I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

By: Mike Ward on Wednesday, July 23

R Running Time: 111 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • The lead performances by Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders anchor the film with solid chemistry and make this a far better movie than it probably has any right to be.

  • Am I sucker for nostalgia? When Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt are used in this way, in this movie, I guess I am.

  • This has some campy humor, gnarly kills, and an easy re-watchability factor going for it. This is like a Young Adult slasher flick. Make of that what you will.

NO

  • There is no reason why this movie needs to be 111 minutes. 85-90 minutes would have easily been enough.

  • The twist might keep some people guessing, but so much of this movie is telegraphed and the attacks and carnage dealt out by “The Fisherman” is quite predictable.

  • There are some rough performances to be found in this film.


OUR REVIEW

Amusing, silly, and, at times, laughably absurd, there are worse ways to spend your time than watching the 2025 reboot/relaunch of I Know What You Did Last Summer.  Directed by the talented writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge), the idea of resurrecting the story of serial killer “The Fisherman,” who terrorizes a group of teenagers covering up a deadly secret is not bad per se. However, we should probably get serious about the overblown nostalgia and legacy surrounding this franchise through the years.

Having been in the prime demographic at the time the original 1997 film was released, the original I Know What You Did Last Summer was panned and dismissed pretty quickly. The 1999 sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, didn’t exactly thrill audiences either. Despite a third film, a 2006 straight-to-video sequel and a 2021 Amazon Prime limited series, it seems this particular concept never truly caught on.

At least with Robinson at the helm you have a storyteller who has an understanding of how to balance suspense with comedy, how to plant a tongue firmly in one’s cheek, and deliver the occasional jump scare or gnarly kill to keep your emotions on a rollercoaster. And while 2025’s I Know What You Did Last Summer will never be mistaken for one of the best horror films of the year, decade, or century - there is just enough fun to be found here that this version cannot be as easily disregarded as its predecessors.

For starters, two effective female lead performances help matters tremendously. Madelyn Cline (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) and Chase Sui Wonders (Bodies Bodies Bodies) play BFFs Danica and Ava. High school friends who have drifted apart, Ava returns to her hometown of Southport, North Carolina, on the Fourth of July, for Danica’s engagement party. Marrying wealthy jock Teddy (Tyriq Withers), Danica is soaking in all the excitement and privilege of her in-law’s exorbitant wealth. Ava, more grounded, tries to fit in but seems to have moved on from the immaturity of past years. 

Still, Ava’s old flame Milo (Jonah Hauer-King) is exchanging glances with her. Later, they cross paths with Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon), a quiet and reserved old classmate they knew in high school. Together, the five decide to go watch fireworks from Reaper’s Curve - “everyone’s favorite spot” - though, I should point out, no one happens to be there.

Goofing around leads to a driver’s car careening into a guardrail and then plummeting to the waters below. The group differs on what to do and ultimately opts to do nothing and keep it quiet between themselves. Cut to one year later, Danica, now engaged to Wyatt (Joshua Orpin) - after breaking up with Teddy - receives a card at her bridal shower with one simple phrase written inside: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER.

Soon thereafter, a person in an oversized fisherman’s costume, brandishing a shiny, silver hook starts slashing their way through anyone connected to the previous summer’s events. The friends are forced to come together to not only survive the attacks but also uncover the mystery of who “The Fisherman” happens to be.

Robinson recognizes the appeal of nostalgia, tapping into it here by bringing back Ray (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) and Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) from the previous late-1990s films. Robinson’s screenplay, co-written with Sam Lansky, finds interesting ways to return them to the story as Danica and Ava learn of their connection to similar events from 28 years before.

She also frames her movie from a place of being somewhat self-aware. Robinson and Lansky seem to almost be anticipating mockery and dismissal. Positioning their movie as almost a nod-and-a-wink away from the camera at all times is clever, even if this particular premise lacks creativity and the movie never challenges the viewer in any discernible way.

Cline and Wonders make a nice tandem. They have good back-and-forth chemistry that makes the one-liners, jabs, and attempts at humor within the script work more often than not. The film has some decent moments of suspense, even if the actual attack sequences are hardly surprising and often telegraphed ahead of time. 

There’s stilted dialogue and a few cringe-inducing performances. Withers stands out in all the wrong ways, portraying Teddy as so dumb and aloof he strains credulity. In general, if you are not a fan of horror in any way, shape, or form, you likely are not messing with this. If privileged kids trying to avoid being murdered by a fish hook slashing stalker sounds annoying - I cannot sway your thinking.

Yet Robinson finds just enough to make this somewhat ridiculous young adult-style horror flick addicting and fun. I can see this movie easily being a go-to for teens and hold up to repeated viewings at sleepovers and get-togethers. It’s gnarly and bloody at times, but also easy to consume - if you accept that both things can be true.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Joshua Orpin, Billy Campbell, Austin Nichols, Gabbriette Bechtel, Georgia Flood, Sarah Michelle Gellar

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Written by: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Sam Lansky (screenplay); Leah McKendrick, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (story)
Based on characters created in the novel “I Know What You Did Last Summer” by Lois Duncan
Release Date: July 18, 2025
Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing