3 out of 5 stars (average)
The original I Know What You Did Last Summer is a film I was quite unfair to on first viewing. When I saw it in college, I was snarkily joking my way through it and didn’t recognize its skillful execution, but in rewatching it last week, came to find it a cut above its Sexy Dead Teen Brethren. Its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, was a more straight-ahead kill hot people movie, but a change in location, good kills, and the commitment of its leads made it enjoyable. Now, following in the molds of horror sequels Scream and Halloween, we have…. I Know What You Did Last Summer, helmed and co-written this time by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (behind the excellent dark comedy Do Revenge) that offers bits of her signature black humor amongst the bloodshed made more for fans of the original than newbies, but still entertains on that level.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER – Official Trailer (HD)
Friends Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Danica (Madelyn Cline), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), Teddy (Tyriq Withers) and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) are celebrating Danica and Milo’s engagement on July 4th. Afterwards, they bust out some booze and head to see the festivities. However, when a drunk Teddy’s fooling around in the road causes a car to veer off a cliff, the shaken group alerts Teddy’s policeman father (Billy Campbell) to the event knowing he’ll wipe it clean. 1 year later, Ava arrives back in town with new girlfriend and crime podcaster Tyler (Gabbriette Bechtel), who’s antsy to do a report on murders that occurred in town back in 1997. However, no sooner has the plane taxied in that a mysterious hook-handed killer starts popping off our heroes one by one, leading them to turn to previous slashing survivors Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prince Jr.) for help in avoiding the sweet kiss of death and who Knows What They Did Last Summer.
I Know What You Did Last Summer is the kind of fun horror slasher I’ve been missing. The genre has been overrun with serious-minded critic-bate about trauma and depression more concerned with awards recognition than entertaining the audience, so this film being a straightforward killer teen movie was a welcome breath of fresh air. Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, and Sarah Pidgeon are standouts and director Jenn Kaytin Robinson brings a slightly lighter tone to the proceedings while still knowing how to stage the kills well. Fans should enjoy seeing the return of previous franchise stars Hewitt and Prinze Jr. and the story services them, but the dialogue is definitely written for a gen-z audience. The insertion of dark humor and slight camp is a nice change for the series and the ending (while sure to be controversial for fans) makes sense but undermines previously-established elements. It’s by no means high art, but after countless scarefests that left me drained, this one being fun and ridiculous was a welcome surprise even if the original still tops it.
A mid-credits-scene hints at a follow-up I’d very much like to see and I left happy this Summer series still had some gas in the tank. I Know What You Did Last Summer 2025 is a slightly lighter, straightforward slasher with moments of dark humor amongst the gory deaths and good performances that show you can’t keep a good series down. Slash into it at your local cinema.
Rated R for Bloody Horror Violence, Language Throughout, Som Sexual Content and Brief Drug Use