Original starsJennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.return in supporting roles for an easy cash grab inI Know What You Did Last Summer,a sequel to the 1997 film thatslashes its way into the Gen Z era with a dull blade. This utterly nonsensical recycled reboot is more of the same, featuring a lack of scares, manufactured suspense and a sluggish runtime that will test discerning viewers' patience. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce the killer, who’s obvious from the start. But fans of the original and those who enjoy mindless carnage may enjoy it as a summer treat.
The tedious bloodbath begins whenAva (Chase Sui Wonders)returns to fictional Southport, North Carolina, for the engagement party of her high school best friends.Danica (Madelyn Cline)and Teddy (Tyriq Withers), the son of a wealthy developer (Billy Campbell), throw a lavish bash with Ava’s ex-boyfriend Milo (Jonah Hauer-King) also in attendance. The two couples see down-on-her-luckStevie (Sarah Pidgeon), another former classmate, working the party, and invite her along for a late-night drive to watch the Fourth of July fireworks. Needless to say, things do not go according to plan.
Gen Z Carnage
I Know What You Did Last Summer
A year later, a changed Ava comes back to Southport with lusty podcaster Tyler (Gabbriette Bechtel) in tow. Danica has moved on from Teddy and is now engaged to Wyatt (Joshua Orpin), but their engagement party gets a buzzkill when Danica opens an anonymous card with “I Know What You Did Last Summer” written inside. The uneasy group reassembles to mull its meaning when a mysterious murder spree commences. Ava realizes their situation mirrors exactly what happened nearly 30 years ago, and decides to reach out to the survivors of that serial killer for help.
I Know What You Did Last Summercould have been funif the characters had even a sliver of self-preservation. There’s no thought of sticking together or getting firearms as a means of protection. The cast repeatedly serve themselves up as hapless mincemeat by engaging in tired horror tropes. There’s never a second where you take their actions seriously. The gorgeous actors run around flailing and wailing while the masked Fisherman hooks and punctures with impunity. This was done to emulate the spirit of the first film, but it’s absolutely foolish when their attacker is unstoppable for no reason.
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Ring in the new year with a heavy dose of nostalgia.
Some may cite checking their brains at the door as an excuse for a poor script, saying that this is pop horror and not meant to be overly scrutinized. Sit back, relax and just let the formulaic screams work their entertainment magic. But that’s not a recipe for success when a character literally knocks the Fisherman down and inexplicably walks away, leaving their back turned like a bullseye for stabbing. Willing suspension of disbelief can only go so far before eye-rolling and groans of exasperation set in.
I Know What You Did Last Summer’sbiggest failure is that it’s not remotely scary. Even the jump scares are broadcast from a mile away, almost as if director/co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) didn’t want to push the envelope with legitimate fright. She plays it safe when there are multiple opportunities to make the audience drop their popcorn. She focuses on bonding moments in the aftermath of trauma, but these therapy sessions decrease the tension instead of ramping it up for greater effect. The result is a spinning wheel of death, tears and hugs that drags considerably.
A Freddie Prinze Jr. Sighting
The violence suffices, but there’s no real creativity to the massacre as arteries spurt and the fishhook does its gory business with a mechanical approach. One scene does stand out as particularly gruesome, but everything else is much tamer in comparison.Slasher flick deaths usually get bigger and bolder to elicit cheers, but there’s an air of complacency here in not even attempting to push boundaries. Kills don’t have to beFinal Destinationsavage to get viewers' adrenaline flowing, but Robinson colors within the lines with little thought to the extremes.
I Know What You Did Last Summeris not a total loss, however, as its likable female leads do resonate. Despite being mostly damsels in distress,Wonders and Cline succeed with a tinge of female empowerment. They’re vivacious and bold in scenes where murder isn’t on the plate. Ava and Danica aren’t shy about servicing their physical needs when the mood arises. This is a departure from the first film, in which characters weren’t drinking from cups that say “tears of the patriarchy.” That’ll probably spark some consternation, but it honestly shouldn’t.
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Freddie Prinze Jr. confirms how involved he and Jennifer Love Hewitt are in the next installment of the ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ franchise.
Hewitt and Prinze Jr. also have limited roles that change their characters' dynamics. No spoilers, but they’re pure fan service.I Know What You Did Last Summer’sending leaves a lot to be desired— you get the feeling that it was written first, and the entire film was crafted to fit that specific agenda. It’s a dud regardless.
I Know What You Did Last Summeris a production of Columbia Pictures and Original Film. It will be released theatrically on July 18th by Sony Pictures.
