"What did you do last summer?"
While Jennifer Love Hewitt's Julie James feels nostalgia is overrated, it's apparent that we're living in a world run by it. Since the success of 2022's Scream, studios have leaned heavily into the legacy reboot genre, garnering a string of financial hits as 90s horror franchises have embraced their history with a modern and connected return. While a botched episodic offering tested fans' loyalty a few years ago, Jennifer Kaylin Robinson's I Know What You Did Last Summer rights the ship, hooking audiences from the opening and giving fans the blood-soaked theatrical experience they've been longing for all summer.
The film, a merger of old and new, sees the return of legacy players James and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Ray Bronson. The sole survivors of the 1997 killing spree in Southport, North Carolina, they bear the burden of the truth, a truth that has been hidden from the public for years.
I Know What You Did Last Summer follows many familiar franchise tropes as we watch a group of friends, high on life and feeling invincible, chance fate on a winding road as Independence Day fireworks erupt overhead. And much like the original film, a man ends up dead, leading a group of nervous, privileged young adults to make a pact to hold the secret of their responsibility forever, for the sake of their future.
At the center of the story is Chase Sui Wonders' Ava Brucks. A popular girl who vacated Southpoint after high school, she has returned for her best friend's engagement party. Her ex will be there. To say she's nervous would be an understatement. As expected, we never gain the full context of the situation. It's unimportant to the central story. Like many things, we accept it at face value. A year later, Ava returns to her hometown, this time for another engagement party: same friend, different fiancé. Trauma. It hit hard. The unexpected note notwithstanding.
That is what sits at the core of this film: trauma. As Robinson works to intermingle the new with the old, she successfully gives Ava a partially fresh story while striking similar broad strokes with Hewitt's James. The most obvious added element to the narrative lies within the trauma that resides within each of our characters, further highlighted by their dealing with the events of the past.
When we first catch sight of James, the heroic survivor of both previous films, her advisory role is immediately evident. But Robinson digs below the surface, allowing Hewitt to examine and exhibit the heartache, frustration, and impacts that have hit her nervous system. Her experience is unique. Her feeling of terror is real. But when Ava appears outside her classroom begging for help, a rush of emotions has her questioning her next move.
This follows a recent trend within the subgenre, as Robinson focuses on the trauma, vocalizing the panic by allowing her characters room to breathe as they process their surroundings. The hesitation permits scenes to unfold naturally as the audience shifts in their seats, unsettled by the delay. The decision adds depth to many of the characters, giving their death a heavier impact, even if the characters within the story don't appear as phased by the sudden string of visibly horrific murders by way of a deranged serial killer dressed in a black raincoat.
As Ava and company fight the rich white man paradox that has somehow reshaped Southport into the Hamptons of the south, the metaphors scream loud and clear. And while a handful of new generation players work to make their mark on the franchise, there is no denying that Hewitt remains the face of the franchise. Although she is one of three legacy characters to make a return, her performance exhibits a unique complexity that, in recent years, is rivaled only by Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode in the newly minted Halloween trilogy. Yes, she is that good!
That is no discredit to the new faces. Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, and Tyriq Withers give exceptional performances. But their characters lack depth and awareness as they navigate the hook for the first time. James, a minted law professor, has experience. That, in the world of horror, is a rarity that warrants celebration.
And though Robinson allows the film to settle into several traditional cliches, occasionally sacrificing the present story to pay homage to its legacy, one can't overlook the fun and, at times, preposterous events that lead us from start to finish. Aware of its beginning, I Know What You Did Last Summer will appease fans of the original more than anyone. However, it bears just enough disparity to garner a new base. And though I don't feel it screams loud enough to warrant cult status, I also wouldn't argue if that proves its final resting place.
