It feels like, with the release of the requel to I Know What You Did Last Summer, we may be coming to the end of a particular cycle in the horror genre.
The Halloween and Scream series’ have both undergone modern makeovers with varying results amongst die hard fans, but both translated into box office gold.
What we have in Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s take on the I Know… lore is a hybrid creature, that feels at odds with the past and the present.
In fact, the best parts of the new version are when it breaks new ground, with characters that are fleshed out before being put in peril at the end of the fisherman’s hook.
The kills are inventive and have a nasty streak I wasn’t fully expecting, which felt more in line with I Still Know What You Did Last Summer than the original.
We have some welcome turns in the story, but it feels like when Robinson goes nostalgia baiting the film falls a bit flat. There is one sequence where two characters are literally spewing lines from the first film at each other, in a way that felt forced and unncessary.
In terms of legacy input, its a mixed bag. Love Hewitt is reliable and gets a comfortable amount of screentime, and Prinze Jr. feels slightly more evolved as a character. Without spoilers, there was one moment I would consider the ‘jump the shark’ moment that took me out of the movie, but that aside its nice to see them again, even if this is not the Julie and Ray that original fans saw back in 97/98.
Fans of the original series will lap this up, but I feel that newer audiences may not grasp the easter eggs sprinkled all over this.
If you had a good time with it, make sure you stay for the post-credits, as you will smiling from ear to ear.
My immediate thought walking out of the theatre was, I was glad i saw this fun and goofy slasher, but I don’t think I need another trip to Southport again anytime soon.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) is out now in UK cinemas.
Bloody Flicks 