I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)
Directed by: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Written by: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Sam Lansky
Starring: Austin Nichols, Billy Campbell, Chase Sui Wonders, Freddie Prinze Jr, Gabbriette Bechtel, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jonah Hauer-King, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers

The Fisherman is back….hook, line and stinker…

When SCREAM was released in 1996 it created a new mini boom of slasher films of a genre that many thought had died a slow death in the early nineties, Will both Freddy and Jason finally meeting their maker and arguably 1989’s The Intruder being the last great of that era, the arrival and success of Ghostface was a huge shock to the box-office that made the bogeyman raise from his grave that resulted in not only Michael Myers once more meeting up with Laurie Strode in H20 but also giving birth to the fan favourite I Know What You Did Last Summer that brought us a fisherman with a killer hook with the added selling point that Scream’s very own Kevin Williamson was on writing duties.

“What are you waiting for, huh?!” is now established as one of the most iconic moments in slash history, Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Julia reaching the end of her tether at the torment of this mysterious killer, along with of course the masterpiece chase scene involving Buffy herself Sarah Michelle Geller’s character Helen in what was a breath taking sequence. Its a slasher that played it more straight, refusing to offer the then popular meta approach and that reason alone is why it became a box-office smash.

INWYDLS (lets make the title shorter) wasn’t perfect but it has become a huge fan favourite which unlike SCREAM, had a self-contained storyline with a motive all wrapped up in a tiny bloodshed bow. Where its established that in Woodsboro, every couple of years some teenagers decide to don the mask of Ghostface and go on a killing spree, in Southport its different as the murders is linked to the actions and decisions of a group of friends. Even the 1998 sequel I STILL KNOW, carried on the storyline- moving the horror to the sunny delights of the Bahamas…(what is the capital of Brazil?) and now fondly remembered for having a young Jack Black playing the weed smoking Titus in a follow-up that was universally panned but honestly, on a re-watch its so enjoyable dumbness that I can’t help but cherish.

The less said of the second sequel I ALWAYS KNOW, the better. The 2006 straight to DVD entry, offered a ghostly presence that is completely ignored by fans who have waited patiently for a follow up to the original storyline and finally a good 28 years later – not to be confused with the zombie horror – we finally have a legacy sequel which means we are back in Southport and that damn Fisherman is ready with that swinging hook of his, but how do we get to this point?

While the original had a 90’s heartthrob cast as it beating pulse with the likes of, Geller, Hewitt alongside Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr, this time we don’t quite get that already Hollywood established youth line up but we do have young faces in the shape of Danica (Madelyn Cline), Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), Teddy (Tyriq Withers), and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) who just happen to be driving down the same road – now called reapers curve – on the same night of July the 4th and like many years ago, cause a car accident which results in a death and for them to all make a promise not to tell anyone their deep dark secret.

Cue one year later and of course the familiar written note of “I know” appears and soon the gang are fighting for their lives, running  away from the murderous advances of the now resurrected fisherman, while trying to discover who knows and why the killer has decided that slaughter is the response to the gangs decision to walk away than to phone the police.

Despite the obvious love letter to the original that wonderfully gets the nostalgia flowing through out the opening half, its when the first kill takes place that the film begins to falter. You only need to be called a decent slasher if you offer inventive kill sequences but sadly there is nothing here that leaves a mark, blood does indeed get spilled but it could easily be mopped up and placed into the PG rating territory.

Being a legacy sequel both Hewitt and Prinze Jr return as Julia and Ray, now depressingly divorced, with Julia herself living far away from Southport and still haunted by the past and whose return to this franchise is so badly handled that it becomes a frustrating waste. Hewitt deserved a better script, Julia deserved a better homecoming and us fans deserved to see one of the 90’s best final girls back in all her glory again.

But there is worse to come. As the film moves into the final act it becomes one of the biggest insults I have ever seen in a horror sequel. The twists and turns are so absurd and even worse, so illogical that I sat in the dark of my cinema feeling like the walls were closing in on me and I was being ridiculed for not only loving this franchise but for being a slasher fan. As I type I can not believe what I witnessed a mere hour ago. I honestly don’t know who is more stupid? Myself for hoping for some nostalgic fun from a much loved franchise of old or for the writers of this complete and utter dross that somehow manages to ruin all of my memories for no reason, other than shock value.

I know what you did in the summer of 2024, but truthfully…..I wish I hadn’t.