
Julie is the brains of the group, the script implies. As events unfold, she does most of the investigative footwork.
practice medicine
teach school
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Which of the four has a working-class background?
Barry
Helen
Julie
Ray
Ray's father was a fisherman, the work he takes up later. Barry is a rich kid who drives a BMW, and Helen and Julie are comfortably middle-class.
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What sport does Barry play?
boxing
baseball
football
Barry is a high-school quarterback, then a college one. He's seen working out at a boxing gym, but apparently this is just an outlet for his antisocial personality.
wrestling
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Where does Helen plan to move after high school?
Hollywood
New York
Helen tells the crowds at the beauty pageant that she intends to "serve my country through art." It's later revealed, though, that New York "didn't work out."
Nashville
Paris
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What business is Helen's family in?
auto repair
fishing
retail
Their family name is "Shivers," but the store is named "Shiver's." This is presumably to avoid grammatical awkwardness: "Shivers's" doesn't roll off the tongue.
real estate
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Who is driving Barry's car when they hit the fisherman?
Barry, naturally
Helen
Julie
Ray
Ray is sober at the time. Barry is drunk, and he (usually) never lets anyone else drive his car. This leads the four to believe that no one will accept that Barry wasn't driving.
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What does the fisherman/victim have tattooed on his arm?
an upside-down cross
the word "Mom"
the name "Susie"
Later, when Julie discovers the victim's identity, she concludes this was David Egan's girlfriend, Susie Willis. She's right (but with a twist later).
a coiled snake
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On the pier, what does the fisherman grab?
Julie's hand
Helen's crown
Until that moment, the four think the man is dead. Horrifyingly, they just roll him into the water anyway, and he grabs Helen's crown just before falling in.
a hook
Barry's shoe
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Who is the first to get a threatening note?
Barry
Helen
Julie
Julie gets a note when she arrives home from school. Barry, who is skeptical of the whole thing, is the second to be threatened.
Ray
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Who dies first?
Barry
Elsa (Helen's sister)
Helen
Max
Max dies just after Barry accuses him of sending Julie the threatening note. The fisherman's motive for killing Max isn't clear, but in "meta" terms, his death serves to prove that the killer means business and the four friends are in real danger.
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What does Barry find wedged in his locker at the gym?
a hook
a Polaroid of his car
The Polaroid has the words "I know" written at the bottom. When Barry goes to look for the person who left it, the killer steals his letter jacket and car keys.
a note saying "I know"
a bloody fingernail
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What does Julie find in the trunk of her car?
dozens of crabs
a bloody slicker and hat
Max's body
both #1 and #3
This leads to a classic slasher-film trope. Julie runs to get Barry and Helen, but when she does -- shocker! -- the body is gone and the trunk is completely clean.
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Why was David Egan out drinking by the ocean on the Fourth of July?
he didn't get into any universities
he was fired from his job
his girlfriend broke up with him
he accidentally killed his girlfriend in a car wreck
Julie does some research and finds out their victim's name was David Egan. Egan himself was guilty in a premature death -- at least morally, if not legally.
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What does the killer write on Helen's mirror?
"I know"
"Killer"
"Soon"
He also gives Helen an erratic haircut while she sleeps. Or, as Julie colorfully puts it, "makes coleslaw of Helen's head."
"Tonight"
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Who does Missy Egan say visited her after her brother's death?
David's classmate, Billy Blue
Helen and Julie visit Missy to try to figure out who might be trying to kill them. A bit of fishing on Julie's part gets Missy to remember the visit from "Billy Blue."
Susie's father Ben
Barry and Helen
no one
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How does Missy believe her brother died?
from falling off a fishing boat
trying to save a drowning child
he accidentally drank himself to death
he committed suicide
Missy shows Julie a note saying, "I'll never forget last summer." Julie recognizes the writing and says that the letter is a death threat, not a suicide note.
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Where is Barry killed?
on the docks
on the balcony of the town hall
Barry is keeping an eye on Helen, who's on stage. But it's Helen who has to witness Barry being killed, when the fisherman sneaks up behind him with his hook.
in the middle of the parade
he isn't; he survives
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What fills the alley where Helen is killed?
mannequins
newspapers
razor wire
tires
Helen really gives the killer a run for his money and nearly gets away. But he catches up with her in an alley behind an auto shop, and stacks of tires obscure the details of her death from the audience.
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What is the name of the boat Ray works on?
the Billy Blue
Julie remembers that this is the name of the "classmate" who visited Missy Egan. Thinking this is Ray's killer alter ego, she runs from him -- straight into the hands of the real killer.
the Elizabeth Dane
the Sweet Susie
the Ray of Light
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Who is the real killer?
the harbor master
Max's father
Susie's father
Willis survived being hit by Barry's car -- so, as Julie tells Ray, "We didn't kill anyone." No, but you did dump an accident victim off a pier while still alive, Julie -- we wouldn't wait for the humanitarian awards to roll in.
Missy Egan
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What does Julie find in the cabin of the Sweet Susie?
Barry's letter jacket
Helen's crown
a hat and slicker
photos and news clippings about Susie WIllis, David Egan, and Julie and her friends
Julie now realizes that she's on Ben Willis's boat. We already know this, having seen the name "Sweet Susie" painted on the stern.
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What does Julie find in the ice below deck?
Barry's body
Helen's body
the hook
both #1 and #2
Willis transports and hides several of his victims. How he got away with carrying Barry's and Helen's bodies out of the center of town in the middle of a Fourth of July celebration is anybody's guess.
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What comes up in the net when police drag the harbor?
Ben Willis's body
Ben Willis's hand and hook
We're meant to suspect that the unsinkable Ben Willis is still alive. After all, there has to be a sequel.
a lot of crabs and fish
nothing
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In the final scene, what's in the envelope Julie gets at school?
a note saying "I still know"
a picture of her on campus, taken from a distance
the "I Love You" medallion
an invitation to a pool party
Julie is in the showers wearing a towel when her roommate delivers the note, so we know something bad is about to happen. And it does: after she reads the invitation with relief, she looks at the shower door. "I Still Know" is written in the steam.
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Who wrote the novel on which the movie was based?
Lois Duncan
The movie bears little resemblance to the book, in which all four friends survive. Duncan has said that she hated the movie.
Carolyn Keene
R.L. Stine
Peter Straub
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Who wrote the screenplay for "I Know What You Did Last Summer"?
Wes Craven
Stephen King
Steven Zaillian
Kevin WIlliamson
Williamson wrote this screenplay before he wrote his hit, "Scream." But it was only the success of the latter movie that got Hollywood interested in making "Last Summer."
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Which of the film's four stars got top billing?
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt was the film's biggest name, due to her role on "Party of Five." Gellar's show, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," had just premiered on the WB but hadn't turned into a cultural phenomenon yet.
Ryan Phillipe
Freddie Prinze, Jr.
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Which "Big Bang Theory" star had a minor role?
Jim Parsons
Kaley Cuoco
Johnny Galecki
Galecki played Max, a local boy with a crush on Julie. He ends up working on the docks -- a far cry from his physicist character on "Big Bang."
Mayim Bialik
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Which two actors fell in love on the set?
Ryan Phillipe and Anne Heche
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.
Married in 2002, Gellar and Prinze Jr. seem to have one of Hollywood's most stable marriages, as well as two kids. Good for them!
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.
Johnny Galecki and Jennifer Love Hewitt
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What is the movie's body count?
four
five
six
Only two of the four principals die. But Max, Elsa, and the police officer are secondary victims, and David Egan, also killed by Ben Willis, is number six.
seven
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You Got:
/35
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