Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the 2025 reboot ofI Know What You Did Last Summer.The legacy sequelI Know What You Did Last Summertakes an interesting approach to its source material, essentially remaking the original while keeping its events' canon. It plays as a repeat of the original’s events 30 years later, with a killer seeking revenge after the road death of a loved one, caused by our main group of characters. However,there is one glaring changethat undoes the whole vengeance aspect of the storyline, and it happens in the first 10 minutes. Unlike the original 1997 movie, where the group hit a pedestrian and decide to dump his body in the water,the accident in the remake is barely the group’s fault, making the killer’s revenge feel obtuse and unearned.
The accident in the 2025 version sees a speeding driver hurtling over the edge of a highly dangerous curve in the road, an event that easily could’ve happened if the group of friends hadn’t been there. There is a caveat that the driver, Sam, was only on the road to check on Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon). However, Stevie’s decision to brutally massacre all her friends because Sam was driving recklessly is too difficult to buy into. Itdissipates all the emotional weight and tension of the movieand makes the entire film feel meaningless.
The New Opening of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Makes No Sense
The cold open ofI Know What You Did Last Summeroccurs one year before the rest of the movie and serves to show the audience the core group’s terrible sin that leads to the usual slasher antics. It starts at the engagement party of Teddy (Tyriq Withers) and Danica (Madelyn Cline), who have invited their friends Milo(Jonah Hauer-King) and Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), who used to date in high school. The four of them, plus their old friend Stevie, decide to drive to the best spot to watch the 4th of July fireworks as a way of reliving their glory days. An inebriated Teddy begins joking around as he dances in front of oncoming cars, which leads to one car, driven by Sam Cooper, swerving and balancing on the edge of the cliff.Despite the group’s half-hearted efforts to save him, the car slips and falls to the cliffside below.
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Star, 46, Stands By the Sequel’s Jaw-Dropping Twist
The soft reboot stars Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders
While Teddy is definitely being doltish in his antics, the accident is definitely not the group’s fault and doesn’t warrant the secrecy they give it.The road itself is literally nicknamed “Reaper’s Curve,“which gives the impression that the accidents that occur there are above any national average, and travelers should take extra caution. If a driver is speeding around such a vicious corner and they spin off the road, it is without a doubt their own fault. Partnering this with the way the police were easily able to cover up the story without suspicion or backlash serves to bolster the evidence that residents of Southport know the danger of the road, and accidents aren’t uncommon. The final reveal that the driver was Stevie’s friend, andhis death prompted her to massacre everyone else, is hard to buy intobecause, realistically, Sam’s death was his own fault.
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’s Killer Relies on Weak Motivation
There is a huge sense of frustration at the weak execution of the accident inI Know What You Did Last Summer,considering it is the inciting incident that sets up the entire story. This is made worse by the fakeouts the movie shows beforehand, building up to the actual crash. The first sees Teddy exclaim, causing Danica to suddenly brake, and the second sees Milo push Teddy out of the way of an oncoming car.Having these quick peaks of action heightens the sense of dread, especially as the audience knows a crash is coming. Both of these moments set up the likelihood that someone is going to get hit, which the group would’ve rightfully had to take responsibility for. This teasing makes the eventual crash all the more flat, as we’re prepared to see a pedestrian get knocked down like in the original.
The opening scene pales in comparison to the original movie, where a drunken Barry (Ryan Phillippe) causes Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) to hit a pedestrian. The moment happens suddenly; however, the movie builds up to the reveal of the extent of the situation. At first, Barry is concerned about the state of his car before the group attempts to find what they have hit, believing it to be a deer. There is a moment of shock as they realize they have hit someone, and there is immediate guilt and panic as the situation is so evidently their responsibility. As the group decides what to do,there is much more ethical back and forth than in the remake before Barry suggests dumping the body in the water.
I Know What You Did Last Summeris in theaters now.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
