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A familiar serial killer is on the loose in the first trailer for I Know What You Did Last Summer, a direct sequel to the 1997 horror classic of the same name. The footage, which you can see above, offers a first glimpse at the new young victims, and features the return of original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.
The trailer starts with Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline taking a relaxing bath while her boyfriend gets brutally murdered by a serial killer that fans of the horror saga will instantly recognise as The Fisherman. As with slasher franchises like Scream, anyone could be behind the mask… or holding the hook.
“Do you think this is some kind of karma for what we did?”, Cline’s character asks later, teasing that this group of friends have something to hide. Much like the original movie, the five friends caused a deadly car accident the previous summer, covered it up, and made a pact of silence to avoid facing the consequences. A year later, their past comes back to haunt them, and they are stalked and murdered one by one by a mysterious killer.
This is not a reboot, which means the events of the original movie are part of this reality too, and two returning stars will be helping the newcomers at this difficult time. Prinze Jr. and Hewitt are back as Ray Bronson and Julie James, and we get to see them in action in this first trailer, although not together.
“This isn’t the first time there has been violence like this in Southport”, Ray points out in a town meeting, while Julie asks the protagonists what they did last summer when they come asking for her help. We also see the grave of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character, Helen Shivers, who died in the first movie.
Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, and Sarah Pidgeon complete the main cast for the sequel. Following examples like the Scream franchise and the upcoming Final Destination: Bloodlines, this new I Know What You Did Last Summer introduces a new generation of characters while offering high doses of ’90s nostalgia.
Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge), this is the fourth film in the horror franchise, but it works as a direct sequel to the original. That means you really don’t have to watch the very questionable sequels we got in between, so be thankful for that.
I Know What You Did Last Summer lands in cinemas on July 18. For more, check out our list for all the upcoming movies in theaters, and see our ranking for the best horror movies of all time.
