‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’: pointless reboot butchers the iconic slasher’s legacy

In a summer dominated by remakes, a rebooted I Know What You Did Last Summer shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The original 1997 film was part of a slasher horror boom that dominated the second half of the decade. Like a classic cinema serial killer, it was only a matter of time before the franchise returned for more slaughter.

Set 27 years after a group of teens were hunted down by a mysterious fisherman with a hook, seeking revenge for a hit-and-run killing one year prior, I Know What You Did Last Summer comes home to Southport. Here, we meet wealthy lovebirds Danica (Madelyn Cline) and Teddy (Tyriq Withers) who are celebrating their engagement with Danica’s best friend Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), her ex Milo (Jonah Hauer-King) and their estranged pal Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon).

Predictably, a joyride ends with another motorist driving off a cliff. Despite Ava’s protests, the group flee the scene of the crime and use their social connections to cover up any ties to the tragedy. However, exactly one year later, all four receive messages that read: “I know what you did last summer”. Fearing they may be the target of a copycat killer, they seek out the survivors of the 1997 killings (Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Julie James and Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Ray Bronson) to help them get off the fisherman’s previously mentioned hook.

‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. CREDIT: Sony Pictures

But the real mystery here is why this film has even been made in the first place. While the first film has a cult following, it’s not exactly a masterpiece and its legacy rides heavily on the coattails of Scream’s success. Wes Craven’s 1996 classic has the humour, intelligence and self-awareness to give recent reboots something to play off but there’s nothing deeper at work within I Know What You Did Last Summer.

The 2025 instalment is a painful retread of its predecessor, with surface-level updates made to appear modern. The group are joined by a true crime podcaster (played by Matty Healy’s model fiancé and Charli XCX’s mate Gabbriette Bechtel), there’s some half-hearted preaching about financial privilege and the dialogue feels like it was written by ChatGPT badly imitating a teenager. Oh, and the baddie has a couple of new weapons – but that’s about as innovative as it gets.

None of the new generation are especially interesting either. Danica is a spoiled princess who channels Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Helen Shivers (who makes a cameo despite being killed off in the original) and Ava is positioned as the ‘Final Girl’ but does little to impact the course of the movie. At times, you’ll even be rooting for the villain.

As for the returning OG cast, neither Hewitt nor Prinze are given much to work with. Introduced as a now-divorced couple still traumatised by what happened to them and with nowhere new for them to go, it’s all a bit depressing.

Our collective tolerance for gore has risen over the years so the murders are bloodier than before but they lack creativity or suspense. For a horror, it’s just not very scary. There is a twist in the tale, but the predictable reveal will be obvious to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention and it’ll leave you with more questions than answers. This awkward by-the-numbers slasher wouldn’t have stood up to scrutiny three decades ago and falls desperately short in an era where elevated horror has become the norm.