Movie Review: Nostalgia and gore collide in the new 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'

The new “I Know What You Did Last Summer” pretty much follows the plot of the 1997 film of the same name: A bunch of well-to-do young people get stalked and killed by a vengeful killer in a rain slicker with an ice hook. It even has some of the same stars.

“It’s 1997 all over again. It’s so nostalgic,” says Freddie Prinze Jr., who stars in both, this time around. Responds another returning star, Jennifer Love Hewitt: “Nostalgia is overrated.”

That line deserves a big laugh from a so-called “legacy sequel” that blends old and new to resurrect a franchise long dormant but isn’t sure where it sits in 2025. A wink here, an eye-gouging there.

By aping the structure of the original — maddeningly calling itself by its predecessor's name — the new version of “I Know What You Did Last Summer” is both too tentative a step forward and yet too reliant on the past to fully break free of that gravitational pull.

The new installment follows a group of post-high school friends (Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Sarah Pidgeon and Tyriq Withers) who cause a fatal car wreck on July Fourth and swear to keep their involvement a secret. But a year later, someone wants them dead, offering the anniversary warning: “I know what you did last summer.”

This is a franchise that got a bit lost in the shadow of the “Scream” dynasty, but still helped make household names of such Gen X heroes as Prinze, Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe. A relaunch makes sense but it’s pretty vapid stuff until the OGs arrive.

In fact, you may find yourself rooting for the killer. The five youngsters who have grown up in Southport, North Carolina — “the Hamptons of the South” — mostly live lives of nepo privilege, drinking from flasks, driving Volvos, munching on macarons and taking Adderall. One lives on a 156-foot (48-meter) yacht with three decks.

The movie mostly muddles along like a TV special, only coming to life when Prinze and Hewitt arrive, asked by the hunted youngsters for guidance. After all, the duo survived the 1997 attacks. “Get them before they get you,” Hewitt's Julie advises.

Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Lansky, mixes gruesome stabbings, harpoon impalings and corpses displayed on hooks like fish at the dock with jokes that needle everything from Nicole Kidman's cheesy AMC commercials to our fling with true-crime podcasts.

The filmmakers make half-hearted attempts to explain the ripple effects from trauma but we're not here for generational pain; we're here for the slashy-slashy. There is one dream sequence with a surprise returning OG that's worth the ticket price alone.

The tone is all over the place — whimpering victims one moment, horny the next. The police in Southport are nefarious — in a nod to “Jaws,” they cover up the murders for fear of turning off tourism — but there's a “Scooby-Doo” vibe here (even a mention) that seems less playful than idea-deprived. There are elements of spoof, too, like a vain woman who has just lost someone close in a grisly bloodbath but worries about her skin care.

Look, we hate to break it to you, it's not going to end well for many of this privileged set, as they hunt whoever is hunting them. Coherence is also stabbed a lot because a clear motive for the mass murder is really hard to understand.

No matter: We get the scene when a scared victim with a massive knife sticking out of her back shoots a harpoon gun at the hook killer, and that's why we came in the first place. We also get Hewitt screaming her catchphrase, mocking her attacker: “What are you waiting for?” Well, what are you waiting for?

“I Know What You Did Last Summer,” a Sony Pictures release in theaters Friday, is rated R for “bloody horror violence, language throughout, some sexual content and brief drug use.” Running time: 111 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

Gabbriette Bechtel, a cast member in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," poses at the premiere of the film at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

From left, Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Sarah Pidgeon and Gabbriette Bechtel, cast members in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," pose together at the premiere of the film at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Jennifer Love Hewitt, left, and Chase Sui Wonders, cast members in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," greet each other at the premiere of the film at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Chase Sui Wonders, left, and Sarah Pidgeon, cast members in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," pose at the premiere of the film at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Seth Green, left, and Sarah Michelle Gellar pose at the premiere of the film "I Know What You Did Last Summer" at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

From left, Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Pidgeon and Gabbriette Bechtel, cast members in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," pose together at the premiere of the film at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Chase Sui Wonders, left, and Sarah Pidgeon, cast members in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," greet each other on the carpet at the premiere of the film at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Freddie Prinze Jr., right, a cast member in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," poses with his wife, Sarah Michelle Gellar, at the premiere of the film at The United Theater on Broadway, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves were missing star Anthony Edwards again.

Their poise was present and accounted for.

With Edwards absent for the second straight game on Sunday with soreness in his right foot, his teammates picked up the slack after a sluggish start — and delivered another steely performance down the stretch on the way to a 117-103 victory over Sacramento.

The Timberwolves outscored the Kings 29-19 over the final 12 minutes, a league-leading eighth time this season they've had a 10-plus-point advantage in the fourth quarter.

“I think our composure down the stretch has gotten a lot better. Our ability to make the right read — and certainly shot making — has helped in those moments,” coach Chris Finch said.

The Timberwolves (17-9), who have won seven of their last eight games, exacted a measure of revenge for their 117-112 overtime loss at Sacramento on Nov. 24 when they blew a 10-point lead with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.

That game came three nights after they fumbled an eight-point lead with 49 seconds left at Phoenix and lost 114-113.

“We talked about how we need to be better in closing games and the themes that popped up,” Finch said, “and guys have done a good job of addressing that.”

Edwards has been considered day-to-day with his availability. Finch said before the game the injury “hasn't calmed down to the point where he's able to go.”

Backup point guard Mike Conley was also sidelined on Sunday, the 19-year veteran's second straight absence due to a right Achilles tendon injury. The short-handed backcourt meant another start for Bones Hyland, who has recently worked his way into a more meaningful role. Then center Rudy Gobert left the game midway through the third quarter for what the team announced as personal reasons.

The absence of the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner down the stretch forced Naz Reid to play the last 20 minutes of the game. The 2024 Sixth Man of the Year award winner finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds and made sure the interior defense didn't collapse without the long arms of Gobert.

“A lot of the times we kind of understand the sense of urgency in the second half,” Reid said. “It’s nice to kind of have that at the end of the game, but I think we just kind of figure it out as the game goes on. As the second half comes, we kind of all-the-way turn it on, which is like not normal, but we’ve been getting the wins.”

Edwards missed four games earlier this season with a strained right hamstring. The three-time All-Star, who is eighth in the NBA with an average of 28.7 points per game, has already tallied his most absences since the 2021-22 season when he played in 72 games.

With the Timberwolves in a slower stretch of the schedule, Edwards could get eight days of rest while only missing the two games. Minnesota hosts Memphis on Wednesday.

“It’s such a bummer, but sometimes it’s good for some players,” Hyland said. “Sometimes it’s just God opening a door for you. You still want to be there for your teammate if he’s injured, be a good person, good teammate, but also step up. When someone goes down, we’re all a team.”

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Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards watches from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, left, and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry speak after an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, center, reacts from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)