Columbia Pictures has released a new installment of the 1990s slasher franchise “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” opening in U.S. theaters on 18 July. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the 111-minute, R-rated film revisits the 1997 hit three decades later, blending returning characters with a new cast. Original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. reprise their roles as Julie James and Ray Bronson, now drawn back to Southport to help a group of twenty-somethings who hide their involvement in a fatal July-Fourth car accident. The young ensemble features Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers and Sarah Pidgeon. Early reviews are divided. IndieWire and TheWrap praised Robinson’s self-aware tone and more menacing take on the hook-wielding fisherman, calling the sequel “salty and satisfying.” The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone dismissed it as derivative and “not worth screaming about.” Most critics agreed the picture leans heavily on nostalgia while updating themes of trauma and accountability. The film is the fourth screen outing for the property, following two prior sequels and a short-lived 2021 streaming series. Robinson has said she looked to Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” for inspiration, aiming for a summer-blockbuster sensibility that balances gore with mainstream appeal.