Film Review: I Know What You Did Last Summer
You Get The Ending You Deserve
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film I Know What You Did Last Summer. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. A year later, their past comes back to haunt them and they’re forced to confront a horrifying truth - someone knows what they did last summer and is hell-bent on revenge. As one by one the friends are stalked by a killer, they discover this has happened before, and they turn to two survivors of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997 for help.
REVIEW
I was about eight years old when I Know What You Did Last Summer exploded onto the 1997 film scene, a surprise box office hit that managed to overcome mixed critical reviews and ride the wave of the post-Scream slasher resurgence. Of course, I was way too young to be watching movies like that; but by that point, I was already knee-deep in horror I had no business watching anyways. So, eventually, I caught up with it and its direct sequel, 1998’s I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.
Neither film is what I’d call good in the traditional sense, but they absolutely belong in that special tier of ‘mid-but-memorable’ horror flicks. The kind you recognize as flawed but still enjoy revisiting, especially if you grew up with them. They're comfort slashers in a weird way. And then there’s the third installment from 2006, I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, which, honestly, I’m still not convinced that whole affir wasn’t just a fever dream.
Fast-forward twenty-five years and, naturally, I Know What You Did Last Summer is the latest horror IP trying to cash in on the legacy reboot trend. After the Scream franchise successfully relaunched itself for a new generation, it was only a matter of time before someone said, “Hey, remember Last Summer?”
Enter director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who’s stepping up from streaming teen dramedy fare like Someone Great (2019) and Do Revenge (2022), to helm a major studio horror flick. This new entry is another one of those hybrid “requel” projects, bringing in a fresh young cast while also leaning on the nostalgia factor with the return of series favs Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in supporting roles.
Admittedly, the marketing didn’t do much for me. The trailers gave off a vibe that felt a little too meta for my taste, a little too much like it wanted to be Scream 5 & 6 rather than a proper Last Summer continuation. I started worrying this would be another instance of a franchise bending over backward to chase nostalgia instead of understanding its own identity. And when early critical reactions started coming in, well, they weren’t exactly glowing. Still, I missed out on the press screening, so I decided to give it a fair shake and caught it on Friday with a general audience.
Well, I’ll say this much… the film somehow manages to channel a very distinct nineties B-horror vibe; which, on the one hand, is kind of impressive for a movie made in 2025. There’s a certain charm in how it leans into that aesthetic, whether intentionally or not. But on the other hand, that same retro sensibility ends up exposing some of the very flaws that plagued those kinds of films back then with clunky plotting, underwritten characters, and a general sense of narrative convenience.
One thing I did appreciate was how the film brought back its supporting characters from the original 1997 entry. It did so in a way that was more substantial than the marketing led me to believe, which was a nice surprise. That said, the connections still required a pretty generous suspension of disbelief to hold together, there’s a stretch or two where the story logic wobbles, and you either roll with it or you don’t.
Ultimately, though, the movie just doesn’t recapture the charm of the first film, or even the over-the-top fun of the second. It’s certainly not the trainwreck that was the third installment (which, wisely, this film seems to pretend never existed), but it still falls flat. The characters are paper-thin, with several being introduced seemingly just to pad the body count. None of the new protagonists are exactly unlikeable, but I also didn’t feel much sympathy for their plight either. They’re just...there. Going through the motions.
And then there’s the big twist in the final act. On paper, sure, it sounds like a bold, gutsy move, the kind of reveal that should land with a jolt. But in execution, it’s so telegraphed and obvious that it ends up being unintentionally laughable. I could see it coming a mile away, and when it finally dropped, I audibly groaned in the theater. My eyes rolled so hard to the back of my head.
Ultimately, I Know What You Did Last Summer tries hard to be its own Scream 5, a modern, self-aware revival meant to breathe new life into a cult classic. But instead, it ends up as a pale imitation, lacking both the sharpness and purpose that made Scream’s return work for so many. The original I Know What You Did Last Summer never had the same level of respectability or cultural staying power, and this new entry doesn't do much to change that. In the end, I walked away feeling like this was a pretty pointless endeavor. I give it an initial grade of C+.
GRADING
