“I Know What You Did Last Summer” Ending Explained: Who Is the Killer?

After 28 years, I Know What You Did Last Summer [1] is back. This time around, the movie, which released in theaters July 18, picks up in the present day, where a new group of young people accidentally causes an incident late at night on a dark road. After drinking and getting high on the Fourth of July, one of the friends, Teddy (Tyriq Withers), stands in the middle of the road, antagonizing oncoming traffic.

At one point, a truck swerves out of the way to avoid Teddy, which causes it to go off a cliff, crashing into the rocks below. From there, the entire friend group -- Teddy, Danica (Madelyn Cline [2]), Ava (Chase Sui Wonders [3]), Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon [4]) and Milo (Jonah Hauer-King [5]) -- decide that the accident wasn't technically their fault and that they're better off keeping it a secret. Flash forward one year to Danica's bridal shower, and the group thinks the past is in the past ... until the bride-to-be gets a mysterious note reading, "I know what you did last summer."

One by one, the friends (and all those around them) get murdered by an unknown hook-wielding killer wearing the iconic fisherman outfit. To help them figure out how to deal with the killings, the group reaches out to the two survivors from the original 1997 massacre, Julie James and Ray Bronson, who are played by franchise legends Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.[6][7] ADVERTISEMENT

By the end of the film, only a few friends remain. And it all culminates in not one, but two seriously shocking finale twists -- which could leave fans of the original movie torn. "Do I think people might not like it?

Sure," director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson told PEOPLE. "But I think for me, it was always about, if you're going to do this, take a swing. Just take a swing. And listen, if not everybody likes it, that's okay."

Here's the I Know What You Did Last Summer ending, explained. Warning: I Know What You Did Last Summer spoilers ahead!

How does I Know What You Did Last Summer end?

Matt Kennedy/Sony Pictures

Sarah Pidgeon, Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.

In the movie's finale, as the bodies keep piling up, Ray tells Danica, Ava and Stevie to get on a boat and out of town as quickly as possible before they're killed. Meanwhile, Julie is safe in her home that's a few hours away, trying to stay as far from Southport as possible.

ADVERTISEMENT Once on the boat, the killer finally reveals themselves to be Stevie, who has been posing as one of the victims all along. Ava frantically calls Ray to find them before they're killed, and he heads out on his fishing boat to rescue the girls.

Stevie reveals that the guy who died that night one year ago was actually her best friend from rehab. Prior to the start of the film, Stevie's backstory is that she comes from a family that completely deteriorated, leaving her broke, alone and struggling with addiction. Stevie leaned heavily on the church and its social groups for support, which helped her as she struggled with trauma.

The night of the accident, she never got close enough to the truck to see who was inside. It wasn't until afterward, when all the friends parted ways, that she learned the truth. After knocking Danica overboard, Stevie tries to kill Ava, but luckily, Ray shows up to help.

He confronts Stevie, wondering why she did all this instead of just reaching out for support. But she antagonizes him, leading Ray to shoot her, causing Stevie to fall overboard.

What's the twist ending in I Know What You Did Last Summer?

Brook Rushton/Sony Pictures

Freddie Prinze Jr. in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.

After the big finale on the boat, Ava calls Julie, letting her know that she's safe and ok, but she says something that catches Julie's attention: "I can't believe Stevie was able to do it all on her own..." Having been through a serial massacre twice now, Julie knows that pulling off that many murders in such a short time normally requires an accomplice. Audiences watch her run out of the house, and the scene cuts to Ava sitting in Ray's bar.

ADVERTISEMENT The two are talking, and Ray takes off his jacket, revealing a wound that's bleeding through his shirt. Ava immediately knows he must have been involved all along since she sliced the masked fisherman assailant earlier in the movie.

She tries to escape but discovers she's been locked in ... just as Ray comes at her with the ice hook. Knowing that Stevie worked for Ray at his bar, Julie arrives, sensing that he's the most logical accomplice for her to have. She arrives just in time and finds that Ava has already been stabbed and is trying to escape.

When Ray sees Julie walk in, he confronts her. Ray says he's trying to right a wrong because the kids ruined Stevie's life by taking away one of the only lifelines she had left after her family fell apart. For an even deeper motive, Ray feels betrayed by the town of Southport, which has done everything it can to erase the legacy of the 1997 killings to help attract new residents and tourists.

Ray feels that by negating the events of the past, his own legacy has been wiped with it. Julie stands her ground and then says, "What are you waiting for, huh? What are you waiting for!" which is a nod to the first film, and also an attempt to antagonize Ray.

But before he can stab her, Ava shoots him with a harpoon, killing him. "Even though I was shocked at first [by the twist], when I went back and really looked at it and put those pieces together for myself, I think it felt like it made sense," Hewitt told PEOPLE. ADVERTISEMENT

Robinson added that she knew she would only make the movie if she could take a swing with Ray's character, in an arc reminiscent of Harvey Dent's in The Dark Knight: you either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain. "I do think that calcified trauma -- especially in men who aren't dealing with their emotions -- can change you in really profound ways that you don't even realize," she explained.

Who survives to the end of I Know What You Did Last Summer?

Matt Kennedy/Sony Pictures

Chase Sui Wonders and Sarah Pidgeon in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.

Ava and Julie both survive their encounter with Ray at the bar, and after that, audiences learn that Danica has also survived the ordeal on the boat, washing up on a nearby beach before being rushed to the hospital. Ava later reveals that Stevie is alive as well.

If the movie is going to get a sequel (which is heavily implied ... more on that later), there are at least three final girls going into the next movie. However, in a totally shocking mid-credits scene, audiences learn that a fourth Scream Queen could be rejoining the franchise as well.

What happens in the I Know What You Did Last Summer mid-credits scene?

Matt Kennedy/Sony Pictures

Jennifer Love Hewitt in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.

Halfway through the credits, audiences see a news broadcast about the new string of murders in Southport. Then the camera cuts to the person watching the newscast ... and it's none other than Julie's friend and former college roommate Karla from the 1998 sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, played by Brandy [8].

But that's not all. As she's watching the newscast, there's a knock at the door, and it turns out to be Julie, who has arrived with an envelope. Inside, there's a photo of her and Karla with a note that reads "This isn't over." Karla looks up and asks, "So, whose a-- do we have to kick now?" and Julie responds, "I was hoping you'd say that."

Read the original article on People [9]

References

^ I Know What You Did Last Summer (people.com)
^ Madelyn Cline (people.com)
^ Chase Sui Wonders (people.com)
^ Sarah Pidgeon (people.com)
^ Jonah Hauer-King (people.com)
^ Jennifer Love Hewitt (people.com)
^ Freddie Prinze Jr. (people.com)
^ Brandy (people.com)
^ People (people.com)