I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

A year after they cover up their involvement in a fatal road accident, a group of friends are targeted by a mysterious, vengeful killer. In their desperation, the friends seek help from the survivors of a similar massacre from years before.

The original I Know What You Did Last Summer came hot on the heels of Scream (1996) and was a huge hit in the late 90s. It was a taut, effective throwback to minimalist slashers of the 80s, and very much a part of the late 90s slasher film revival, unfolding as a compelling story of the (violent) end of innocence. It spawned a Bahamas-set sequel a year later, in which the murderous fisherman pursues surviving heroine Julie James and her friends to a tropical island retreat, and a further, unconnected supernatural sequel in the 2000s (the events of which are not part of the cannon established by the first film). The I Know films were never as critically acclaimed as the likes of Scream, but they were still slickly produced, effective slasher films: high on tension, sincerity and atmosphere, and rudimentary on plotting and characterisation. In other words, they pretty much offered die-hard slasher fans more or less what they wanted from a slasher film.

Written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and co-written by Sam Lansky, I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) emerges as a nostalgic love letter to the original film and its sequel. It sticks closely to the now standard template of horror legacy sequels, unspooling as an updated re-tread of the original, while introducing a whole new cast of characters for the chopping block. It also brings back legacy characters to offer insight, mentorship and darkly humorous, weary cynicism. Robinson and Lansky’s screenplay has a very light touch, deftly introducing the new characters, briefly establishing their dynamics, and wasting no further time before getting down to the business of offing them one by one.

The new cast are likeable, flawed characters whose guilt and culpability in the accident is never explored in any great depth, mainly because the screenplay is too insistent in hurrying along to all the slaughter. The light tone also distracts from the lack of exploration of the consequences of the group’s actions or the effect it has had on their personal lives and relationships with each other, aside from vague estrangement. In the original, the main characters were all shadows of their former shelves a year after the life-altering accident. There was a sense each had, in their own way, hit rock bottom. ‘Rock bottom’ for this new group of characters hits differently (impulsive sex with strangers, played-for-laughs descent into holistic meditation therapy). Coming across more like chess pieces, than living, breathing people, none - with the possible of exceptions of Ava (she’s bisexual!) and Danica (she’s into empathic therapy and tranquilisers!) – are fleshed out in any great depth. Still, there’s some really decent performances to help ground events and heighten tension - Chase Sui Wonders as Ava, and Sarah Pidgeon as former outsider-of-the-group Stevie, deliver particularly strong performances. Elsewhere, Madelyn Cline as Danica brings life and real likeability (and a fun undertone of campiness) to a thinly drawn character, who on paper, comes across as wholly narcissistic and unsympathetic.

The legacy part of this sequel manifests in the reintroduction of Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), the final girl of the first two films, and her then boyfriend/now ex-husband Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.). Seeing the pair return is like catching a glimpse of a couple of old friends, and while you’re dying to know what they’ve been up to, here they mainly operate on the periphery of proceedings. Julie is now a reclusive college professor, while Ray runs a bar in town and appears to have a chip on his shoulder regarding the town’s glossing over of its bloody past. With the reintroduction of Julie and Ray, the film glances at the lasting effects of traumatic experience, and how the same event can affect people in very different ways. Ray seemed to be able to carry on with his life after the original accident, and Julie’s inability to do likewise caused rifts in their relationship (as seen in the sequel, I Still Know). Of course, none of these ideas are explored in any great depth, but director Robinson’s swift pacing and emphasis on fun and atmosphere helps gloss over the superficiality of certain proceedings, and there’s still a real spark between Hewitt and Prinze Jr.

The screenplay touches on a number of other interesting ideas, not least the town council and police department covering up the incident, as well as the massacre from 1997, to avoid scaring off tourists or scupper plans for investment and redevelopment of the town. This not only echoes the selfish, dangerous actions of the shady mayor from Jaws (1975), but more recent sinister events playing out in real life, namely the current US government’s attempts to erase the past and even rewrite history. There is also a whisper of social commentary regarding societal conditioning of men to be stoic and self-reliant, and how these ideas of masculinity can mutate into something toxic and festering. 

Tonally uneven, I Know has, for the most part, a fun, light touch and a sense of soapy melodrama. While it is not afraid to poke a little fun at the original (shade is thrown at the handwriting of the threatening notes in the first film), Robinson and co. frequently shift into darker territory – a couple of the murders are particularly vicious, and the revelatory climax has deeply upsetting ramifications. It is above all though, a loving homage to the 1997 film, and Robinson and Lansky pay tribute to its characters, past and present. The film is peppered with photos of the original characters, and we also see headstones for Barry (Ryan Phillippe), Elsa (Bridgette Wilson) and Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), in a quietly touching scene in which a couple of characters talk about the town’s dark history. Indeed, the seaside-Gothic imagery of the original film is lovingly recreated, and some specific images and set-design (Helen’s Croaker Queen seashell throne) reappear here like spectral snapshots from the past.*

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) is a love letter, a tinged-with-camp nostalgia trip, and a fun re-tread of familiar slasher territory that should please fans of the original films. The game cast, glossy production and well mounted scenes of terror mean it's never anything short of entertaining, while Robinson’s stylish direction, rollercoaster pacing and honouring of what has gone before, ensures a fun and thrilling good time.

*Spoiler alert: What perhaps surprised me the most – aside from the revelation of one of the killers – was the love and reverence Robinson clearly holds for the first film. While ‘fan service’ has been a source of debate and consternation for some time now, when it’s done well, and with love and respect to the source material, and serves as part of the plot, it can sometimes be quite powerful, particularly in its evocation of nostalgia. Scream, The Craft and I Know What You Did Last Summer were my gateway films into the horror genre, and they hold a special place in my heart. So, when it comes to fan service, I’m generally all in. For me, a couple of the highlights of I Know (2025) came in the form of unexpected but delightful cameos from Sarah Michelle Gellar as Helen (in a dream sequence, no less), and Brandy Norwood (in a mid-credits scene that appears to set up a sequel) as Karla, Julie’s bestie and fellow survivor from the sequel. Were these appearances strictly necessary? No, of course not. But these characters are important, not just to lifelong fans of these films (such as myself), and their presence in this film helped provide a little more depth and emotional resonance to certain moments. When Danica dreams about Helen, she is really confronting her own fear of death and the moment enhances parallels between the two characters. When Julie visits Karla in the mid-credits scene, it’s not only a fun hint at what could be a further instalment of the franchise, but demonstrates that perhaps after everything she's been through, Julie realises she needs her friends in her life, and she no longer wants to be alone.