I walked into the brand new I Know What You Did Last Summer revival with an open thoughts. Truthfully, I used to be by no means a fan of the unique movies, they all the time felt they have been made to trip off the coattails of Scream. Nonetheless, curiosity received the higher of me.
Possibly this film can be the one to shake issues up, add a intelligent twist, or at the very least give the franchise some contemporary power. Sadly, that didn’t occur. What we received is a film that doesn’t simply lean on nostalgia, it virtually clings to it like a life raft.
From the beginning, the movie makes it clear it’s taking part in issues secure. The story is principally a remix of the primary two movies with a few minor adjustments, however nothing that reinvents the wheel. Each beat feels acquainted.
Worse, it’s so predictable which you can work out who the killer is fairly shortly for those who’re paying consideration. There’s no stress, no surprises, only a sequence of paint-by-numbers moments wrapped in slasher clichés. The script may even remind you in regards to the yr 1997 roughly each fifteen minutes, as if repeating the date makes the callbacks really feel intelligent.
As for the tone of the movie, As a substitute of leaning into suspense and horror, the film appears to embrace comedy… deliberately or not. The viewers in my screening laughed by way of the entire thing. Not as a result of the jokes landed, however as a result of the complete expertise teetered on the sting of “so unhealthy it’s good.”
The characters are so silly as they make one ridiculous unhealthy determination after one other, and the dialogue is foolish. The characters are fully unlikable. Each single one seems like a caricature of a Gen Z stereotype, written with out an oz of depth or allure.
It’s onerous to root for anybody while you’re busy rolling your eyes at their dialogue or ready for the subsequent dumb transfer that may get them killed. If that was the purpose, then mission achieved, I suppose.
The unique motion pictures weren’t that nice both, however at the very least they’d a sure earnestness. Right here, the writing feels lazy, like nobody cared sufficient to offer these folks any cause to matter.
At its core, this film is a nostalgia machine operating on fumes. It desperately needs to recreate the vibe of the late ’90s slasher increase whereas additionally showing self-aware, nevertheless it by no means balances both strategy. As a substitute, it serves up a hole imitation that errors references for substance.
There’s even a line from Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character saying, “Nostalgia is overrated,” and I couldn’t assist however giggle as a result of the film itself is proof of that.
Ultimately, I Know What You Did Final Summer season isn’t scary, good, or unique. It’s not even a responsible pleasure. It’s a shiny, uninspired retread with nothing new to supply. For those who’re into senseless slasher fluff and need to giggle at absurd decisions and unhealthy writing, you would possibly discover it entertaining in a “hate-watch” type of method.
For everybody else, that is one film you’ll be able to skip.
