I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (2025) Movie Poster | ©2025 Sony/Columbia/Screen Gems

Rating: R
Stars: Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Billy Campbell, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gabriette Bechtel, Austin Nichols, Joshua Orpin, Georgia Flood, Nick Farnell, Nick Hardcastle
Writers: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson & Sam Lansky, story by Leah McKendrick & Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, based on characters created by Lois Duncan
Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Distributor: Sony/Columbia/Screen Gems
Release Date: July 18, 2025

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER started out as a YA novel by Lois Duncan, first published in 1973. It was adapted as an R-rated teen slasher in 1997, followed by a 1998 sequel, I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. (There’s also the 2006 I’LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, but that isn’t part of the current continuity.)

Now we’re back to the 2025 edition of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. The screenplay by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who also directed, & Sam Lansky, from a story by Leah McKendrick & Robinson, does an impressive job of putting together a new R-rated slasher with rational (in this context) reasons for bringing back characters and iconography from the original.

The small coastal town of Southport, North Carolina has done its best to cover up and forget about the 1997 murder spree, but reminders will surface soon enough.

It’s the Fourth of July, and former couple Ava (Chase Sui Wonders) and Milo (Jonah Hauer-King) have returned to town for the engagement party of their respective best friends, wealthy Danica (Madelyn Cline) and even wealthier Teddy (Tyriq Withers). After the celebration, the four decide to go for a drive to watch the fireworks. They invite old high school buddy Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) to join them.

Alcoholic Teddy isn’t at the wheel, but does something that unintentionally causes a pickup truck to crash off the road, through the guardrail, and into the sea. Panicked, Teddy insists that his father, successful real estate developer Grant (Billy Campbell), can deal with the police, but none of them can ever speak of what really happened.

Danica thinks Teddy has the right idea. Milo is ambivalent, but ultimately sides with them. Stevie and Ava both want to go down to the crash site to see if the pickup driver is still alive, but ultimately Stevie capitulates, and finally Ava agrees to silence.

By the following Fourth of July, Ava and Milo have returned to town. Ava brings along a new friendly acquaintance, true-crime podcaster Tyler (Gabriette Bechtel), who is an expert of Southport’s bloody history.

And then Danica gets an anonymous note …

Since they are prominently featured in the advertising, it’s not a spoiler to note that 1997 I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. return in their old roles. The new edition makes smart use of both their characters, and both actors have fun with their older, wiser and snarkier characters.

Wonders brings integrity and intelligence to Ava. Cline has crack comedic timing as daffy Danica, and Withers is expressive with Teddy’s mood swings.

Director Robinson pays homage to the first movie with the staging of several sequences, as well as a few nifty surprises. Some jump scares work, some don’t, but what’s consistent here is the clear affection between the group of friends. We invest in them emotionally because they are palpably invested in each other.

As slasher franchise expansions go, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER doesn’t reinvent any wheels, but it does what it is supposed to do efficiently and generally entertainingly.

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