Man, the feelings I have for this movie are mixed...
I really don't think I can give a better review than that simple sentence, but I will try. The 2025 version of I Know What You Did Last Summer (which I will refer to as I Know... for the rest of this review) does so many things right that I want to give it a high score simply for avoiding so many of the dangerous mistakes that have plagued legacy sequels in this genre (think the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the two worse movies in the recent Halloween trilogy) but manages to make a few new ones of its own that make me want to almost immediately take back all the points it earned.
Set 27 years after the original movie, this sequel follows a new group that makes a similar - though noticeably different - mistake that results in the death of someone they don't know. They agree to keep it a secret, but one year later Ava (Chase Sui Wonders) receives a note very similar to the one received by Julie in the original. People start to die, the police are of no help, and the group of now-estranged friends have to figure out who was connected to their victim and how to stop them.
If this sounds the same as the original, that is intentional. The movie knows the formula and isn't going to mess with it too much - there will be subversions and twists, but nothing that will seriously rock the boat. It's honestly kind of refreshing that the movie isn't pretending to be more than it is (a problem that has plagued many other legacy sequels) and the subversions it does scatter throughout are enough to keep it fresh.
The performances are mostly good, with returning actors Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr being best in show. Which is not to say the newcomers are bad: Chase Sui Wonders does a great job, and Madelyn Cline as lead Danica Richards is a worthy successor to Hewitt's Julie James. The other members of the friend group - Milo, Teddy, and Stevie (Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, and Sarah Pidgeon) have less to do, but all of the actors do a good job of portraying a fractured friend group.
Again, this movie gets so much right that it is frustrating to see it fail in several substantial ways. The biggest is the reveal of the killer. I don't think anyone was really surprised at the reveal, which really kills the tension as the climax approaches, and it also doesn't feel very earned. It's a weird thing to feel about a teen-oriented slasher, but for the character selected to be the murderer to work, there needs to be better build-up - especially if they are going to have to sell a 'killer monologue' at the same time.
The movie also struggles a bit with the side characters. While some are very obviously meant to be cannon fodder, some still feel like substantial portions of their character were cut. In particular, Tyler (Gabbriette Bechtel) feels like she should have been a much larger character that what was in the final cut of the film.
I can't say that casual fans of the genre won't enjoy the movie - I Know... moves at a good pace and is judicious in how it spreads out the kills - but there isn't much in the way of gore or even inventive kills so it the movie so the more hardcore horror fans might only see it if they have nostalgia for the original. However, it is nice to see the familiar faces in this movie, and it is smart enough to hint at two possible hooks for sequels (no pun intended).
I'll tentatively give it a 6 out of 10 - but I could see it moving in either direction after more time sitting on it.
