The new I Know What You Did Last Summer sticks closely to the blueprint of the 1997 slasher: a group of privileged young adults are hunted down by a rain-slicker-clad killer wielding an ice hook. Even some of the original cast is back for the ride.
“It feels like 1997 all over again. So much nostalgia,” says returning star Freddie Prinze Jr. His co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt quips in response: “Nostalgia is overrated.”
It’s a self-aware moment in a “legacy sequel” that tries to breathe life into a long-dormant franchise by mixing familiar faces with fresh blood. The film delivers nods to the original alongside its gory updates—one moment winking, the next gouging an eye.
But by copying the structure and even the title of the original, the 2025 version feels caught between eras. It doesn’t quite carve out a bold new direction, nor does it fully escape the shadow of the past.
