The Past Won’t Stay Buried
The first I Know What You Did Last Summer wasn’t just a slasher—it was a cultural moment. The hook, the raincoat, that line: “What are you waiting for?” It carved itself into ‘90s horror like a knife through driftwood. Now, nearly 30 years later, Sony’s 2025 reboot dangles a familiar threat: “Outside of us, no one knows what happened… Right?”
The second trailer, just dropped, is slicker, meaner, and packed with callbacks—flickering lanterns, gutted fish, and a killer who’s very familiar with Southport’s history. But here’s the rub: Is this legacy sequel a fresh kill, or just reheated leftovers?
What’s New (And What’s Not)
Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) leans hard into the original’s blueprint: a cover-up, a pact, and a masked stalker with a grudge. The new cast (Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders) echoes the original quartet’s dynamic, but the twist lies in the survivors—Hewitt’s Julie and Prinze’s Ray, now hardened veterans of the 1997 massacre. Their return should feel like a victory lap… yet the trailer frames them more like exposition dispensers than final girls.
The footage plays it safe: jump scares, fog-drenched piers, and the obligatory “RUN!” moments. But where’s the tension? The original thrived on paranoia—the horror of guilt, not just gore. This time, the tone skews closer to Scream VI’s meta-chaos, but without the self-awareness to justify it.
The Nostalgia Trap
Legacy sequels live or die by balance. Halloween (2018) worked because it respected the past while carving new wounds. This? It’s caught between homage and identity crisis. The trailer’s best moment—a fleeting shot of Hewitt clutching a bloody letter—hints at deeper trauma, but the rest drowns in predictable beats.
And let’s talk about that hook. In 1997, it was iconic. In 2025, it’s a brand. The trailer even recreates the infamous dock scene—same angle, same rain—but with none of the original’s raw panic. Nostalgia shouldn’t be a crutch; it should be a springboard.
The Verdict (For Now)
Sony’s betting big on July 18, 2025—a prime summer slot. But the trailer’s lack of genuine dread leaves me skeptical. Horror reboots need more than callbacks; they need a reason to exist. This one’s got the cast, the setting, and the legacy. What it’s missing? A soul.
Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the hook still has teeth. But as any ‘90s kid knows: If you hear heavy breathing on the other end… hang up.
