Here’s the thing about sequels: people should actually remember the original if you’re going to make a follow-up film almost 30 years later. In 1997, the original I Know What You Did Last Summer had a cast of up-and-comers that had already made a splash (or were about to) on television—people like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Ryan Phillippe. There was a sequel a year later, a direct-to-video sequel in 2006, and even a short-lived TV series in 2021. But honestly, the primary reason the first film got the attention it did was because it was written by Kevin Williamson, the same guy who wrote the original Scream a year earlier and went on to create the wildly popular Dawson’s Creek for television.
There was nothing particularly clever or exciting about the film's silent killer, a guy in a rain slicker wielding a hook who left written notes a year after the original group of teens accidentally hit a pedestrian with their car on July 4. The notes decried “I know what you did last summer,” leaving the kids rattled and not knowing how to react or respond, which is good because most of them got served up by this murderous fisherman. In the latest installment, and since the so-called Southport Massacre of 1997, a real estate tycoon has come into the dying community, bought up a great number of properties, and scrubbed the internet of the killings, making a hefty profit in selling the homes he now owns. As a result, a lot of young people in the community don’t know the specifics of the original incident. That is a huge problem when the killings start again, one year after another group of youngsters contributed to the accidental death of a stranger on the winding roads surrounding Southport.
Like the kids 30 years earlier, this bunch decides to keep the details a secret, hoping not to ruin the lives of all involved. Ava (Chase Sui Winder, Bodies Bodies Bodies) has returned to Southport after a long absence to take part in her best friend Danica’s (Madelyn Cline, Glass Onion) engagement party to Teddy (Tyriq Withers). Also on hand are Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), Ava’a ex-boyfriend from high school, and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon, The Friend), a friend of the group who has drifted from their inner circle. It just so happens she’s the bar manager at a place run by Prinze’s Ray Bronson, the only survivor of the original massacre who still lives in town (as we find out later, there are others who have wisely moved far away).
When we skip ahead a year, we find out that Danica is about to marry a different guy after Teddy lost his mind a little in the wake of the accident and now lives alone on a boat. Stevie has become Danica’s new bestie, and all seems right with the world until Danica gets a familiar anonymous note about the previous summer’s events. Since the guy in the car is definitely dead, we immediately suspect that someone who knew him is seeking revenge and using the MO from the original massacre to get the job done.
Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge, and writer of Thor: Love and Thunder), the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sometimes goes out of its way to mirror or mimic the original film, embarrassingly so in most cases. It’s a murder mystery that’s impossible to solve because there are no clues given until the second before the killer is revealed in a random photo on the wall. And even then, there’s a twist that’s even more idiotic than the initial reveal. Ava eventually seeks help from Julie James (Love Hewitt), who left town after marrying then divorcing Ray, so the two aren’t exactly happy to be reunited. But her involvement in the actual mystery is minimal, and she seems present more for the legacy factor than any actual purpose. The kills aren't especially original, and they’re just bloody and gruesome enough to get an R rating but not enough to satisfy my horror-loving brain.
But perhaps the film’s biggest sin is being boring and giving us characters that are complete assholes, even the ones that don’t start out that way. They’d rather make snarky comments, take no responsibility for their actions, and cover their own asses than do anything productive, responsible, or altruistic. I suppose that was always the point of the original film—that the selfish should pay for their crimes—but in this film, we’re the ones who pay the ultimate price. And to add insult to injury, Love Hewitt and Prinze aren’t the only two legacy characters that make appearances in the film; I won’t ruin the surprises (including one in the mid-credits slot), but be prepared for the collective groan of an audience that knows it’s being jerked around.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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