I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) review – A stylish return that struggles with substance

Legacy sequels walk a thin line. Lean too hard on nostalgia and you’re pandering. Push too far forward, and you risk alienating the fanbase. I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) walks that tightrope with sharp visuals, a surprisingly solid cast, and a whole lot of blood—but not quite enough bite.

Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, this revival doesn’t just nod to the 1997 original—it drags it back into the frame, dusts it off, and tries to make it resonate with a new, socially-anxious generation. The result is something that looks great and sometimes clicks, but often feels like it’s trying to be too many things at once: slasher, satire, psychological drama, and franchise setup.

Disclaimer - This article contains the opinions of the author. Reader's discretion is advised.

A new generation, some real potential

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) centers on a new group of small-town twenty-somethings who cover up a tragic accident, only to be hunted down a year later by a familiar hook-wielding figure. We’ve seen this setup before, but what’s different this time is the tone—sharper, more self-aware, with a screenplay that flirts with dark comedy and even slips in a few smart stabs at class, grief, and performative healing.

The standout here is Madelyn Cline, who seems to understand the assignment more than anyone else. She brings enough edge and emotional nuance to make her character—the group’s so-called party girl with a fragile core—feel like more than a trope. If I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) has a pulse, it’s beating somewhere in her scenes.

Chase Sui Wonders and Sarah Pidgeon offer solid support, while the script gives their characters just enough trauma and attitude to suggest depth—though not always enough to sustain it. Some backstories land with impact. Others feel like they were scribbled in during a rewrite.

The old faces return, but don't anchor much

Yes, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. are back. And no, this isn’t a cameo-style gimmick. Their presence is baked into the story, their shared past shaping the way the mystery unfolds. But while their inclusion adds emotional weight, it also highlights how uneven the film is. Every time the story starts to find a groove with the new cast, we’re pulled back into franchise flashbacks that don't always justify themselves.

It’s not that I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) doesn’t try to merge its timelines—it does, and occasionally with genuine impact—but there's a pacing issue here. The tension builds, stalls, resets. There’s a twist. Then another. And by the time the final mask comes off, the momentum has slipped just enough to dull the effect.

Final verdict for I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025): Glossy, bloody, and frustratingly close to being good

I'll give this movie a 7/10⭐ mainly for the kills

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This isn’t a total misfire. Far from it. The kills are inventive. The look is sleek. The performances are better than the material sometimes deserves. But the movie never quite decides what kind of movie it wants to be. It has flashes of brilliance—especially when it leans into gallows humor or lets its cast play messier, more emotionally complex characters—but it also plays it safe in ways that feel like missed opportunities.

It’s a revival that knows how to reference the past, but struggles to justify its own present.

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