The original I Know What You Did Last Summer was one of my favourite horror movies of the 1990s. Two sequels followed rapidly, gradually decreasing in quality and now we have a belated fourth instalment. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt reprise their roles from the first two films, but otherwise there is almost a totally new cast.
The action takes place in Southport again, 28 years after the original killing spree. A group of twenty somethings go for a late night drive. In the car are spoilt beauty queen Danica (Madelyn Cline), her nepo baby fiancée Teddy (Tyriq Withers), Aca (Chase Sui Wonders), who we know is mixed-up because she is bisexual, political aide Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), and down on her luck Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon). Carelessness by one of them causes an accident where the driver of another car dies. A year later, another hook wielding killer dressed as a fisherman begins to kill off the friends, one-by-one.
There is a very sluggish start as the protagonists are introduced. I know it is a common thing to say that the victims in slasher films are very unlikeable and you are rooting for the killer, but Sam Lansky’s and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s screenplay goes out of its way to depict them as self-centred and pretty stupid.
However, once the fateful note is sent to Danica, the action picks up. Robinson, who also directs, delivers some good set piece kills. There is one genuine surprise in the order of the killings and a decent twist after everything appears to be resolved.
What it lacks in the lead roles are performances to rank alongside the 1997 original, with the stand outs being Love Hewitt and a nicely grizzled Prinze Jr. in supporting turns. There are another couple of surprising cameos and an amusing mid-credits scene that references the 1998 sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10