I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) Review – Hook, Line & Requel
The legacy sequel trend continues, and this time it’s the fisherman’s turn. After a shaky franchise history that includes a tepid sequel and a forgettable straight-to-video instalment, 2025’s I Know What You Did Last Summer attempts to revive the property with a modern, self-aware slasher that pays homage to its 1997 roots. Unfortunately, it gets tangled in its own fishing net of nostalgia, struggling to reel in a story worth caring about.
The set-up is as familiar as a summer rerun. A new group of teens—entitled, wealthy, and all too self-absorbed—decide to gather near a tight bend on the very same coastal cliff road from the original film, standing in the middle of the road at night to watch fireworks. Predictably, they cause a passing vehicle to veer off the edge and crash. Rather than call the authorities, they make a pact to bury their involvement. One year later, a letter arrives: “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” And so begins the bloodletting, hook and all.
While the film leans heavily into references — revisiting iconic locations like the shop where Helen Shivers once worked and the Miss Croaker beauty pageant hall — it becomes clear very quickly that these nods to the past aren’t enough. Instead of building on the legacy, the callbacks become distractions, undercutting the tension by constantly reminding viewers of a much better film. This is fan service at its most blatant and least effective.
Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. return as Julie James and Ray Bronson, and while their performances carry a certain nostalgic weight, the script gives them little to elevate beyond functional exposition. Still, Ray features more prominently than initial trailers might suggest, and the film does give both characters at least some narrative significance. Julie, now a law professor, is brought back into the fold when the new generation comes knocking, desperate for guidance.
Unfortunately, the new teens at the centre of the story lack the charisma and chemistry of the ’97 cast. Where Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and the original crew brought flair and presence, these newcomers feel underwritten and interchangeable. As a result, when the kills begin, there’s very little emotional weight behind them. You’re more likely to remember the weaponry than the victims.
The film doesn’t shy away from violence. A notable kill involves a hook through the neck, and the fisherman has now added a harpoon gun to his arsenal. However, the kills, while competent, rarely rise above serviceable. The tension is undercut by predictable jump scares, and none come close to the nerve-shredding department store chase from the first film. One death scene does feature a character uttering a single word that, for sharp-eyed viewers, serves as a major clue to the mystery—but it’s done so clumsily that it inadvertently reveals too much, too soon.
Tonally, the movie can’t decide what it wants to be — reverent throwback, gritty slasher, or slick modern mystery. Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson seems torn between embracing the camp of the genre and crafting something more grounded. There are glimmers of potential: themes of guilt, trauma, and small-town corruption flicker around the edges, particularly with a subplot involving real estate development and buried crimes. But none of it sticks.
At the very least, this is a better effort than I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and the barely-remembered I’ll Always Know. But that’s a low bar to clear. While this requel has its moments, it’s too busy ticking nostalgia boxes and showcasing underdeveloped characters to carve out a space of its own.
There’s a mid-credits scene that suggests the hook might be back for another swing. But unless the creative team can bait a fresher angle and deliver characters we actually care about, perhaps it’s time to let this fisherman retire for good.
