What’s It About

When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. One year later, the past comes back to haunt them as they learn someone knows what they did last summer. Stalked by a mysterious killer, they soon seek help from two survivors of the legendary Southport massacre of 1997.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

The new “I Know What You Did Last Summer” brings back the bloody fun of late 90s horror movies, but with a modern twist that actually works pretty well. Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson takes the basic idea from the original 1997 film and makes it feel fresh again, even though she keeps the same title, which gets confusing. Just like the first movie, this one starts with a group of friends who accidentally kill someone in a car crash. Five friends – Danica, Ava, Milo, Teddy, and Stevie – are driving around on the Fourth of July when they cause a deadly accident. Instead of calling for help, they decide to cover it up and walk away. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s basically the same setup as before. A year later, someone starts hunting them down with a fishing hook, wearing the classic yellow raincoat we remember from the original. The killer picks them off one by one, just like old times. But this version adds more victims and makes the deaths way more brutal than the 1997 version ever did. Here’s where this movie gets better than the original. The five main characters feel like real people instead of just pretty faces waiting to get killed. Madelyn Cline plays Danica as someone who’s self-centered but still funny and charming. The friendships between these characters seem genuine, especially between Danica and Ava and between Teddy and Milo. The movie also does something smart by bringing back Freddie Prinze Jr and Jennifer Love Hewitt. as Julie and Ray from the original film. They’re not just there for cheap nostalgia – they actually help the story move forward and show how the events from 1997 still affect them today. Southport, North Carolina, looks completely different now. What used to be a simple fishing town has become a fancy vacation spot for rich people. Teddy’s dad, a wealthy developer, helped clean up the town’s bloody history and turn it into a tourist destination. This change makes the story feel more current and gives it something to say about how money can cover up ugly truths. The movie succeeds because it knows exactly what it is. Robinson keeps the pace moving fast and makes the kill scenes really intense. The special effects look great, and the actors seem to be having fun with the material. When the killer shows up, the characters actually fight back instead of just running around screaming, which makes things more exciting. But the movie has one big problem with its main story. In the original film, the friends were drunk and basically committed murder. Here, they cause an accident that’s more like manslaughter. The guilt doesn’t feel as heavy, and the killer’s reason for revenge seems weaker. It’s harder to believe someone would go on a killing spree over what was basically a tragic mistake. Despite the weaker motivation, the scary parts work really well. The killer looks just as creepy as before, and the death scenes are creative and gross in all the right ways. The movie understands that people want to see good kills in a slasher film, and it delivers plenty of them. The movie also plays with the audience’s expectations in clever ways. It makes jokes about horror movie rules while still following them, and it throws in enough surprises to keep things interesting even if you’ve seen the original. The young cast does a solid job bringing these characters to life. Chase Sui Wonders as Ava and Tyriq Withers as Teddy both give strong performances that make you care about what happens to them. Jennifer Love Hewitt slides right back into her role as Julie. Her character feels relaxed and lived-in with Freddie Prinze Jr. Robinson’s direction is confident, she really knows how to ramp up on the tension and when to dial it back, often with humor or action. The movie looks stylish but never feels ostentatious and the North Carolina backdrop feels authentic. “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (2025) won’t win any awards, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It brings back the fun of 90s teen horror while updating the formula for today’s audiences. The movie works best when it focuses on the friendships and the killer’s reign of terror, and it stumbles a bit when it tries to justify why all this violence is happening. If you liked the original or simply want a horror movie that does not really take itself seriously, this movie is a good choice. It has enough bloodshed, scares, and laughter to keep you entertained. Plus it paves the way for future films in a way that actually makes you want to see them. The movie proves that sometimes going back to what worked before isn’t such a bad idea, especially when you bring enough new ideas to make the trip worthwhile. It’s a solid summer horror flick that delivers exactly what it promises – a bloody good time.

OUR RATING – AN AUTHENTIC-ISH 7

MEDIA

• Genre – Horror
• Street date
• Digital – August 26, 2025
• DVD/BluRay/4K  – October 7, 2025
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size – 2.39:1
• Sound – English, French 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English and French Audio Desription Tracks 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras

• Return to Southport (HD 9:11)
• Chills, Kills, and Thrills (HD 10:33)
• Outakes & Bloopers (HD 2:44)
• Deleted Scenes (HD 7:59 Total)
  • Grant Covers It Up
  • Arriving at Southport
  • Ray’s Bar
  • Alternate Post Credit