For those of us old enough to remember the late 90s/early 00s, the teen slasher film was quite a joy. While none of the movies in the genre (except Scream) were much to write home about, they all brought a youthful, fun energy and contained plenty of gory kills. One of the best was I Know What You Did Last Summer, a film that starred Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar. It was about a bunch of carefree teens who accidentally hit a man with their car and seemingly buried him at sea. But he wasn’t dead, of course! He was still alive and he was pissed! Brilliant plot? Nope! Fun time at the movies? You bet.
Amazon seems to remember it fondly too because they are turning the movie (and books that spawned it) into a series. Even better, they are bringing on James Wan to direct the pilot. That’s what Deadline says, anyway. Bloody Disgusting states that Wan will only produce. Either way, he’s obviously involved. Wan, as you know, is a horror fanatic who sat behind the camera for Saw, The Conjuring and Insidious before he got swept up by DC for Aquaman and its upcoming sequel. Having him return to horror, especially with a property that he can gleefully sink his teeth into, sounds great to me. The I Know series will be bloody, silly, light-hearted horror, something that Wan can have fun with and we can have fun watching.
The idea of turning I Know What You Did Last Summer into a TV series is great for a number or reasons. Firstly, there isn’t enough good horror on television. Secondly, it’s an ensemble piece that should give all characters their proper time to shine. Thirdly, it’s a mystery in many ways and a season-long mystery can be more fun than a two-hour-long one. Converting it into a show allows Wan and writer Shay Hatten to take their time and really get the most out of the plot.
I hope Amazon’s I Know What You Did Last Summer is a huge hit and causes other networks and studios to revive the long-dead teen slasher. I love serious horror movies as much as anyone but I have to admit I miss the halcyon days of yesteryear when I could sit down, turn off my mind and watch a bunch of pretty teens get slaughtered for a couple of hours.
Gosh, I sound like a sicko.