To the surprise of many, I Know What You Did Last Summer was made into a series for the new generation. The original film came out in 1997 and the premise is pretty much the same, a group of friends accidentally run into an innocent bystander and the terror begins when the killer hunts them down a year later, one-by-0ne. The first film made a good chunk of change at the box office, though it’s more of a guilty pleasure than a cult classic. The series saw two more terrible sequels and disappeared from the mainstream altogether until late 2021. With a fresh new cast and crew, could I Know What You Did Summer do better in the modern age? Not according to critics. The eight-episode series was ultimately canceled and though there was no reasoning on why Amazon pulled the plug, the lack of buzz surrounding the show likely indicates low viewership numbers.
The film is pretty much a paint-by-numbers and straightforward feature. There are no complex stories or layered dimensions to the characters as the focus is on the body count and mystery of the killer himself. The show changes the story a bit. Obviously, the series couldn’t coast by on the dry and simple story, so it had to add layers in order to make the narrative suitable for the television format. Considering the fact that the I Know What Know You Did Last Summer brand wasn’t particularly strong, to begin with, the series wasn’t too bad overall, with some shocking twists and interesting characters. However, I Know What Did Last Summer was kind of boring. The story didn’t have much juice for an eight-episode arc and considering the fact that this is based on a slasher feature, it’s surprisingly bloodless for a good portion of the runtime. So, was a spin-off series necessary in the first place?
Here’s the thing, the premise of I Know What You Did Last Summer just wasn’t made for a television show. It’s great that the series took the necessary steps to make sure it wasn’t the basic slasher flick that sort of scared audiences back in the 90s, but the mystery of who’s the seasons killer would’ve grown tiresome over time. Part of the problem with the brand is that it takes itself way too seriously. The reason the Chucky series works is due to the fact that the titular villain is an entertaining character. The world is peppered with dark humor all over, which gives the creators a chance to really think outside of the box and craft a story that nicely blends humor, horror, and drama. There’s nothing wrong with having a serious tone, but when a good majority of your characters are unlikeable pricks then it’s hard to get invested into the story. The characters may be interesting, but in a way typical young adult dramas like Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale would play out. The show doesn’t have good balance of horror and story, with the story being the focal point of the series. That may sound crazy because the story is vital, but since most of its bland, with characters you would rather punch in the face, then the action was desperately needed. Plus, this is based off a horror movie, so that element should’ve been a big factor in the series.
There was never a need for a I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot. Was there a potential to make it better? Definitely, but given the fact that the horror genre is flooded with so many slashers, there’s nothing about the original premise that warranted further exploration. This could’ve been a fun, satirical homage to the original and other slasher flicks, but I Know What You Did Last Summer doesn’t even try to break much new ground. One of the biggest errors of the first film was the fact that the group of survivors opted to hide the hide the body instead of calling the cops. For some reason, that element is kept in this new incarnation of the film. It instantly makes these characters deplorable people. We’re supposed to like them, yet these people have little disregard to someone else’s life that they not only kill said person but hide the body to avoid consequences. Why should we cheer for them to live? There’s something here, and should there be another version, hopefully the next filmmaker figures out how to inject life in a franchise that died after the first movie. Until then, I Know What You Did Last Summer is a waste of time, though considering the property that it’s based on, it commendable that this didn’t turn out to be horrendously bad.
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