Slasher films derive thrill and tension from how the victims are stalked before they are killed. It could be argued that the audience feels more fear and dread seeing the victims being stalked than when they are actually killed. However, I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025), the recent slasher film, fails to derive any inherent thrill of the genre. If not for thrills, we would at least expect characters, who are fleshed out enough for us to connect with. But the film is devoid of any such well-written characters. The five main characters, Danica (Madelyn Cline), Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), Teddy (Tyriq Withers), and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon), are involved in the death of an unknown person when they stop at a dangerous curve to watch fireworks. Now, the film has a proper motive for the five to be stalked and killed for vengeance. Except Stevie, the other four haven't experienced tragic circumstances. So, when they face their first instance of danger, you would expect them to take it seriously. Instead, the characters are forced to utter funny lines in order to diffuse the tension. But there is no tension in the scenes and no humour in the dialogues.

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cast: Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr, and Sarah Michelle Gellar

The film, to its detriment, relies solely on audiences remembering previous entries in the franchise. A template accident takes place, in which some template characters are involved, who are chased by a template dark figure. But even those scenes are let down due to a lack of proper writing. For example, when Danica hides from the killer in a locker room and is still found by the killer and almost gets killed, it is the plot armour that saves her, in the form of her friend, and not clever writing. Beyond plot armour, there are also flimsy plot points that justify the existence of certain characters. Tyler (Gabbriette Bechtel) is a true crime podcaster who wants to cover the events of the 1997 film. She is shown to be connected to Ava, who calls for her help to investigate the events of the original film to get clues about the latest attacks. But in the end, that is all she turns out to be. Just a tool for the characters to end up at a particular place. In another scene, the film shows the perpetrator killing off a couple of major characters, only to find out later that those characters have survived miraculously. With such decisions, the film's natural flow is broken, distracting the audience continuously.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) wants to be an entertaining film that provides a safe thrill. But it ends up boring the audience that tries to dip their toe into a new franchise by having nothing to care about. It ends up letting down the fans of the original through a plot that subverts the legacy of the original. It lets down the fans of the slasher genre in its aim of trying to be considered as a serious film. In the end, it serves up only as a tentpole film that tries too hard to reboot an old franchise.