Cloaked, hook-handed figure is terrorizing NYC: Mystery madman or marketing ruse for ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer?'
An apparently cutting-edge ad campaign for the latest installment of the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' franchise is terrifying New Yorkers from Coney Island to Manhattan.
The dead ringer for the villain in the 1997 slasher flick — long black cloak, rubber boots, bucket hat and gleaming fisherman's hook — has been seen in videos making the social media rounds in the past two weeks. The new movie opened July 18.
4 In one viral video the creep slinks up behind a group of nine teenage boys walking just before 11 p.m. on the boardwalk at the South Street Seaport.
Obtained by The NY Post
4 The fishy fearmonger was seen among a captive audience on the Staten Island Ferry.
Obtained by The NY Post
In one viral video the creep in galoshes slinks up behind a group of nine teenage boys walking just before 11 p.m. on the boardwalk at the South Street Seaport.
One of the teens notices the stalker, whose silver blade could be seen twinkling in the glow of a streetlamp, before alerting his friends who all begin to sprint in terror.
Fifteen minutes later, cameras near the Highline in Chelsea captured footage of an anxious woman repeatedly glancing over her shoulder at the same figure, about five feet behind her, before she takes off running.
4 The purported ad campaign for the latest installment of the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' franchise is terrifying New Yorkers.
Sony Pictures
The mystery man popped up again 24 hours later, lurking behind three people on the Coney Island boardwalk, sending them running with their arms flailing, another clip showed.
Daylight provided no refuge from the shadowy figure. He is seen skulking behind an oblivious woman in Battery Park on the morning of July 11. Unflappable street vendors barely noticed.
The fishy fearmonger was even seen among a captive audience on the Staten Island Ferry.
4 Cameras near the Highline in Chelsea captured footage of an anxious woman repeatedly glancing over her shoulder at the figure, about five feet behind her, before she takes off running.
Obtained by The NY Post
Some social media users speculated the cloak and dagger routine was a marketing ruse to promote the sequel to 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' starring Madelyn Cline, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Sony Pictures, mysteriously, did not respond to inquiries.
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Now for the important thank you's @justinemarjan @kmannmakeup @jamielevin_ @taraswennen @oscardelarenta @fernandogarciam1205 @margosiegelpr @lesilla @effyjewelry @guitam_jewelry @lateliernawbar @selimmouzannar for this look I'll never forget.' Gellar and Prinze Jr. first met on the set of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' but didn't start dating until 2000. In October 1997, the pair walked the carpet for the original horror movie separately at the GCC Galaxy Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. Gellar, Prinze Jr. and Hewitt all posed for pictures together, as well. 'History repeating itself! Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. at the I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER premiere in 1997 and again in 2025,' influencer Evan Ross Katz wrote on Instagram beneath a side-by-side shot from both carpets. The 1997 Kevin Williamson-written film followed a group of four friends who accidentally kill a man. One year later, they're stalked by a hook-wielding killer. 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According to Sony Pictures, the 2025 movie follows five friends who 'inadvertently cause a deadly car accident' before they 'cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences.' However, 'a year later, their past comes back to haunt them and they're forced to confront a horrifying truth: someone knows what they did last summer…and is hell-bent on revenge. As one by one the friends are stalked by a killer, they discover this has happened before, and they turn to two survivors of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997 for help.' Despite not being in the project, Gellar still came out to support her husband of 23 years. She donned a strapless, Oscar de la Renta butterfly mini dress and matched the carpet with a blue and orange color scheme. The 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' star accessorized with an orange leather clutch, orange pumps, and kept her long, blonde hair down. Prinze coordinated with his other half, sporting a navy blue linen suit and loafers. In October 1997, the pair walked the carpet for the original horror movie separately at the GCC Galaxy Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. Gellar and Prinze first met on the set of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' but didn't start dating until 2000. 'History repeating itself! Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. at the I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER premiere in 1997 and again in 2025,' Gellar's friend, Evan Ross Katz, wrote on Instagram beneath a side-by-side shot from both carpets. Jennifer Love Hewitt, who stars as Julie James in the slasher franchise, also stunned on the red carpet. The actress, 46, wore a Rachel Gilbert black dress embellished with jewels and matching closed-toe heels. Unlike her brunette character, the scream queen rocked ginger-red hair for the big night. She joins Prinze Jr. onscreen for the new film. Gellar had another nostalgic run-in on Monday night. The 'Ringer' actress posed with her 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' co-star, Seth Green. Their reunion comes five months after Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy's little sister Dawn Summers, died at age 39. Gellar is currently in production for the reboot of the hit mystical drama series. In May, the 'Cruel Intentions' alum announced that Ryan Kiera Armstrong will play the new slayer. The show is set to be the next chapter in the Buffyverse. Gellar, meanwhile, spoke out in October about not returning to the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' franchise. She simply told People at the time, 'I am dead.' 'My best friend [Jennifer Kaytin Robinson] is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is I am continuity,' Gellar explained. 'So I'm always the one telling her, 'Well, that would happen, or that wouldn't happen with those characters,' so I do have kind of an unofficial job title.' Earlier this month, Prinze Jr. weighed in on reuniting with Hewitt on the project. 'Whatever a high school union feels like, that's what it felt like,' he expressed to People. 'You have no idea what's changed, what's the same. You're excited to show what you think you're better at. You hope they notice it. It was all those things.' Due to the tight filming schedule, 'there just had to be trust that each of us cared enough to put the work in,' Prinze Jr. continued. 'I didn't have any reason not to trust her. I know how much this character means to her. She puts everything into this girl and always has since the first movie.' Hewitt, for her part, had some reservations about re-joining the cast. 'I'll be super honest, I had total anxiety for 48 hours before [filming] because I was like, 'Can I do this? Am I going to pull this off?' It's a lot of pressure,' she told People in April. Despite her fear, the 'Holiday Junkie' vet was grateful to be asked back. 'As a female in Hollywood, in your 40s, sometimes you can feel forgotten about,' Hewitt confessed, noting that she felt 'really touched emotionally and honored that Sony would have me back, that the franchise would have me back, that Jen wanted me back, and that the audience wanted me back. It really felt like an honor. Stepping into her shoes again was really fun.' She added that the current cast is 'phenomenal.' 'It's for them to make it their own,' Hewitt gushed. 'And for me to stand by like a proud mom and say, 'It's yours now, take it and run and enjoy.'' 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' hits theaters on Friday. Solve the daily Crossword
