I Know What You Did sequel is hooked on setting up another sequel
★★
MA. 111 minutes. In cinemas
Like many young horror fans, I raced to see I Know What You Did Last Summer when it came out in 1997. But it proved a letdown, especially compared to the massively successful Scream, scripted by the same writer, Kevin Williamson, the previous year.
Where Scream broke the fourth wall with the regularity of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, this hasty follow-up was just another slasher movie, with a single gimmick given away in the title. The victims lined up for the slaughter are being punished for their role in a hit-and-run accident – so while we're not precisely invited to side with the killer, there's a sense in which they had it coming.
The advantage of remaking this kind of film is that it's not too hard to improve on the original. But the new I Know What You Did is disappointing in its own right, even though the director and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson has a few more ideas than Williamson (like him, she disregards the nominal source material, a 1973 young adult novel by Lois Duncan that barely qualifies as horror).
Although it's not evident straight away, the movie is not a remake but a 'legacy sequel,' taking place in the same fictional universe as its predecessors (there'a brief shout-out to the 1998 I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, in which the survivors of the first instalment go through it all again in the Bahamas).
In the tourist town of Southport, North Carolina, the roads are still slippery, the police are still useless, and history appears to be repeating. Once again, a group of young people with everything to live for are implicated in a fatal accident and decide to walk away. And once again, rough justice is meted out by a hook-wielding killer whose intentions are announced in scrawled anonymous messages.
But the very fact that this has happened before adds a layer of Scream -like self-awareness. Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who survived the ordeal the first time round, has become an academic specialising in trauma, though it's her practical experience that comes in handy when the heroine Ava (Chase Sui Wonders) and her friends show up in search of advice.
The movie has a whole knowing retro side: I would bank on Robinson being a fan of Heathers and Wild Things, and there's even a touch of Jaws, via the character of a bigwig real estate developer (Billy Campbell), whose main concern seems to be how the killings will affect his income.
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Originally published as Sarah Michelle Gellar teases huge Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot update and breaks silence over I Know What You Did Last Summer cameo
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I wish I could remember the name but they had the most wonderful Turkish coffee and little desserts that we ordered at least every other day while we were in Australia.' The 90s icon went on to share how much she 'loves' spending time Down Under, admitting that it's 'the one place' where she could see herself moving with her family at some point in the future. Gellar went on to reveal that the hugely anticipated reboot of the show is set to get into production sooner than fans may have first realised. 'We're getting really close. We have to make sure everything is done right. But I will say we are filming very soon,' she teased. Ever since the reboot was first announced fans have been eager to know which of Buffy's pals might be seen returning to the show alongside her. In the original show, fan favourite character Anya, who was originally supposed to be in a handful of episodes only to become one of the most beloved characters, dies in the show's finale. It's a brutal second-long scene and for years fans have felt she was owed more. When I quizzed Gellar on whether the vengeance demon, played by Emma Caulfield, could return, she confessed that she's very much 'on the list' to come back. 'I will do my best to honour the original show while also giving a chance to the new characters. I tell everyone to be patient because if we bring back all of the new characters right away, then the audience doesn't have time to like and get to the know the new characters. They won't give them the time of day. So I want to make sure I do spend the right amount of time establishing the new characters.' 'But anyone that follows me knows that Emma and I are very close and obviously, you know, they're all on my list. 'We have to get Hulu and Disney to give us enough episodes, over the course of a couple of years, so we can bring everybody back. All the budget as well!' she said. I asked Gellar how she feels about the legacy of acclaimed Buffy episode The Body, in which she gives an incredible performance as Buffy deals with the shocking sudden death of her mother. Despite being heaped with praise at the time, because Buffy was still seen as a teen-leaning show on a lesser network, Gellar mostly missed out during awards season, only scoring one Golden Globe nomination in the end. Discussing whether she felt respected within the industry at the time, Gellar replied: 'That's an interesting question. I know a lot of people behind the scenes and on the set did feel that they [awards and critics] weren't for me. But I make the show for the fans, not for awards and critics.' 'And so I really felt the love,' insisted the star. 'If there was a nomination for an award from fans, we always won and people loved it and and so for me, that was the joy that I got. 'And I do have a Daytime Emmy,' she chuckled. 'It's very nice!' Gellar's new I Know What You Did Last Summer campaign ties in with Uber One's partnership with HOYTS, offering perks for members including discounted tickets ($12.50 for general admission, $27.50 for HOYTS LUX) and unlimited free popcorn refills.
