I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

​“I Know What You Did Last Summer” stars Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Jennifer Love Hewitt.  Released on July 18, 2025, the film follows a group of friends as they confront a killer with knowledge of their past incident.

The film is directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who also directed “Someone Great” and “Do Revenge”.  She’s also known for creating the MTV show “Sweet/Vicious” and co-writing “Unpregnant” and “Thor: Love and Thunder”.  It is the fourth film in the franchise of the same name and a direct sequel to 1998’s “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”.  Whenever a tragic accident occurs, it is essential to take responsibility for one’s actions, even if there was no intention to cause harm.  Sure, it may lead to facing consequences, but it’s better than avoiding accountability for a long time.  Regrettably, a group of teenagers didn’t take this advice to heart, resulting in them facing a dire and even deadlier dose of karma instead of a slap on the wrist.  This defined the 1997 slasher classic, “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” which follows a group of friends hunted down by a fisherman wielding their trusty hook, all because they lacked the courage to confess what happened last year.  It not only provided a typical yet fairly entertaining addition to the cinematic slasher catalog but also launched the careers of Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.  Unfortunately, its sequels, including “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,” tarnished the original’s concept with subpar quality and writing, resulting in the franchise sleeping with the fishes.  No pun intended.  However, that dormancy didn’t last long, as the latest sequel revived the hooded killer from the depths to punish a new group of unsuspecting teens for not doing a good deed.  Does it affirm that karma truly is a killer, or should the horror franchise remain submerged?  Let’s find out.

The story centers around a group of five friends: Danica Richards (Cline), Ava Brucks (Wonders), Milo Griffin (Hauer-King), Teddy Spencer (Withers), and Stevie Ward (Pidgeon).  After attending an engagement party, the friends inadvertently cause a tragic car accident that results in the death of a pedestrian.  Instead of facing the repercussions of their actions, Danica and the others made a pact to conceal their involvement and keep the incident a secret.  A year later, their seemingly “normal” lives take a turn when they receive a chilling message revealing that someone knows about the accident last summer.  Taking on the persona of a hook-wielding serial killer dressed in a fisherman’s suit, the individual begins to stalk the unsuspecting teens as an act of vengeance.  As a result, the group seeks the help from the survivors of the 1997 Southport Massacre, Julie James (Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Prinze Jr.), in a race against time to uncover the suspect’s identity before the killer strikes again. 

“I Know What You Did Last Summer" is another instance where a legacy sequel prompted me to finally check out the original film after neglecting it for so long.  I only got around to watching it a couple of months ago, but as they say, better late than never.  While the 1997 film features its fair share of typical slasher cliches, I found the story’s mystery and cast enjoyable enough to acknowledge its significance in the genre’s hall of fame.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to see its sequel, mainly because it wasn’t available for free on any streaming service.  Given the movie’s reception, I may have dodged that bullet.  Regardless, the first film was enough to prepare me for this long-awaited legacy sequel, which offers more of the same in terms of narrative with a new young cast and plenty of nostalgic vibes, for better or worse.  2022’s “Scream” employed a similar approach and proved just as enjoyable and amusing as its predecessors.  Unfortunately, the problem that the new “Last Summer” installment has is that it’s the very thing that “Scream” poked fun at, and it shows.  But does that make it fun in a dumb yet entertaining way?  Surprisingly, no.

If you’ve seen the original 1997 film, you’ll know what to expect from its narrative and tone.  It’s essentially a who-dun-it slasher featuring a group of teenagers uncovering the vengeful Fisherman’s identity instead of facing the consequences of their actions.  But, of course, since it is a legacy sequel, it didn’t neglect having the original’s characters return to the bloody party, ensuring that fans of the first two installments have familiar faces to root for.  It also conveyed a sense of nostalgic campiness in its tone, a characteristic often found in 90s slasher movies, which catapulted the original film into pop culture status.  In a way, the film is an example of Hollywood bringing the 1990s into the 2020s, incorporating the 90s vibes into modern-day elements with a touch of Gen-Z influences to boot.  However, despite this effort, it failed to recapture the cheesy yet entertaining thrills and impactful frights that defined the 1997 movie.  The lack of those elements left the sequel feeling somewhat hollow, unable to live up to the chilling legacy it seeks to continue.  In fact, it may have taken the cake as the most frustratingly disappointing legacy sequel I’ve ever experienced.  It’s not just because the story was by-the-numbers and soulless, but also because the “bold” choices it made ended up being more irritating than innovative.

“I Know What You Did Last Summer” marks Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s first foray into the horror genre, following her first two films involving a rom-com and a teen black comedy.  Out of those movies, I only watched “Do Revenge,” which was actually enjoyable.  With that movie and “Last Summer” centering on teenagers, Robinson seemed like a suitable choice to helm the continuing slasher antics courtesy of the “Fisherman”.  At least, that’s what I normally thought before watching the film.  Robinson attempted to recapture the original film’s essence through its narrative and a cheesy yet serious tone, aiming for nostalgic vibes, which included a soundtrack that seemed like it could have been from the 90s.  This approach could likely hook fans of the 1997 film, offering a familiar blend of slasher frights and nostalgia.  However, in terms of everything else, I hate to say that Robinson wasn’t the right director capable of continuing the Fisherman’s killing spree.  Despite her efforts, the film’s narrative struggled under the weight of its own ambition, presenting issues that were more perplexing than engaging.

With its concept being a hook-wielding psychopath killing teens, it had the potential to be a conventional yet gleefully entertaining addition to the franchise, especially with its underlying themes of nostalgia and karma.  Unfortunately, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s direction felt more formulaic than entertaining.  Regarding the iffy editing, particularly during the car accident scene, and tired genre tropes, Robinson crafted a horror sequel that’s void of any charm, amusement, or violently twisted goods to fish itself out of its sluggishly dull waters.  Even the scares were predictably telegraphed to the point of being irredeemably boring, and yes, that includes the cheap jump scares.  But what about the kills courtesy of the Fisherman?  Well, they were pretty violent, but not enough to make them memorable due to the film’s tame execution and uninspired choreography.  There was a particular scene involving the aftermath of the murder that unintentionally made me laugh, but it was because of how ridiculous it looked, despite its serious tone.  Robinson aimed to blend the '90s campiness of the original with contemporary Gen-Z elements, but the execution felt lackluster and messy, failing to maintain the intended vibe.   

Her screenplay, which she co-wrote with Sam Lansky, also didn’t help much with her direction, especially with its twists and puzzling narrative choices.  As previously mentioned, “Last Summer” is a retread of the 1997 film that’s equipped with slasher-style kills and a mystery surrounding the Fisherman’s identity, but without much intrigue to keep me hooked.  Save for the final twist at the end, it just went through the similar predictable basics we’ve come to expect from the original.  At the same time, it tugs at the audience’s nostalgia strings through its Easter eggs and cameos, aligning with the “legacy sequel” approach.  While these elements might delight the franchise’s fans, they often seem like a fallback to maintain interest in case the new characters and plot lines fall short.  You know, “In case of an emergency, break the nostalgia glass.”  Admittedly, it worked because the new characters were very forgettable, which undermined the film’s intent to rejuvenate the series without relying heavily on nostalgia and familiar faces to carry the weight.  As for the final twist at the end, this is one of the occasions that would polarize audiences depending on their expectations.  On one hand, it’s a bold and subversive approach that caters to its commentary involving reviving nostalgia.  On the other hand, it’s also an irritating and poorly executed aspect that tries way too hard to emulate the recent “Scream” movies in terms of nostalgia.  From my perspective, it’s mostly the latter, and having watched the 1997 film, the twist also made me feel upset by how it's portrayed.

Despite the film's lackluster portrayal of its group of friends, the young cast made an effort through their performances to elevate interest in the characters.  Though I wouldn’t say their performances were as fresh as recently caught fish.  Madelyn Cline did all right in her role as Danica, especially given the limitations she faced in the script that didn’t offer much room for innovation.  Her performance provided as much spark as needed to keep her character from lapsing into monotony.  Chase Sui Wonders also did the best she could with her role as Ava, although she was somewhat constrained by the generic nature of her character and the film’s script, which failed to fully showcase her actual talent.  However, the real stars are the actors reprising their roles from the previous installments, including Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie James.  “Last Summer” was one of the films that helped her achieve recognition as an actress, making her return to the screen more satisfying.  My only experience with Hewitt was through the live-action “Garfield” movies and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame II” for some odd reason, but seeing her back on screen was enough to fuel my nostalgic energy.  It also helped that she played a bigger role in the story, rather than just a one-and-done cameo.  The same should be applied to Freddie Prinze Jr., who delivered a decent performance as Ray Bronson, even though I haven’t followed his works outside the live-action “Scooby-Doo” films.  However, the film’s narrative choices involving him will likely divide its fan base.

Overall, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” is a disappointingly soulless and frustrating legacy sequel that hooks viewers easily with its nostalgia bait and formulaic narrative traits.  Although its effort to recapture the first film’s 90s vibe and introduce bold narrative choices was commendable, it sadly didn’t work for me as well as it might for others.  Perhaps it’s because I didn’t grow up watching the 1997 film, or maybe I’ve seen so many slasher movies that I can easily identify the familiar plot blueprints.  Regardless, I wasn’t satisfied with how overly generic and irritatingly by-the-numbers this continuation turned out, and its final twist didn’t help either.  Despite its cast, particularly the original film’s actors, the film floundered aimlessly due to its subpar screenplay, uninspired direction, predictable scares, forgettable characters, and a baffling final twist, which is enough to send it back into the murky waters of cinematic mediocrity.  While specific fans of the previous films might find some enjoyment in this latest installment, I’ll likely forget about it long before next summer.

D-