'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Review: A Gore-Soaked Nostalgia Trip With Gen-Z Drama That Works In Parts

A Bloody Reunion with a Gen Z Upgrade

In the age of reboots, revivals and multiverse mayhem, it was only a matter of time before the rain-soaked streets of Southport re-emerged from horror’s back shelf. The new chapter kicks off with Ava, played by Chase Sui Wonders, who returns to her beachside hometown still haunted by a fatal incident that took place one foggy Fourth of July. Joining her are a familiar stew of twenty-somethings including Danica, Milo, Teddy and Stevie, each of whom carries more secrets than character depth.

When a mysterious message appears a year after a suspicious car accident, all signs point to the gang being stalked by someone who knows exactly what they did and has the waterproof boots to prove it. Enter the hook-wielding menace in the fisherman’s slicker and the past quite literally comes to kill.

What makes this iteration different is its eager attempt to balance new-age issues with old-school slasher rhythms. Trauma is tweeted, therapy is avoided and every ominous death is followed by a hot take. It is messy, meta and occasionally murderously fun.

Freddie, Jennifer and the Return of the 90s Heartthrobs

Yes, the originals are back. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt return as Ray and Julie, older, angrier and now professionally sad. The two share a tense and refreshingly grounded scene that adds an unexpected dash of pathos to an otherwise glossy bloodbath. They are not here for cameos. They are woven into the fabric of the mystery, even if the stitching is a little loose.

Julie now teaches literature because trauma apparently makes you a better professor, while Ray has turned into the kind of grizzled coastal man who probably files complaints about the town’s new tourist traps. Their reappearance is both fan service and narrative necessity, adding stakes that the younger cast does not quite generate on their own. Throughout the runtime, which is a meagre 1 hr 52 minutes, you anticipate and wonder how their actual reunion will be and the first occasion it happens on is rather underwhelming despite the exchange of quirky remarks at each other. The second meeting they have in the film is exactly the banana-town you expect it should have been resulting in some guilty fun.

Aesthetic Slay Where the Gore Looks Like a Music Video

Robinson, who previously helmed Do Revenge, brings the same high-sheen energy to the slasher formula. The kills are brutally stylized and framed like perfume commercials with arterial spray. It is all moody lighting, slow-motion panic and choreography that sometimes outpaces believability. One particular death scene involving a crab shack, an Instagram Live and a hilariously timed blood geyser feels straight out of a TikTok fever dream.

The visuals scream big budget, a rare treat for a slasher. There is genuine production value here, even if it occasionally overcompensates for narrative hollowness. The coastal town of Southport has never looked more expensive, though it still makes no geographical sense.

Who Are You People and Why Should We Care

The new ensemble is full of familiar young faces from TV and streaming but most of their characters are as thin as the summer dresses they bleed through. Ava gets the most screen time but her internal world is a patchwork of dramatic signifiers such as dead mom, queer identity and emotional withdrawal without much substance holding them together. Madelyn Cline’s Danica has the potential to steal scenes but is often saddled with exposition or reaction shots.

There is an underlying issue with how the film defines its characters by their trauma without actually exploring it. Everyone is either coping badly or ignoring the problem entirely and while that might sound like realism it does not translate to good screenwriting. The dialogue leans hard into ironic Gen Z-isms and while a few lines land others feel generated by a meme page run by a forty-year-old intern. I will admit that a few dialogues mouthed by Danica almost feel unpleasant and awkward, and one wonders if this commentary on how Gen-Z's operate in the worst possible situation. Nevertheless, after a point, you end up laughing at it, and maybe that was the intention in the first place.

A Slasher That Knows It Is a Reboot and Still Trips Over Itself

Where Robinson succeeds is in recognizing that I Know What You Did Last Summer was never meant to be a masterpiece. It was a popcorn thriller in a raincoat designed to keep you guessing between kills. Her version embraces the camp and melodrama but struggles when it tries to say something deeper about grief guilt or societal systems. There is lip service to class divides and addiction but the movie does not stick around long enough to unpack any of it.

Despite its flaws the film is a giddy swing at revitalizing a forgotten corner of horror history. Unlike the Scream franchise which evolved into commentary on itself this reboot mostly just wants to show you a good time. And for the most part it does. Keyword being 'mostly'.

Scooby Doo With a Body Count

Once the bodies start piling up the mystery kicks into overdrive. Is the killer a ghost from the past? A member of the friend group? A relative with a grudge and a knack for timing? The script delights in pointing fingers and leads the audience through enough red herrings to open a seafood buffet. While the final reveal strains logic it does provide a satisfyingly absurd payoff.

This film does not aim for psychological horror. It aims for the kind of over-the-top twist that will have group chats buzzing and Reddit threads theorizing. It is all part of the fun and yes there is a mid-credits scene so wild it might qualify as high camp. Fans who have followed the franchise through its many lives will either cackle or cringe. Possibly both.

Worth the Trip Back to Southport

I Know What You Did Last Summer is neither a reinvention nor a total rehash. It is a neon-drenched blood-splattered update with moments of brilliance some genuine laughs and a few genuinely dumb decisions. It wants to be smart and scary and nostalgic all at once and while it does not quite thread that needle it leaves a pretty entertaining scar.

It is not quite the horror event of the year but it is self-aware enough to lean into its own ridiculousness and polished enough to feel like a proper theatrical experience. For fans of the original it offers enough callbacks to satisfy the craving. For new viewers it is a slick crash course in slasher storytelling. Whether that is enough to carry it into another sequel remains to be seen but at least this summer the fisherman has some new bait and it is not half bad.

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