I didn’t think I liked any horror, thriller, or slasher movies until I saw Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) (within weeks of each other, which was a treat for me as a kid who LOVED Scooby-Doo #iykyk). I found the jump scares and the mystery so incredibly entertaining and just grew to appreciate the genre for what it was.

Although, again, I was a Scooby-Doo fan, so was it really that big of a leap?

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025), set 28 years after the original fishhook killer claimed lives in the town of Southport, high school friends, Danica (Madelyn Cline), Teddy (Tyriq Withers), Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King) and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon), have returned to the town to celebrate Danica’s wedding. But then she gets the note – informing the friends that someone else knows about the secret accidental manslaughter they were involved in the summer prior. And so begins the chase.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) is a worthy remake, in the fullness of the words ‘worthy’ and ‘remake’. It makes sure to honour the original, to the point that it can be predictable. But hey, I signed up to watch a group of friends with a secret get hunted down, and the film delivers on that in a way that is still interesting, and charming, and funny. The new characters (and actors) work well together to bring that charm, especially Withers as Teddy who was the MVP in my book. He was so funny and real (for the character) and that made the film just that bit fresher.

I think it was a good idea to set IKWYDLS (2025) in the same town as the original. Narratively, the murders happening again makes sense. And bringing back Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. to reprise their roles as Julie and Ray cement that. They’re used as more than easter eggs in the story — which I was surprised by —  but appreciated as they help to ground it. But there are a LOT of easter eggs in this remake, so no doubt about it, if you loved the original, you’ll love this one.

Interestingly (and in a rather meta way), nostalgia – or an inability to let go of the past – plays a big role in this movie. Our characters find themselves still hung up on exes, past betrayals, and history. ‘Nostalgia is overrated’ is literally a line that is said in the film. That was just interesting to me because we are having a lot of debates about remakes, but it does seem like the nostalgia of the public is going to win every time – heck, my nostalgia was why I was looking forward to this film. The movie also nicely sets up another instalment, so, like the Scream franchise, it does not look like the IKWYDLS franchise will be stopping anytime soon.

Still, I would not be a fangirl if I was 100% mad at that.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is in theatres now.