Instagram/@jenniferlovehewitt
As we have observed, some franchises build a legacy in horror cinema, while some drop it in a single wrong step. I Know What You Did Last Summer has been released both digitally and in theatres, marking Jennifer Love Hewitt’s comeback alongside a complete new cast. The official Instagram account for the new movie posted a teaser, which is ominously chilling. The video serves as a brilliant reminder of a classic phrase, “You can’t escape what’s coming,” which they captioned chillingly.
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The post refers to the intense and thrilling moments in the film and contains the phrase “We already know what you did, but now what are you going to do?” coupled with the fact the movie is available for the long weekend. The sinister voiceover lines “Diane is coming after us. You can’t run.” undoubtedly intensify this feeling.
The comments comprise different opinions as expected. Some cannot wait to watch the movie while others have more embarrassing comments to share. An ecstatic fan wrote, “I hope there will be a sequel given the credit scene!!” This to me signals there is a major tease waiting for us in the post-credit scenes. This is exactly how franchises keep their series alive nowadays.
This review doesn’t handle its problems all at once, but there is another one that stands out for all the wrong reasons. In the same hateful tone, they say, “Thought it was awful…I had it’s ok moments. But the writing and how it was all thrown together felt jumbled and was messy.” If one was already threatening “messy,” this definitely surpasses anything I was expecting. Someone saw another user reply to the comment believing it was “great seeing Jennifer Love Hewitt back along with the other original cast members” so at least some people is going in with some level of appreciation.
After the two comments from before, there is this one admirer who is obviously the closest thing to a fanboy of the movie—”I’ve seen this movie 10 times in theaters and I purchased it digitally and pre ordered the steelbook!! You’re #1 in the US on the Horror charts on Apple TV and #5 on prime charts!!!” This seems very extreme. Most people do not go to the theater to watch a movie once, let alone 10 times. You also mentioned some of the rankings, which I think are pretty impressive, especially being number one in horror charts.
There are actually some people that don’t get it though. One such person comments, “Why do I not recognise these characters,” which is a pretty fair comment, especially since a reboot mixes new and old characters. The response to this was just “new movie”, which is a bit lazy, but in a way, covers the query.
Even though it was released in 1997, I Know What You Did Last Summer is a revered classic slasher alongside Scream and some other greats from the 90s. Now, trying to bring it back is a gamble, and based on the comments, it seems like this movie falls in the grey zone as to whether the reboots succeed or fail.
Jennifer Love Hewitt’s comeback to this project marks a pivotal point, which necessitates viewing this film. Saying “Jenn is still an incredible beauty, an incredible woman, and a dream girl” [sic] proves that fans still embrace her legacy star power. It’s almost unbelievable that she has been acting since childhood and still is relevant.
It is strange to note the movie’s release alongside theaters and digital stores. After the pandemic, these simultaneous releases became quite usual. If people want to risk no vulnerability of going to theaters, they can also stay at home and watch the newest horror title.
Someone did mention, “Not yet on prime for buying … :(,” pointing out that there may not be parity in the availability of the movie across stores. I suppose this will be very annoying for users hoping it will be offered on other stores.
The most relatable comment I have seen is “Going to school in the morning might just not go and watch this in the cinema alone instead ngl I don’t have the effort for higher level maths.” Personally, I concur with the sentiment entirely. There are times where a horror movie serves as a better diversion than algebra.
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One either seems to really love this film or despise it; there doesn’t seem to be any moderate opinion on this. Apart from the obvious differences of opinion on how the film should have turned out, the general reaction to this movie seems overwhelmingly negative. People these days tend to argue about uncomplicated things like terror reboots. Franchises tend to have a rather niche fanbase during some of their early years. I find it quite peculiar, for better or worse, that people are still discussing this new addition; they wonder if this confirms the continuity of the predecessor. The fact that it’s receiving attention is noteworthy because, in horror, some type of response is better than no response at all.