As a kid who grew up on Kevin Williamson’s 1990s slasher era, I tend to keep my thoughts about the original I Know What You Did Last Summer movies to myself. Like most of my generation, I was a tween with a crush on Freddie Prinze Jr., who spent every Tuesday night watching Sarah Michelle Gellar slay vampires. I wanted to at least like it because it felt like I was obligated to love it. I tried to take the parts that work and gaslight myself into thinking I misremembered how ridiculous it was.
Why the Original Films Fell Short
Upon rewatching it (and the sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) as an adult proved it still wasn’t my bag. Sure, Helen Shivers’ (Sarah Michelle Gellar) chase scene in the first film is iconic. Obviously, Karla (Brandy Norwood) continued the trend of the sidekick being the true final girl who gets sidelined. The franchise kept trying to make that boring version of Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) “fetch” at all costs.
The new film, unfortunately, has to tread the same premise as the original. However, I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) gets a few interesting updates. This time, we have five friends who survived high school and have complicated relationships with each other in the car on the night that will haunt them. Danica (Madelyn Cline) and Teddy’s (Tyriq Withers) engagement party is what brings their friends back to town. Ava (Chase Sui Wonders) will be our conscience this outing. However, her ex-boyfriend Milo (Jonah Hauer-King) will not be the poor boyfriend who almost stumbles in a class divide conversation. Instead, the group bumps into their former friend Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) and uses her for that instead. Stevie is a hardworking townie because her family lost everything, and her friends distanced themselves from her (and the income bracket she fell into) after graduation.
Modernizing the Classic Characters
While there are five characters this time out, it’s hard to not see them as funhouse versions of the 1997 squad at first. As they become more lived in and Danica gets more quotable lines, you can see how these stock characters have been updated for a new generation. Instead of getting their hands dirty and swearing to take the secret to their graves, one of the friends causes the accident and calls his dad to help them cover it up. This is where Sam Lansky and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s script attempts to correct some of the wrongs of the first one.
This version of I Know What You Did Last Summer actually dips more than one toe into the water when discussing classicism and capitalism. The cover-up of the events in the original movie, as well as what this new class did last summer, to make the town marketable, is insidious. It harkens back to the mayor in Jaws reopening the beaches while the shark is still snacking on his voters. This refusal to talk about the murders that happened almost 30 years ago gives Ray (Prinze Jr.) a solid reason to be angry and get involved. He and Julie’s marriage caved under all their shared baggage, and he moved back to their hometown of Southport. It feels like we’re finally getting a good use of a legacy character. Although the reasoning for the new generation seeking out the older generation for their situation feels forced.
Reimagining Julie James and Legacy Characters
This installment is a huge step in the right direction because it finally allows Julie James to be a person. Part of the reason the original movies feel flat is that our final girl was never interesting. She was written to be the perfect boring victim and was never going to measure up to other final girls. However, here Julie (and Ray) are weighed down by what they have been through. The trauma has changed them, and they finally feel like real people. They have depth, which gives the actors something to sink their teeth into for a few fleeting scenes. It’s a delight to see both of them get versions of their characters that actually deserve their time and show their range. While we can argue if their arcs made sense forever, it was refreshing to see them evolve. The tenuous connections between them and the new generation are not great, but the movie is okay with that.
Our killer is also a darker and more fragmented version of what we grew up with. While the familiar fisherman stalks the crew and leaves threatening notes as usual, the figure gets multiple scenes to actually be menacing. He even gives us a very welcome higher body count to further set this movie apart from the original. This is another thing working for I Know What You Did Last Summer and is a nice change from its predecessors. While the reveal is predictable, it is not another unforgivable “Ben son” moment. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s direction embraces the chaos and absurdity of this world. She elevates it to the kind of campy glory akin to some of our favorite mid-tier slashers. Robinson is having fun with this world. This allows the audience to be in on the jokes, instead of rolling their eyes and wondering why they keep coming back to this IP.
They Know What They’re During With the Nostalgia
I Know What You Did Last Summer knows what it inherited and tries to connect all the dots while fighting to become its own thing. It is not here to reinvent the wheel or give you nightmares. This movie is camp, diva! It is inviting you to brunch but does not really care if you join or not. It understands that this franchise was always rooted in likable lead actors committing to the nonsense while being wrapped in layers of nostalgia. Robinson and the crew are not here to undo that. However, this film adds to that idea while moving the needle to where it should have started decades ago.
Going into the newest installment knowing the franchise is mid, helped me see very clearly that this is an okay film. Which is a sweet win for the series and the subgenre. People are going to pretend it’s worse than it is, as if the first movies were some holy text. Others will oversell it because they are happy to return to their comfort slasher and are biased in a more positive way. Both sides are doing a disservice to the end product, and that is a failure on society’s part.
Embrace the Flawed Silver Lining
I Know What You Did Last Summer glows in everything it gets right and relishes in everything it gets wrong. It deserves an audience that will see it for the flawed silver lining that it is in this franchise. It took all of the fan service it was forced to carry in stride and knitted a chunky sweater out of it. The end result is a cozy number that we might not want to wear in public, but we know was made with love.
I Know What You Did Last Summer is not a great movie, and that’s okay because this franchise was never that good. However, at least this newest installment is occasionally fun. It also gives us the dose of nostalgia we seem to crave during these hellish times. That alone keeps it from being the worst thing to happen to this IP. Lansky and Robinson’s script did what it needed to do. It gave predictable and over-the-top moments while attempting to correct a few of the glaring wrongs in the original films. That makes it a fine enough film that will sadly have to endure the social media battle that awaits all legacy sequels.
