I Know What You Did Last Summer
In the summer of 1997, a generation was introduced to four friends, one grisly secret, and a killer cloaked in shadows. I Know What You Did Last Summer wasn’t just another slasher—it was a cultural moment. With its polished blend of paranoia, guilt, and blood-slicked suspense, the film helped usher in a new wave of teen horror. It had everything: a story that tapped into urban legend, a stacked cast of rising stars (Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr.), and a killer whose looming figure etched itself into the DNA of horror.
Now, 27 years later, I Know What You Did Last Summer is back—with a new cast, a familiar threat, and a legacy to live up to. And according to the people behind it, that legacy is what makes the return so thrilling. In fact, director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, known for her work on Do Revenge, approached the new installment with a deep love for the original. “We made certain that Kevin Williamson’s amazing tone was present, while making sure to offer a fresh take,” she says. “I think the tone rides that perfect line between modern horror and throwback summer slasher.”
Following in the footsteps of horror franchise juggernauts like Scream and Halloween, I Know What You Did Last Summer steps confidently into legacy sequel territory—honoring the past while expanding the mythology for a new generation. Set once again in the coastal town of Southport, North Carolina, the 2025 chapter introduces a new group of longtime friends whose bond is shattered after a devastating accident on the now-infamous Reaper’s Curve.
At the center of the chaos is Ava, played by Bodies Bodies Bodies breakout Chase Sui Wonders, a climate lawyer who returns to Southport a year later for an engagement celebration. She’s joined by childhood friends Danica (Madelyn Cline), Teddy (Tyriq Withers), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon)—a group bound by history, and by a secret that refuses to stay buried.
“What happens at Reaper's Curve [one year earlier] tests Ava, and the group, in ways that you can't really come back from,” explains Wonders. “It's a new reality that everyone has to contend with. This movie was such a blast to be a part of, and to be able to reinvent such an iconic film was both the scariest thing ever and a dream come true for me as an actor.”
The emotional fallout is as front-and-center as the horror. Each character carries their guilt differently, and the fractures between them deepen over time. “Danica and Ava are two peas in a pod,” Cline points out. “They've been best friends forever, and it's one of those friendships that will remain strong—no matter what they go through.” But it’s Danica’s sharp edges—and flashes of unexpected humor—that made her a new genre icon. “What I love about Danica is that she is so unexpectedly funny,” she notes. “I remember that when reading the script for the first time, the character made me laugh; for me, Danica really stood out.”
Wonders and Cline’s dynamic is just one important piece of the puzzle. Milo, Ava’s ex and the group’s moral compass, is also quietly unraveling. “Milo is the voice of reason a lot of the time,” says Hauer-King. “He's practical and rational, and when bad things happen, he's the one who tries to bring everyone down to earth. Milo has really struggled with guilt about the accident. But they all know that how they handled the situation was really bad.”
Teddy, the town’s golden boy with deep roots in Southport’s old money, is another key player in what unfolds at Reaper’s Curve. And the choices he makes in the moment have lasting consequences. “Teddy has a vulnerable side because despite his parents’ resources, there was a lack of real support, and Teddy experienced some real trauma,” explains Withers. “Still, he is always the light of the group. I'd say he's even the glue.”
Stevie, the fifth member of the group, reenters the fold under strained circumstances. “I think Stevie is the realist of the group,” says Pidgeon. “She's a foil to Danica, who has been able to skirt around a lot of consequences in her life. Stevie has not been able to do that. Every time her life has gone off the rails, she's suffered for it.”
As the friends turn on one another and the body count rises, Robinson keeps the tension grounded in consequence. “This movie is about people making a mistake, then making the wrong choice, and the consequences that follow,” she says. “It's a deeply human story. Anyone could mess up like our characters do.”
Visually, the film leans into that contradiction—hot summer skies and cold blood in the water. “When you're murdering a bunch of hot young people, you want it to have that old school Americana feel to it: blue blues, red blood, and beautiful colors and skin tones,” Robinson says. “In designing the film, it was fun to juxtapose the violence with this outwardly beautiful world of Southport, which of course has an underbelly that’s nasty, gory, and violent.”
The Fisherman is also back—reimagined, relentless, and armed with a new weapon. “We needed a new one,” Robinson notes, “so one of the first things I talked about with my production designers was making a brand-new hook and making it as gnarly as humanly possible.”
That brutality is put to unforgettable use in one of the film’s standout cat-and-mouse sequences, which unfolds at Bayside House—a private club where the suspense spirals into full-blown chaos. It’s here that Robinson layers in subtle nods to the now-legendary chase scene featuring Gellar’s Helen Shivers, a moment still revered by slasher fans as one of the genre’s best.
It’s that attention to emotional and visual legacy that makes the return of Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Julie James and Ray Bronson feel earned, not gimmicky. “Julie is all the things that she was but more grown up and wiser,” notes Love Hewitt. “She retains all the gumption and moxie she learned over those earlier stories, and now brings all that with her.”
Love Hewitt says her decision to return came down to Robinson’s approach. “Jenn is truly passionate about I Know What You Did Last Summer, and I found that to be so helpful. She loves Julie and Ray, the story, and even the Fisherman. So, all that love has gone into this new version, and you can see it and you can feel it.”
Prinze, who plays a more grounded and reserved Ray, was equally impressed. “Jenn wasn't going to throw away the past,” he explains. “She treats it with the respect it deserves, while also demonstrating what makes her such an innovative writer and director.” He adds: “We had a conversation on what her vision for this movie and for these characters was, it was just so perfect, and I thought it was this beautiful way of handing the torch over to the next generation.”
That sense of continuation is what ultimately made the return feel full circle. “Maybe the sweetest part of this whole thing for me is that the fans didn't let Freddie and me be forgotten, and we've been able to come back for this,” Love Hewitt reflects. “It's touched my heart.” Producer Neal H. Moritz, who also produced the original 1997 film, agrees. “It was a big deal to all of us, because they carry the weight of the original story. It’s not just about nostalgia; it’s about honoring where this all started.”
For Robinson, that idea—past haunting present—is what gives I Know What You Did Last Summer its bite. “Everyone sitting in the cinema watching I Know What You Did Last Summer knows what it is to have a secret,” she emphasizes. “To have something you're afraid will be exposed is a universal experience.”
Ultimately, it’s that universal fear, paired with a new generation of stars, a killer with unfinished business, and a legacy soaked in blood, that gives the 2025 return its edge. “It’s fun. It’s scary—in a big summer movie slasher-way that you want to experience with all your friends,” Robinson says. “And there’s a mystery about The Fisherman that’s also part of the fun. My hope is that at every turn of this movie, you’ll be trying to figure out the killer’s identity. Some of you will be wrong and some of you will be right.”
I Know What You Did Last Summer is finally back in theaters—and it remembers everything.
