'I Know What You Did Last Summer': A Dull, Lazy Legacy Sequel

PHOTO: Sony Pictures

Hot off the success of his breakthrough screenplay, Scream, Kevin Williamson was approached to adapt a 1973 novel by Lois Duncan titled I Know What You Did Last Summer. While it might not have been as acclaimed and brought in as much money as Scream, the film was still a solid success and helped revive the slasher genre in the late 90s. The film would go on to spark two sequels (one released theatrically and another direct-to-video) and a television series that lasted one season. The franchise might not have caught on in the same way that others in the horror genre have, but in an age where sequels and reboots are made for just about any property that was a modest success, the day was bound to come when a legacy sequel for I Know What You Did Last Summer would be made.

The trend of legacy sequels for beloved films has been very prominent across media for the past several years, especially in the horror genre. Halloween, Scream, and even Final Destination have all got the legacyquel treatment, and it is clear that Hollywood is running down the line of properties to see what they can successfully revive. At the very least, these films act as a method of cashing in on nostalgia, but a select few are legitimately good continuations of their respective franchises and have been well-received by critics and audiences alike. Sadly, the 2025 version of I Know What You Did Last Summer merely looks to be little more than a cash grab, as it is basically a reheated version of the original without the charm that it had. It may have some familiar faces come in to add some life, but the film is a lazy attempt at a legacy sequel that may click with fans of the series, but otherwise has no real reason to exist. 

Set 27 years after the events of the original film, a group of five friends gather for an engagement party in the town of Southport over the 4th of July weekend. While watching fireworks on the side of the road, they accidentally cause an accident that kills a young man. The friends all swear to never speak of it again and try to wash their hands of the whole thing. However, they soon find their past coming back to haunt them, as one of the friends, Danica (Madelyn Cline) receives a message that simply says “I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER”. This is accompanied by a string of grisly murders committed by a figure dressed as a fisherman, much like the killer from the first film. The friends snap into action and try to figure out who the killer is and recruit the help of Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.); two survivors from the murders that terrorized Southport in 1997. 

Deep into the film, Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character, Julie, says “Nostalgia is overrated”. This line really bothered me, as nostalgia seems to be the only reason this movie exists in the first place. This line could have very well had more meaning if the film railed against the notion that most legacyquels are made to cash in on nostalgia, but it doesn’t do that. In fact, there are a number of things that the film could have dug deeper on, but it never goes below the surface on any of them. A prime example is the character of Tyler, a true crime podcaster who arrives in Southport to research the murders from the first movie. There is much to be said about true crime and the obsession that many have with it, but the film doesn’t do anything with this beyond a few basic jokes. I know that the franchise isn’t exactly known for its depth, but there is so much more that it could have done than what we see in the final product. I can see not wanting to stray too far from the formula, but adding a little substance could have helped this film a lot.

Now, I should be transparent and say that I don’t have the connection to the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise that some have, so this likely affected my overall enjoyment of the film. Fans of the series will probably get more out of this than I did, but the film doesn’t have much to offer anyone else. That said, the inclusion of some of the cast members from the original film provides some nostalgia that even I wasn’t immune to. It might mean more to fans of the franchise, but I was just happy to see people like Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. on the big screen again. Yes, their involvement is little more than fan service, but as someone who grew up watching them in other films, I was happy to see them in a movie again. There are also a couple of surprise cameos in the film that will absolutely delight fans, and even I couldn’t help but crack a smile at them. The final cameo especially worked for me, as it suggests a possible alternative for this film that might have worked better, or at least would have been a more interesting route. The idea this scene sets up could be revisited in a possible sequel, but I kind of wish they would have pursued it for this film. It isn’t a great thing when the fan service is the best thing about a legacyquel, but sadly, that is the case here. 

The film itself basically takes the original film’s plot, tweaks a few details, and adds in the aforementioned fan service for good measure. I can get wanting to stick to the formula, but there’s little in the film that feels fresh in the way that other legacyquels have been able to provide. It does try to pull off a twist, but it doesn’t feel all that shocking or clever and merely left me thinking “Sure, I guess?” The film also tries to include some campy elements, but this doesn’t work very well in execution. It feels like it is trying too hard in these moments, which is the death knell for campiness. The more you can feel the effort someone is putting into making something campy, the less effective it ends up being. The film also has some rough dialogue, at times sounding rather pandering to younger audiences. The whole thing just feels uninspired, as it has a complicated relationship with its element of nostalgia, and doesn’t dare to do anything new or interesting with its formula. At the very least, it mostly avoids the whole “this film is secretly about trauma” trope that most horror films feed into these days, even though this franchise seems primed for something like that. Perhaps I was just expecting a little more from this than I should have, but I feel like it isn’t much to ask for something more when other legacy sequels have proven that you can go back to an old franchise and still get something good from it.

It doesn’t help that the film feels rather cheaply made, especially when it comes to its visual effects. One of the surprise cameos ends with a CGI effect that looks so awful that it almost ruins the whole scene, and some of the bloodier scenes contain dodgy VFX that took me out of the film a bit. I get that this film was made on a lower budget, but I’ve seen other movies with similar budgets that can still pull off their VFX well. The film is also lit like it was made for television, further highlighting its cheap look. It isn’t all that surprising considering that the film’s director, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, has only directed films for Netflix prior to this. The visual style used in this film is more suited for streaming, and doesn’t do the film many favors on the big screen save for a couple of decent shots. Robinson is not a bad filmmaker, but you can feel a greenness to her in this film. She seems slightly out of her depth, maybe because she’s trying to map her style to a pre-existing property from a genre she has no prior experience with. Robinson’s previous work is almost exclusively in comedy, and while comedy and horror have some overlap, she isn’t fully able to translate her skills from one genre to the other. This also causes the film’s tonal imbalance, as it seems unsure whether to be more jokey or play things straight numerous times throughout. The film is plagued by indecision, as it can’t ever seem to fully decide what it wants to be, leading to it just feeling deflated and lifeless. 

As mentioned earlier, it is very nice to see some familiar faces in this film. Jennifer Love Hewitt is easily the strongest of the returning players, and possesses that same movie star charm that made her a household name in the 90s. She is a bit underplayed, but Hewitt is pretty solid nonetheless. I wish I could say the same for Freddie Prinze Jr., who just isn’t the same as he used to be. His line delivery is so stilted, and he seems uncomfortable at points in his performance. While it’s nice to see him in a movie again, I do wish that he was able to tap into the same energy he had as a younger actor. As for the actors that play the five friends at the center of the film, everyone is okay at the very least. I liked Chase Sui Wonders’s performance fine, as she carries most of the film fairly well. It’s a pretty generic role, but Wonders has a decent presence that keeps it afloat. I was pretty divided by Madelyn Cline’s performance, as she is mostly good, but it does feel like she’s phoning it in at times. I think she has some potential as a performer, but she just feels out of place at times in this film. However, I feel that this is more the fault of the script than Cline herself, as the character is pretty underwritten. She’s not awful, but it isn’t a particularly good performance either. Sarah Pidgeon isn’t half-bad, but she is definitely underutilized here. She definitely has an interesting energy, and I hope that she gets the chance to showcase this better in the future. I could argue the same for Tyriq Withers and Jonah Hauer-King, both of whom are fine, but didn’t really pop too much for me. Withers at least has more of a personality that comes through in the early parts of the film, but Hauer-King kind of gets lost in the mix. The cast definitely isn’t doing anything groundbreaking, but the performances are serviceable for the most part.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is among the worst of the legacy sequels that have come out within the past decade. It doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to give into nostalgia or rebuke it, leading the film to feel unsure of itself. It just plays out as a retread of the original film, with a few changes to try and justify its existence. It is a lazy, cheap attempt to revive a franchise that probably should have been left alone, and is made for die-hard fans only. If you remove the fan service elements, the film is just a run-of-the-mill slasher that is trying to capture a blend of campy humor and horror, but it fails miserably at this. If nothing else, it makes a strong case that not every single property needs a legacy sequel, which is a lesson that studios could certainly afford to learn.

Rating: 1.5/5