Watch the '90s Slasher That Carved Out a Franchise Before the Next Installment Arrives This Summer

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The late ‘90s was an incredible time for horror fans as it was overflowing with genre films featuring some of the biggest up-and-coming names in the industry and nearly identical theatrical posters for each project. After blowing audiences away one year prior with his work as the creator and writer of Wes Craven’s Scream, Kevin Williamson moved on to pen an adaptation of Lois Duncan’s 1973 novel, I Know What You Did Last Summer. Although the story largely differs from Duncan’s original writing, the slasher flick remains one of the most celebrated of its kind. With one solid sequel having already landed, the franchise is getting yet another follow-up feature later this year, and to satiate fans who can’t wait for Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s vision to hit cinemas in July, Netflix is welcoming the movie that started it all on January 1.

In 1997, you’d be hard-pressed to find four more popular names than Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Ryan Phillippe. So, when the quartet of dreams was said to be starring in a pulse-pounding horror feature by filmmaker Jim Gillespie, you know folks were excited. The movie centers around four high school friends who commit a hit-and-run while driving on a treacherous road in the dark. Believing that they killed the man, they make a pact to never speak about the event again, ensuring that their futures won’t be damaged due to the grave mistake. The plan seems to serve them well, until one year later when a mysterious man with a hook begins picking them off one by one.

As we mentioned at the top, this was the perfect time for a movie like I Know What You Did Last Summer to come out of the woodwork, with audiences thirsty for similar stories as they saw in Scream. The movie was a financial success, with Columbia Pictures soon pressing the “go” button on a sequel which would come out one year later in 1998. Aptly titled, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, the follow-up featured the survivors of the original movie and also tied in new faces with stars like Brandy Norwood, Mekhi Phifer, Jack Black, and more joining the cast. While another movie, I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, sliced onto screens almost a decade later, the first two movies are the only two considered to be canon by the franchise’s fandom.

The Future of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’

Tossing that third terrible movie off to the side, filmmaker Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is currently working alongside a blend of legacy actors and new-to-the-franchise performers for what will be the latest chapter in the I Know What You Did Last Summer story. Due out this summer, the movie will feature returning performances from both Hewitt and Prinze Jr., with many of us hoping that Norwood will also pop in for — at the very least — a cameo appearance. Like what’s been done over the last two Scream movies, the upcoming feature will weave together a new story all while paying homage to the iconic film series of yesteryear.

See where it all began when I Know What You Did Last Summer slices and dices its way onto Netflix on January 1.