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Join UsStar Cast: Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt
Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
What’s Good: The slasher formula remains true and proven, so watching the characters die is always fun.
What’s Bad: The revival doesn’t do anything to stand out, and what is there feels rather generic and played out.
Loo Break: Missing the killings might be a bad idea when they are the only element that really makes the film watchable.
Watch or Not?: Only watch if you are a huge fan of the slasher genre. If you aren’t, there is very little here to justify the ticket price.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 111 Minutes
User Rating:
A couple of years ago, Paramount Pictures managed to revive one of its most famous horror franchises, Scream, with great success, and this meant that Hollywood would see that the genre was still profitable and that there was a demand for it out there. The result of such success is a new revival, that of I Know What You Did Last Summer, a lesser version of Scream and Final Destination that is here once again to plead for audiences’ attention, but it might be harder than the studio thinks with this level of quality.
I Know What You Did Last Summer Movie Review: Script Analysis
When the first I Know What You Did Last Summer released way back in 1997, the slasher genre was at its best, and it was king of the horror genre and also an easy way to make money on a low budget, like it is the case with most horror films. However, even though the sequel wasn’t especially terrible, it was clear that I Know What You Did Last Summer wouldn’t reach the heights of other slasher films like the previously mentioned Scream, and so the series was put to rest, at least on the big screen.
And so, it is very strange to see that this revival doesn’t really try to do anything different from the previous entries. Because of that, while it feels like what the movie should be, it isn’t what it needs to be to survive in this more volatile and competitive scenario. With a script penned by Robinson herself, there are definitely changes when it comes to the time period, but the premise of a group of young people being punished for something they did continues, and it works, partially.
The slasher genre, just like the romantic comedy genre, follows a strict set of rules, and this new reboot does just that. This means that if you have seen one of these films before, you will pretty much see everything coming your way. There is effort in trying to make something fresh, and one of the main twists is just that, but there are so many other trappings following the classic slasher template that they don’t amount to have the impact they should.
Character work is also very sketchy, like it is in most of the films in the genre. While the characters are fine, the film doesn’t allow them to be developed or profound in any way, and because of this, it is hard to care about whether they live or die.
I Know What You Did Last Summer Movie Review: Star Performance
Like the original film’s cast, this new I Know What You Did Last Summer is filled with brand-new talent worth checking out, but the film definitely doesn’t feel like it is filled with future stars. I could definitely be wrong, but only time will tell. As such, all actors do fine. The material only allows them to do a bit of proper acting, of transforming themselves into other people, but it is enough to keep the film going as we wait for the next kill.
Madelyn Cline is definitely the stand-out, and she feels like the only big star that could come out of the franchise, at least for now. However, it is hard to judge the actors when the material is so outdated and at times cringeworthy.
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I Know What You Did Last Summer Movie Review: Direction, Music
Robinson is a solid director. In fact, her previous film, Do Revenge, was actually quite good, a film filled with charm. So it is a shame that the conventions of the slasher genre seem to have restrained her options when it comes to some plot points. It could have been so much better, but there was probably no chance of doing that in a big production like this one.
On the other hand, the technical aspects of the film are competent. They’re nothing to write home about, but nothing to be amazed at either. Robinson definitely has a lot more personality to display than what she does here, so we can only hope the film is successful enough to allow her that freedom.
I Know What You Did Last Summer Movie Review: The Last Word
As it stands, I Know What You Did Last Summer feels like a new version of the original film that modernizes certain aspects while keeping the essence of the original intact, with the issue that this constrains the creatives, and doesn’t allow them to really go crazy with the concept. It is a competent film, but to really stand out in this wild cinema environment that we live in today, I Know What You Did Last Summer just needed a lot more spark behind it.
I Know What You Did Last Summer Trailer
I Know What You Did Last Summer released on 18th July, 2025.
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