After the new ‘Scream’ films hit our screens in the early 2020s, it became clear to the legacy cast of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ that their film might be next to be resurrected. Freddie Prinze Jr., one of the core four of the original seaside slasher film, said so himself. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (‘Do Revenge,’ ‘Unpregnant’), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Lansky, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ is a bloody, morally grey slasher film that also confidently announces a generation of new stars. Greenlit by Sony Pictures in late 2022 after Robinson and screenwriter Leah McKendrick pitched a bold, bloody legacy sequel that would bridge the franchise’s past and present. Starring ‘Outer Banks’ breakout Madelyn Cline, ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ and ‘The Studio’ cast-member Chase Sui Wonders, ‘The Little Mermaid’ reboot’s Prince Eric Jonah Hauer-King, and star of the upcoming Jordan Peele produced film ‘Him’ Tyriq Withers, the ensemble of rising stars must fend off another hook wielding killer 28 years after the Tower Bay Murders of the first film.
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Robinson’s mix of Gen Z darlings and 1990s royalty makes the themes of regret haunt and linger. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt returned for the new film, and their characters are forced to revisit the trauma, guilt, and shame resulting from their decades-old crime. Taking on mentor roles in the reboot, the pair must guide the group of teens through the aftermath of accidentally killing a pedestrian during a wild summer night. In eerie synchronicity, the five friends do not call the cops and instead cover up the murder. One year later, the group is hunted by the same stalker who plagues the original film, a hook-wielding, black slicker-wearing killer wanting revenge. When the body count begins to rise, the teens track down the only known survivors of the 1997 Southport massacre: Julie (Love Hewitt) and Ray (Prinze Jr.).
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How Does the 2025 Version Hold Up?
The 2025 update opens with a sweeping seascape, mirroring the original film’s foggy prologue. The rocky cliffs and crashing waves set a slick, imposing tone, perfect for the no-longer-sleepy fishing town of Southport. It has become “The Hamptons of the South,” following the since-forgotten 1997 murders of the first film. The gentrified coastal enclave where privilege runs deep is perfect for a group of characters where accountability is shallow. We meet the ensemble at Danica’s (Madelyn Cline) engagement party to Teddy (Tyriq Withers). Lines like “It’s not astrology, it’s sympathy” perfectly capture the film’s Gen Z lexicon and absurdist self-awareness.
Chase Sui Wonders plays Ava, who emerges as the film’s spiritual successor to Hewitt’s Julie, and is anxious, wounded, and an anchor to the story with a blend of irony and genuine pathos. Jonah Hauer-King plays the new Ray, sweet, guilty, and a bit of an everyman. Tyriq Withers is the brash, impulsive one– the clear Ryan Phillippe of the film– while Sarah Pidgeon brings bitter, cutting intelligence to her role as Stevie. However, the archetypes of the first film to meld, fold, and nuance over the film’s run time, filled with many unlikely saviors and even more unlikely tensions. The group’s chemistry crescendoes during a high-octane Jeep ride up the coastal cliffs, echoing the reckless freedom and class-inflected entitlement that ignites the original film’s central tragedy.
The morality of the hit-and-run is debated through sharp dialogue: “You guys can afford fancy lawyers and I can’t.” “Nobody knows Teddy was in the middle of the street.” “My dad’s gonna take care of everything.” These lines reveal not only the fractures between friends but also the class tensions that define the new narrative. ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (2025) is, at its core, a movie about realizing your friends are selfish, and maybe even dangerous.
The local lore from 1997 is reopened not by police, but by a true crime podcast hosted by Gabriette’s character, Tyler. She sports retro “Helen Shivers” merch to capitalize on vintage murder culture. It’s a clever meta twist that links influencer culture and trauma commodification: everyone’s pain is content. One particularly ridiculous meta moment references the AMC Nicole Kidman ad: “We come to this place for magic,” Teddy remarks at the fireworks show. This is just one example of the film’s groan-worthy moments.
Julie and Ray’s return deepens the film’s themes. Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) now owns a bar in Southport, never having left the town or his past behind; Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is a psychology professor who’s turned her trauma into theory. She sips from a “Tears of the Patriarchy” mug and reminds her students that “Trauma changes the brain in mysterious and complex ways.” They were married, we learn, but their shared guilt left their marriage shattered. Their entrance into the film is part of the broader meditation on how unresolved shame and generational trauma resurface. Hewitt delivers quite the mic drop: “I just have one question… What did you do last summer?”
By the third act, a twist villain emerges. It’s telegraphed early, but still lands with nasty satisfaction. Ray asks, “Isn’t that nostalgic?” Julie replies: “Nostalgia is overrated.” That sentiment sums up the movie’s best instinct, using nostalgia not as a crutch but as a Trojan horse. The film leans on legacy to attract fans, but undercuts it with surprising cynicism. Visually, there’s a foggy cemetery sequence and a glitzy yacht set piece that add variety to the coastal slasher aesthetic. One legacy character makes a surprise appearance—no spoilers—and the finale is awash in seawater, guilt, and gore.
So, does it all work?
Kind of. This movie kind of sucks, but it’s a little bit fun. The tone is uneven, the middle act drags, and most of the kills feel empty. But it’s also inventive, sharply cast, and at points genuinely entertaining. Like its characters, the film doesn’t know whether to take responsibility or lean into chaos.
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The Original Trilogy and Its Unique Hook
The original ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (1997) is surely not the smartest horror film of the 1990s, but its unique seaside setting and hook-welding villain surely make it one of its most atmospheric. Based loosely on Lois Duncan’s 1973 novel of the same name, which was more of a psychological, thematic thriller than a body count slasher, the film ditched the slow-burn tension for sharp hooks and hot teen stars. The script, written by ‘Scream’ alum Kevin Williamson, follows four friends in a sleepy North Carolina fishing town who accidentally hit a man with their car and toss his body off a cliff. Set on the Fourth of July, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (1997) is a haunting, foggy seaside slasher exploring themes of guilt and secrecy. Starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as the scholarly, guilt-ridden Julie, Freddie Prinze Jr. as her boyfriend, Ray, Ryan Phillipe as the douchey, wealthy Barry, and Sarah Michelle Geller as pageant queen, Helen, the film finds the quartet navigating the aftermath of their hit and run murder. A year after their crime, the guilt-ridden Julie receives a letter from an unknown source. It reads “I know what you did last summer.”
The 1997 film introduced a visually striking villain, the Fisherman, a rain-slicked, faceless killer wielding a steel hook. While ‘Scream’ brilliantly critiqued horror tropes with razor-sharp wit, ‘IKWYDLS’ is more interested in moody dread, its characters not nearly as smart and its themes not nearly as interesting as Williamson’s predecessor. The interesting setup is undercut by the slasher formula, with uninteresting side characters being picked off to do little more than spice up the drama and pad the run time. However, there are flashes of insight, especially in Julie’s attempted rebellion from her friends’ cover-up plan, and Helen’s Broadway dreams being shattered by her guilt. However, once the killing starts, the moral tension gets swept out to sea.
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Its sequel, ‘I Still Know What You Did Last Summer’ (1998), leaned further into B-movie territory, setting the slashing on a tropical island, yet the addition of Brandy and Mekhi Phifer awards the film some points. ‘I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer’ (2006), when direct-to-video, completely recast its star and veered into supernatural nonsense. With the third film, the franchise lay dormant for decades.
Which Ensemble Wins?
The original film boasted some of the hottest young stars of the late ‘90s: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Ryan Phillippe. It captured a specific era of teen horror stardom, amplified by the WB aesthetic: wide-eyed innocence, lots of yelling, and many tears. Hewitt’s Julie was our guilt-ridden guide; Gellar’s Helen stole the show with her Croaker Queen crown and tragic hair-chop scene. Their arcs were simple, infused with a strange sincerity rarely found in today’s more complex slasher protagonists.
By contrast, the 2025 cast brings a slicker, more stylized energy. Madelyn Cline’s Danica leads the group with a mix of guilt and resolve, while Chase Sui Wonders’ Ava offers dark wit and just enough irony to keep the tension grounded. Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, and Sarah Pidgeon round out the central five, bringing charisma if not quite the same star power. Supporting roles from Gabbriette and Austin Nichols give the film some edge, but it’s Hewitt and Prinze Jr. who ground the chaos with parental familiarity. Their performances, crafted closely with Robinson during development, add emotional heft to the generational handoff.
Prinze Jr. himself has said this was their best work together as Julie and Ray, and it shows. Far from glorified cameos, their roles are woven deeply into the story, reckoning with the moral fallout of surviving a massacre you helped cause.
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Regret, Dread, and Taking Responsibility in ‘IKWYDLS’
The core theme of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ has always been guilt. These are characters who cannot escape the consequences of their actions, no matter how much time passes. In both the 1997 and 2025 versions, the “accident” may have been unintentional, but it reveals the group’s willingness to prioritize self-preservation over justice.
In this new film, the moral ambiguity is even more pronounced. The teens justify, manipulate, and rationalize their silence. There’s a darker edge to the cover-up, and the consequences feel sharper. Robinson directs these themes with intention, blending the genre’s bloody thrills with a deeper examination of inherited trauma, survivor’s guilt, and the cycles of violence. When Julie and Ray reenter the narrative, they’re living proof that secrets never stay buried.
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Are Horror Reboots Even Worth It?
In a post-’Scream’ reboot landscape, horror reboots have to walk quite the tightrope. Be too reverent, and it is stale fan service. Be too subversive, and you risk alienating your core audience. Robinson’s ‘IKWYDLS’ reboot, for all its inconsistencies, does manage to strike the balance. It indulges in the tropes (teenage sins or drinking and sexual escapades, masked killers, and cryptic notes) while subtly critiquing them and bringing them into a new age. There are some meta moments, but they are not overbearing. There is nostalgia, particularly with the return of Hewitt and Prinze Jr., but not at the expense of verve and originality.
Importantly, this is a legacy sequel that respects the message, tone, and characters of its original. Jennifer Love Hewitt told Parade that she would only return if she was given a meaningful role, not a fleeting cameo. Robinson agreed, saying there was “no movie” without her and Prinze Jr., and it is clear they were not just brought back for trailer views, but to add a layer of wisdom to the teen drama.
Still, the film is not without its flaws. Some of the kills lose their punch due to clunky editing. Tonal whiplash strikes in the third act, where serious psychological horror collides with campy splatter. And while Chanda Dancy’s score soars in moments of suspense, the film occasionally lags in pacing. The first few deaths are brutal, fun, and inventive, but the tension cannot carry the audience through the entire runtime. But compared to the direct-to-video disaster that was ‘I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer,’ a supernatural, Colorado-set mess with a strong 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, this film is practically a miracle for the franchise.
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Final Thoughts
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (2025) is a film that understands what made the original work (moody atmosphere, teenage guilt, and a killer with a memorable silhouette) while updating it with new blood, modern subtext, and sharper stakes. It’s not perfect, but it’s an interesting swing that mostly hits. In a summer already full of franchise fatigue, Robinson’s film dares to care about its characters, about its past, and about the legacy of slashers that came before. Whether you’re here for the kills, the coastal vibes, or one last scream with Julie James, this is one reboot that proves the Fisherman’s hook still has bite.
Cast:
Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Gabbriette Bechtel, Austin Nichols, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr.
Crew:
Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Writers: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Sam Lansky, Story By: Leah McKendrick, Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Leah McKendrick, Executive Producers: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Erik Feig, Cinematographer: Kristen Correll, Editor: Saira Haider, Production Designer: Brandon Tonner-Connolly, Costume Designer: Heidi Bivens, Composer: Chanda Dancy, Production Company: Original Film, Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
By Leeann Remiker
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Leeann Remiker is an entertainment writer and UCLA student pursuing degrees in Art History and Political Science with a minor in Film & Television. Passionate about stories that amplify the voices of women and non-binary creators, she blends academic insight with industry experience in creative development and production design. Writing for The Hollywood Insider, Leeann aligns with the platform’s commitment to meaningful, socially conscious entertainment, believing that film and television have the power to challenge norms and shape cultural perceptions. She is particularly drawn to stories that spotlight underrepresented voices and the transformative impact of art.
Leeann Remiker is an entertainment writer and UCLA student pursuing degrees in Art History and Political Science with a minor in Film & Television. Passionate about stories that amplify the voices of women and non-binary creators, she blends academic insight with industry experience in creative development and production design. Writing for The Hollywood Insider, Leeann aligns with the platform’s commitment to meaningful, socially conscious entertainment, believing that film and television have the power to challenge norms and shape cultural perceptions. She is particularly drawn to stories that spotlight underrepresented voices and the transformative impact of art.
