Thanks to a number of masked maniacs dominating the horror genre in the ’80s, the early ’90s saw a major slump in the quality of slashers. Writer Kevin Williamson’s Scream and then his adaptation of the Lois Duncan novel I Know What You Did Last Summer saw a major surge of interest in the subgenre, kicking off a new generation of teenage terror. Much like how Scream was recently revived to reintroduce audiences to Ghostface, a new I Know What You Did Last Summer is now set to be unleashed on viewers, which brings back original stars and also debuts a fresh batch of victims.
The slasher flick finds a group of teenage friends – Danica (Madelyn Cline), Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), Teddy (Tyriq Withers), and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) – forming a pact to cover up their involvement in a car accident. A year later, the truth comes out as a hook-wielding killer, dubbed the Fisherman, begins to stalk and brutally slaughter them one-by-one. But when they discover something similar once transpired before, the gang desperately contacts the two survivors of the 1997 Southport Massacre, namely Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.), in order to avoid their grim and bloody fate.
ComicBook spoke to the cast of I Know What You Did Last Summer about the graphic bloodshed, deciphering the Fisherman’s identity, the return of Julie and Ray, and developing the perfect scream.
ComicBook: How shocked were you over how gory and creative the kills have become 28 years later?
Freddie Prinze Jr: I’ll be real with you. I am a big fan of practical effects over digital effects. Those can take me out of the movie and then I am not following the story anymore. I have friends who create corpses for movies. I’m friends with the guy who made [Sarah Michelle Gellar’s] decapitated head in the first one, the one that is on ice. I have high standards, so I’m very snobby about it. I was like, “I hope these are as good as the ones we had.” I’m not lying — this one character that had a corpse made for him, I literally went up and was like, “Oh man. Oh. That’s the body. That’s not real.” I felt so stupid. It really impressed me.
As far as the kills, they definitely outdid themselves with finding new ways to demonstrate death, finding new interesting ways to kill people. I don’t want to give them away because they are fun, but I got tricked a couple of times and, if you are tricking me, then you are doing a good job.
Your wife, Sarah Michelle Gellar, who portrayed Helen Shivers in the original I Know What You Did Last Summer, had one the best chase scenes in horror.
Prinze: Yeah, I would argue that with anyone. It gives you so much hope. Helen has made so many bad decisions. Her decision in fight or flight is always flight. She gets away with it, but she needs to pay for what she has done. The first time she makes the good decision, the heroic decision, “I am not running anymore. I am going to fight…” and she f-cking dies. And you see hope. There’s hope right there and she gets whacked.
What is your relationship to horror and the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise?
Sarah Pidgeon: I had seen the original years ago. Then, when this got sent to me to audition, I rewatched it again. There is this sort of campiness in the original that we tried to lean into in our version. But the kills in that are so iconic, like Helen Shivers. There are so many lines. Watching it a second time, while preparing to audition for it, I realized what people were quoting. I have always enjoyed horror.
As a child, I found out what Saw was. I was really into Paranormal Activity and Final Destination. I would turn off all the lights in my house. I could only watch TV on the weekends, so I would watch one or two movies a night of Saw, just to scare myself. Horror has the ability to hold a lot of different genres inside of it. I also enjoy character development, comedy and the creativity of different kills.
What did that phone call sound like when they approached you to reprise the role of Julie James and what was your initial reaction?
Jennifer Love Hewitt: I was at work on 9-1-1 and a news outlet announced that there was going to be a new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie. My first thought was, “They didn’t ask me to be in it. I am so sad.” Then, the next headline was, “Hopefully, Jennifer and Freddie are back.” I was super psyched, but that is how I heard about it. Then, my agent called me and was like, “Did you say you were going to be in I Know What You Did Last Summer?” I was like, “No. I just heard about this the other day.” Then we got the phone call… So, I don’t know how it all happened, but it was out there and you know how things go. But it was amazing.
I was super excited and then all this fear washed over me. I was like, “Oh, my gosh. I am no longer 18. I have not played Julie James in what feels like 150 years. What is this going to be? What is this going to look like?” As it started getting put together, they were lovely. They were like, “What do you want from Julie James? What are you looking for? What do you want this to be?” I felt that we got her to an amazing place that I think the audience will feel really proud of and really happy about, with who she is in this new version. I was just honored to get to be a part of it. The truth is, they could have forgotten about me completely and not had me at all. And they didn’t do that, so I was super-excited and honored to be a part of it. So, hesitant for sure. When we do meet her again, she has worked hard to leave the past in the past. But I also think she sees a lot of herself in the girl who comes to her and asks her this question. The past always pulls us back, whether we want it to or not. In Julie’s case, it’s probably not what she wants to have happen.
Audiences probably know you from the live Little Mermaid film. I Know What You Did Last Summer is the farthest thing from a Disney fairy tale. Have you been dying to jump into the horror genre? What hooked you about this part?
Jonah Hauer-King: Dying to jump in is great. That is good, given the genre. Usually, I do not choose a project based on a genre. It’s usually very script-led and director-led. In the case of this one, it was script-led and director-led, but it was also genre-led. I hadn’t made a horror film. As we know, it’s such an umbrella in tone. Specifically, the way [filmmaker Jennifer Kaytin Robinson] is bringing it to life, it’s very frightening and very gory, but it’s also funny and feels like a rom-com where people get their eyes gouged out. It crosses genres, in a way. That means it has everything under one roof. It was everything I was hoping for and more. It was actually very funny. Sometimes, shooting horror can be funny because you have these awful images and somebody calls, “Cut,” and an actor is covered in sweet fake blood. It’s not as frightening on the day. In the cinema, it will be.
How ready is Ray to confront this new threat once the Fisherman resurfaces?
Prinze: He is definitely a fight, not a flight, guy. He seeks conflict because he is angry, in general. Ray is not going to back down from a fight, at this point in his life, even though he is probably too old to be getting into fights. But there are people in the town who don’t believe what is going on, as in most horror movies. He is literally like, “Yo man, this isn’t the first time there’s been violence like this. What the hell is wrong with you people?”
How surreal was it seeing the Fisherman back on the set?
Hewitt: I am never comfortable with that. I don’t like fishermen in real life. I have trauma. I don’t like seeing him on set. I wasn’t into it. I wasn’t happy about it, but it seems to be part of my life.
Do you get nightmares from it?
Hewitt: That was the thing that was so crazy to me. When we were filming the first one, I was like, “And now I am supposed to go home and go to bed, to get ready for tomorrow? I was just literally chased and almost killed, all day.” It’s very scary. I am not a comfortable person with the scary stuff.
There’s this big mystery throughout these slasher movies, wondering who is the identity of the killer? Is there that whodunit element in this one?
Hauer-King: That’s one of the thriller aspects of the movie is we don’t know who it is. Did I know? In the first draft, I don’t think I knew who it was. I remember I was sent a draft that was maybe 80 pages long. I remember reading it and thinking, “This is a good script, but it’s kind of a weird ending.” Then I realized it was because they omitted the last 15 pages. What can I say? It’s a great reveal that only adds to the fun of the film. It has the twists that you want.
How was it filming that first encounter between Milo and the Fisherman?
Hauer-King: The first time I saw the Fisherman was on a filming day and the Fisherman was doing a different scene. I was called to set to do something else. The person playing the Fisherman stood there, in the outfit. That was really quite scary. As I said, Jen making these types of horror movies isn’t that frightening because you are around lots of people and the lights get turned back on and everything is all right. But actually, it is an imposing figure and it is frightening. The movie from the ’90s is so iconic, that it was slightly odd and surreal seeing that image and that figure right before my eyes, in the flesh. It puts you on edge for a second.
A cat and mouse game exists between the Fisherman and his prey. In the original, he hit Barry with a car. He cut off Helen’s hair. He placed a corpse in Julie’s trunk. How much does he toy around with his intended victims in this movie?
Pidgeon: There are elements of that in our film. The Fisherman holds so much power considering the anonymity and the brutal ways the Fisherman goes about killing those around him. There are psychological elements with the tease. I wouldn’t say they are exactly the same as we have seen before, but that’s as much part of his game.
Going into this, were there certain things you wanted for Ray?
Prinze: They put so much time and care into what they thought the characters would have gone through, post-experiences 1 and 2. So much thought was put into it. It wasn’t so much, “Oh, what can I bring to this?” It was, “Oh, they brought so much to the table for me to play with. Let me see what I can do. Let me see if I can make this my own and give this the kind of performance that they are looking for.”
You don’t get to find that out until you are on set. The director believed in me a lot, but we’ve been friends for a few years, so we believed in one another. I got to see how she put this cast together, like how she put her Vengeance cast together. Her casting is such a high level.
What was it like reuniting with Freddie Prinze Jr. and delving into Julie’s relationship with Ray?
Hewitt: I was really nervous about it, only because it has been so long. You put everything into your characters and, then, you walk away from them. That’s normally it. You don’t get the chance to come back to them again. I feel like the two days before filming I was for sure panicked. “Now I have said yes. It’s been announced. It’s everywhere. I have the clothes and the hair. Now what am I supposed to do?”
But when I got there, it felt like what we were supposed to be doing. “Oh yeah. That is Julie. That is Ray. This is their story. This is the time that has gone by, but it’s still who they are. They still share the same secret and trauma.” It just fit and it was easy and I was very relieved. But the lead up was nerve-racking, for sure.
As somebody who dissects horror movies on your podcast, what was your favorite trope in this flick?
Prinze: I grew up on Universal Monsters, so it’s always going to be the monster. Our monster has the hook, which I think looks better in this movie than the first two. It’s my favorite weapon. I love Candyman because he has the hook. I love Ben Willis cause he had the hook. The slasher, I would say, is my favorite trope. At the end of the day, he’s a slasher, even though he is hooking people and lifting them up and throwing them places, more than he is slashing them, but he is still our slasher.
An interesting wrinkle is that we don’t know who is under the trench coat until he’s unmasked. How much did they keep you guessing over the Fisherman’s identity this time around? And what were your thoughts on the big reveal?
Prinze: I love when there is dissention in the ranks, when the Scooby-Doo gang are starting to doubt one another. The Faculty was great at this, when they were like, “Maybe it’s you. Maybe it’s you.” Then, sexy Josh Hartnett is like, “You have to sniff this drug to prove you aren’t a f-cking alien.” “No, I don’t do drugs.” “Then, maybe you are an alien.” All that dissention is cool.
We had a little bit of that in the first I Know between Julie and I, when she sees me at the boat. There are definitely some elements of that in this, as well, because it is new to this group. They don’t know who they can trust. People don’t believe them. People are dying all around them. So, my favorite is when there is a little bit of dissention, especially in the teen horror movies.
As a horror newbie, what surprised you the most about filming in this genre?
Hauer-King: It isn’t very frightening most of the time. But that it is also really hard work. There are chases. There is violence. It is quite physically demanding, which I should have realized, but it didn’t cross my mind. It’s quite rare you get to do that type of filmmaking, while also having to tap into really contemporary sensibility like humor and making jokes, like young twentysomethings talking to each other in a way that feels real and grounded and authentic.
What is Stevie’s dynamic like with other members of the group?
Pidgeon: She’s very close to Teddy. That relationship is examined, in the sense that they were really close when they were younger. As their understanding of the world and economic status came into play, they grew apart. My experience of playing Stevie in the film, in terms of her character arc, is figuring out how she begins to rebuild that intimacy and friendship with people that she’s lost.
Besides horror, another genre you are well-versed in is superheroes. Did you ever audition for a Marvel or DC project?
Prinze: Well, sort of. When they were making a Punisher movie and the role was Jigsaw, I liked the lady who was directing the movie [Lexi Alexander]. They asked me to come in and I wasn’t going to. They came back to me again and said, “Will you please come in and read?”
I prepared this version of Jigsaw that I thought was really cool. The voice was a little different and his breathing was difficult because he had been slashed up so much. I went in and did it, and they liked it, but they went with Dominic West. He did a good job and his version is so different than mine. I saw why they went with him. That was the only one I auditioned for.
There’s definitely a whodunit element to these films. Is Ben Willis back? How curious were you about how they were going to weave that mystery into this iteration?
Hewitt: Like everyone, I am always interested in horror movies and how they keep these things going forever by finding these little changes that keep everyone coming back for more. I think this movie is going to deliver everything that everyone wants … and more. It’s really fun and scary. They have upped the gore. “Oh, I can’t do it. I don’t want to watch it.” But they really upped it and made it very cool.
After the first I Know What You Did Last Summer films, were you offered other horror projects? People were pegging you as the next Scream Queen.
Hewitt: No, I wasn’t, but I was ready. Julie was different in that. I was in a horror movie, but she was a normal girl. She wasn’t the horror movie type. She was more the girl next door. I don’t know if that wasn’t propelling me into horror movies, but it’s okay. Although I’d like to do more.
These movies require actors put their vocal cords to the test. How did you go about practicing that scream and did Jennifer Love Hewitt give you any tips?
Pidgeon: I have a scream in the movie and I did it my first day, so I wasn’t able to talk to Jennifer about it. She really is an expert. I found myself really getting in my head about the scream. I am very jumpy. Loud noises make me jump, but I don’t think I have done a horror-movie scream in my real life. That measure of authenticity internally is not something I am familiar with. It’s really freeing to make so much noise. But there was someone on the set who lost their voice because it was such a big day of screaming for them.
I Know What You Did Last Summer lands in theaters on July 18th.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The post I Know What You Did Last Summer’s New and Returning Stars Tease the Killer Sequel appeared first on ComicBook.com.
