**Warning: Major spoilers ahead.**
I’ve let this review marinade in my head for a few days. When I left the movie theater on Tuesday, I had a very high rating for this film… but now that some time has passed, I’ve mostly changed my mind. Listen, I’ve always been a fan of the I Know What You Did Last Summer series – even the widely forgotten yet equally horrible straight-to-DVD I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. However, I’m not entirely sure that the 2025 reboot – or 2021 television adaption, for that matter – need to exist. In my humble opinion, the first two films are absolutely 90s slasher perfection and often don’t get the credit they deserve as features. Lightening in a bottle type of magic, if you will. This go around, though, everything seemed… forced. Like a quick cash grab more than a love letter to the original. And for what it’s worth, I Know 2025 already recouped its entire budget during its first week of release in cinemas, so maybe I’m in the minority demographic here. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Will I willingly watch it again? Probably not.
I Know What You Did Last Summer follows a bunch of rich kids who cause a car accident on July 4th. Which, this go around, I don’t think they would have gone to jail if they were honest in the first place. A year after they covered up the crime, they get the mysterious letter in the mail – or, ya know, wedding shower gift – before finding themselves on the receiving end of The Fisherman’s hook. In typical whodunit slasher storytelling, the rich kids need to get to the bottom of the mystery of who’s behind the slicker – but this time they’re going to do it with a little bit of help. As the body count rises, one can only wonder how many secrets Southport, NC holds in its bloody history. I Know What You Did Last Summer stars Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Jonah Hauer-King and Tyriq Weathers with Jennifer Love Hewitt & Freddie Prinze Jr returning as Julie James and Ray Bronson, respectively.
I Know What You Did Last Summer was written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. It was cowritten by Sam Lansky and features cinematography by Elisha Christian and editing by Saira Haider. Interestingly enough, it was executive produced by Neal H. Moritz, who has been a part of the series throughout every incarnation – except the book, obviously. It was brought to life by Sony Pictures Releasing. With such major players behind the scenes, it’s no surprise that this movie is picture perfect. I have no complaints about this film from a production standpoint, but I do have major, major gripes with the script. As I mentioned above, let’s start with the tragic accident. If the rich kids just said, “hey, we were pulled over to the watch the fireworks and someone swerved around us,” I don’t think they’d go to jail. Especially because they actively tried to rescue the guy in the car, which is a far cry from the film where they literally dumped his body off a pier.
My second complain with the script is its abnormal flow and bad dialogue. I just didn’t feel like the dialogue came across naturally. Like I didn’t always believe that’s how people talk in real life. I’m also a bit older than the rich kids, so maybe I’m not hip to the way young people talk in 2025. “You’re my soul twin, I think.” “No, you’re my soul twin.” Barf. Oh, and holy shit, don’t get me started with the post credits scene with Brandy reprising her role as Karla Wilson from I Still Know. Karla clearly states she hasn’t seen Julie in over a decade, but once they reunite, she says “Who’s ass are we about to kick?” when Julie receives a note from another killer. It’s almost as if the writers forgot the content they wrote 10 seconds earlier. Due to the script being a total turd, this causes a lot of the acting performances to be horrifically wooden. Especially Jennifer Love Hewitt. She is by far the worst actor in the entire movie, which is strange because she’s performed consistently since I Still Know.
The ending of I Know What You Did Last Summer comes with two different climaxes. The final fight on the boat, then a surprise villain emerging from the chaos. Both endings are… bad. No build up. No suspense. No investment in the characters’ survival. I don’t remember the score being anything to write home about when you’re looking for this major cinematic moment. The only reason I can get over the lack of climax is because Helen Shivers plays a major part in this movie despite biting the dust in the first film’s favorite chase scene. She’s mentioned often, her pictures are featured often, they visit her grave, they visit her old store – which is now a diner – and Sarah Michelle Gellar even reprises her role for a ghostly dream sequence cameo. Fan rumblings have said they wish Helen survived over Julie or Ray, so it was smart to include her in the reboot because it did major fan service.
Also, still kind of mad they introduced the podcaster as a means to achieve a throw away kill. I think she should have been utilized more. Maybe she’ll become the Helen Shivers of I Know 2025. The rest of the movie is traditional slasher mayhem. Attempted character building. Surprise locations. Quick death scenes that leave you uninspired. Again, I don’t think I Know What You Did Last Summer was a bad movie. It just wasn’t good, either. I think if you were going to come back with a sequel after 27 years, then they needed to come harder. I think the script should have been a draft that could have been expanded on. Being that it was doomed from the start because of this, I think it still pulled off some fun moments. Who knows if we’re going to get a sequel to this reboot, but I will say that I enjoyed I Know 2025 much more than Scream VI. Not that that says much.
Final Score: 5 out of 10.
