Movie Review: "I Know What You Did Last Summer" Delivers a Fun Yet Forgettable Murder Mystery
Film is the latest in the "requel" trend.
By Angela Davis
CORRESPONDENT
“Requels” have become an increasingly popular trend in film for the past decade.
Officially coined around the release of 2022’s Scream, the term refers to a sequel to a popular franchise that brings back recognizable legacy characters for a new story that serves as a light remake to the original film. Some of the most notable examples have included Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Creed, but the horror genre has been coasting on this trend the most since 2018’s Halloween.
Now, the 90s slasher adaptation of Lois Duncan’s suspense novel I Know What You Did Last Summer has gotten the requel treatment.
The film follows a similar set-up to the original film—five friends accidentally cause the death of someone while driving on a winding road on the 4th of July. One year later, a mysterious fisherman begins to stalk them to get revenge. However, these new characters receive help in their efforts to stay alive from two survivors of the original film, Ray and Julie.
The most appealing thing about this new I Know What You Did Last Summer is that it arguably has the best mystery in the entire franchise. There are constant twists and turns that make it fun to watch and figure out who the killer is. There are even times when it seems like the audience knows the whole story, only for the film to pull another surprise from its sleeve and deliver another round of entertaining thrills. It’s an undeniably entertaining watch.
However, where this film falters is in its performances. While none of the acting is outright bad, it can be painful at times to follow along with these characters because of their shaky performances. The overdramatic acting at times makes the film feel like something made for the CW or Hallmark channel.
What’s most disappointing is how this film treats its legacy characters. While it does manage to do something interesting with them as the story progresses, Ray and Julie (played once again by Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt) feel pointless for a good amount of the film. It’s not until the final act that they serve a bigger and more satisfying purpose. However, it would have been better had they played a stronger role, akin to Laurie Strode hunting down Michael Myers in Halloween (2018) or Rocky Balboa training Adonis in Creed.
There’s no denying that 2025’s I Know What You Did Last Summer is entertaining. It has all the fun of a murder mystery mixed with tons of horror violence that will satisfy slasher fans. There are even some nice surprises in store that will keep the audience on their toes. However, it’s a film that doesn’t push many boundaries, making it a good one-time watch that will be forgotten pretty quickly.
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