Chase Sui Wonders as Ava Brooks and the Fisherman in a scene from "I Know What You Did Last Summer." (Photo by Brook Rushton. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.)
The nostalgia brigade is so ubiquitous at the movies these days that it was only a matter of time before “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” a trendy and somewhat vapid slasher flick from 1997, got a reboot that's also a legacy sequel. A “requel,” in the meta parlance made popular by the “Scream” movies.
The new Sony Pictures release doesn't even bother to tweak the name of the OG, and like its predecessor, it's a bald-faced attempt to ride the coattails of the “Scream” franchise, featuring hot young people being hunted by a faceless killer in a fisherman's slicker, armed with a menacing hook and suspiciously accurate knowledge of the victims' whereabouts. A dumb, slick movie gets a dumb, slick redo? Time for a skewering. My knives were sharpened, and this critic was ready to pounce.
Jonah Hauer-King as Milo Griffin, Sarah Pidgeon as Stevie Ward, Chase Sui Wonders as Ava Brooks, Madelyn Cline as Danica Richards and Tariq Withers as Teddy Spencer in a scene from "I Know What You Did Last Summer." (Photo by Brook Rushton. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.)
Cut to the end credits, and yours truly sitting with a goofy grin plastered on my face. Could it be that this easy target that appears to be begging for a good thrashing is actually ... good? The long answer is not so simple, but the short answer is yes, as long as you fall on its wavelength. That's a pretty big “if.”
The new “I Know What You Did Last Summer” has a mountain of issues going against it. Its inciting incident, featuring a quintet of attractive friends in their 20s grappling with their role in a fatal seaside crash, lacks the ethical vigor of the '97 movie, which “Scream” screenwriter Kevin Williamson adapted loosely from Lois Duncan's 1973 YA novel.
The new “Summer” also doesn't miss an opportunity to trot out reference after reference to the older film and its (unseen by me) 1998 sequel, “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.” Pavlovian cues for fans to point at the screen in recognition? That kind of nonsense, especially when abused, has the appeal of fingernails on a chalkboard.
Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie James in a scene from "I Know What You Did Last Summer. (Photo by Matt Kennedy. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.)
So what's different in this sea of sameness? Director/co-screenwriter Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and her gift of cheek. Her approach to revisiting the residents of Southport, North Carolina, and their bad luck with bloodthirsty killers is camp over chills. The filmmaker, a Miami native, and her screenwriting partner Sam Lansky are well aware of the utterly ridiculous nature of the premise, so instead of quickening viewers' pulse, they poke fun at the well-to-do in this gentrified coastal community.
Final girl Ava Brucks (Chase Sui Wonders, recently seen in the Apple TV+ series “The Studio”) returns to Southport to visit her bestie, Danica Richards (Madelyn Cline, seen on Netflix's “Outer Banks”), who just became engaged to hunky, spoiled rich kid Teddy Spencer (Tyriq Withers, seen on Paramount+'s “The Game”), the son of prominent Southport mover and shaker Grant Spencer (“The Rocketeer's” Billy Campbell, a most welcome 1990s throwback).
Out on a freewheeling Fourth of July night drive, Teddy's reckless clowning around on the road triggers a crash that leaves a young man dead. Cut to one year later, when the central quintet, rounded out by the soft-spoken Milo Griffin (Jonah Hauer-King, who made a bland Prince Eric in Disney's live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid”) and haunted recovering addict Stevie Ward (“Tiny Beautiful Things'” Sarah Pidgeon) start getting threats that start with a greeting card with the titular accusation and sharply escalate from there.
Freddy Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson in a scene from "I Know What You Did Last Summer." (Photo by Brook Rushton. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.)
Yes, the story is most blatantly recycled goods, as history repeats itself, and these beautiful young people become targets of a sadistic boogeyman on a fishing spree of the homo sapiens kind. Like the cast of the original, which included the likes of Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr., there is an air of entitlement with these Gen-Zers who discover their privilege is no obstacle to a cunning murderer's machinations. (Some of the stars of the original film pop up here, in varying degrees of relevance to the plot. Fans will likely be glad to see them, but with one clever exception, they were not missed.)
Sarah Pidgeon as Stevie Ward, Madelyn Cline as Danica Richards and Chase Sui Wonders in a scene from "I Know What You Did Last Summer." (Photo by Brook Rushton. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.)
Unlike the OG cast, these kids are, for the most part, actually likable, even Teddy, whose jerkitude blossoms into genuine devotion. And whereas the 1997 film was undone by a tired climax and a lame mystery at its center, the new “Summer” keeps you guessing in amusing ways. While it's not terribly difficult to figure out who's behind all the mayhem, this whodunit is held aloft by Robinson's tongue-in-cheek insouciance.
It might not reach the delirious heights of, say, the “Child's Play” sequel “Bride of Chucky,” but that kind of campy abandon, suffused with genuine empathy for her characters, is clearly what the filmmaker is after here.
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” '25 doesn't have the most inventive kills, though they are staged with uncluttered efficiency, and there is some disquieting imagery that manages to be glossy and grisly at the same time. It does feature a stronger cast than the original, including (I promise this is not a spoiler) more than one queer character, something that Robinson introduces with casual nonchalance. This is refreshing to see, and in the context of major genre releases, it's something that should be pointed out and commended, because it's rendered a non-issue. (See also: the gay couple at the center of M. Night Shyamalan's “Knock at the Cabin.”)
The Fisherman in a scene from "I Know What You Did Last Summer." (Photo by Matt Kennedy. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.)
The new film comes after two “Scream” “requels” in recent years, and while it might not feature a sequence as visceral as the New York City convenience store showdown in “Scream VI,” I much prefer Robinson's breezier take, a clear contrast with the self-referential overkill of the “Scream” reboots.
The director shows more clarity in her portrayal of class warfare than the 1997 film ever did, and does so with a wink and a smile. She's crafted a popcorn flick that hacks above its weight, not particularly scary, but silly and fun. It's tempting to call it a guilty pleasure, but this satisfied reviewer does not feel the least bit guilty about enjoying it.
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” is now showing across South Florida in wide release, including Regal South Beach, Silverspot Cinema in downtown Miami, CMX Brickell City Centre, Cinépolis in Coconut Grove, AMC Aventura 24 and Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale.
