I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

 

So, I finally watched the I Know What You Did Last Summer requel. Do you want to know what I thought about it? It sucked. It totally sucked, and I'm not surprised. Oftentimes, the original gets accused of being a Scream rip-off/cash grab, but this seems more like a Scream rip-off/cash grab. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, there was also a TV series, not that it's relevant to this review, but the I Know What You Did Last Summer television series came out at the same time the Scream TV series came out, which proves my point. This whole requel trend has been ongoing for a couple of years now, and although some, such as Halloween 2018 and Scream 2022, have been successful, the majority of these horror requels have fallen off pretty hard. I Know You Did Last Summer 2025 has no reason to exist, but the power of nostalgia persists, and here we are. 

The story is pretty much the same as the first one, only this time the main group of characters are college graduates in their twenties who just celebrated a friend's engagement party. There's Danica Richards, the bride to be, Teddy Spencer, the groom to be, Ava Brucks, the sensible one, Stevie Ward, the ex-best friend from the wrong side of the tracks, and Milo, Ava's love interest. Of course, on their way back, the group of friends caused an accident, but instead, they're hardly any at fault at all. Sure, one of them drunkenly stands in the middle of the road, but still, no fault I could think of. Their only crime is witnessing the person careening into the side of a bridge. The car gets stuck, and the group desperately tries to save the man, but the car swiftly collapses into a watery grave. And just like the first one, the group makes a pact to not tell anyone about the accident. It gets even more predictable when, a year later, at Danica's bridal shower (she's engaged to someone else now), she receives a mysterious letter. She opens it, and of course, it says, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. After a string of murders happens, including the Danica's current fiancé, the group goes to investigate and soon finds out that the perpetrator might have a connection to the 1997 Southport murders. They soon come across the final girl, Julie James, for help. I don't see how Julie fits into the story, but somehow, it makes sense later on when the killer is revealed, and that will contain spoilers, so I'll keep you posted. Once the group dwindles down, the surviving members must find out who's behind the murders before it's too late.

Okay, let's focus on our main characters, shall we? They're really nothing to write home about. I mean, they're characters in their twenties who act and speak like teens. It's really weird, particularly because one of them is about to get married. Not only that, but I find them to be extremely vapid, bland, and self-centered, with Ava being the only one I can get behind. So, let's go through them one by one. But first, let's get the lesser characters out of the way.

We have Wyatt, Dianca's second fiancé. Not much to know about him besides being a young yuppie type. He's the first to get killed and gets a rather bloody death scene. That's all I can say.

Then there's Tyler Trevino, whom I like to call "The Crime Podcast Girl." She's just a girl that Ava hooks up with on her way back to Southport, who's conducting some research on the 1997 Southport murders. The character itself is supposed to be a jab at true crime influencers who often make light of brutal real-life murders. I guess Tyler is supposed to be this comic relief as she talks in this monotone valley girl voice and even wears a t-shirt with Helen Shiever's face on it. However, the most idiotic moment in the movie is her death scene. Just when the killer has her cornered, Tyler says, "I'm a fan! I'm a fan!" Who gives a rat's ass if you're a fan? That doesn't stop the killer from killing you. This is the same problem I had with Scream 4, where a character blurts out, "I'm gay! I'm gay!" before the killer finishes them off. Look, it doesn't matter if you're a man, a woman, gay, straight, or even a fan; the killer's gonna kill you anyway. So yeah, this was a pretty useless character, and she outlived her usefulness. 

We have the very handsome Billy Campbell, who's aged very well by the way, as Governor Grant Spencer, Teddy's dad. He's the one who actually covered up the accident and dismisses the townspeople's claims that they're might be a killer afoot, which makes him kind of a morally questionable character. He eventually runs into the killer, and it's safe to say that he doesn't last long. 

Finally, there's Pastor Judah, played by Austin Nichols, mostly known for the long-running show One Tree Hill. He's set up as a red herring due to his close relationship with Sam Cooper, the guy who died in the crash. But he's promptly killed off-screen, which lets him off the hook. No pun intended.

Now on to our main five:

First, Jonah Hauer-King, best known as Prince Eric from the live-action Little Mermaid, as Milo Griffin. He's what I like to call a satellite love interest, as he shares most of his scenes with Ava. Milo is just there for the most part. We never get to know his family life or how the accident affected him; he's just the generic everyguy, although Jonah Hauer-King served his role well. 

Then there's Sarah Pidgeon as Stevie Ward. She's basically the female version of Ray; the generic everygirl with less money than her friends. She's a bit harder-edged since there's mention of her being in rehab, but other than that, she's a bit of a mystery; however, that kind of fits her character, considering what happens towards the climax, and since I've mentioned that, I will discuss the climax later in the review. 

Here we have the stunning Tyriq Withers as Teddy Spencer, Danica's first fiancé before the accident. He's similar to Barry but a little less obnoxious, though he does come off as self-centered and very full of himself. He does get better later in the film; however, his ego gets the best of him. 

Then we have Madelyn Cline as Danica Richards. Danica is a delicate, pampered rich girl, the type of friend who you always take care of and check on after they have a bad day. And Danica is going through a lot. She's supposed to be a Helen Shivers expy, but the problem is that the movie never really explores her trauma like they did with Helen's in the original. I mean, all her friends are dying left and right, she has a target on her back, and she just got involved in a terrible accident just a year ago. Instead, the film portrays her as this ditzy blond who's obsessed with spiritual wellness, and the film doesn't really take her seriously. Danica, in all honesty, is kind of like Rachel from Friends before the character development. She claims to have this divine connection to Helen Shivers, which eventually leads to this bizarre dream sequence where Danica has a ghostly encounter with her. 

Speaking of, let's talk about the Sarah Michelle Gellar cameo. During pre-production, there have been talks of Helen Shivers returning in the film, but it was nearly impossible considering that she was killed off in the first film. Even Sarah Michelle Gellar was confused. It's like these studio execs are so greedy to the point where their brains don't function well and won't even care to follow the events of the previous films they're trying to reboot. Yet try as they might, they wanted Sarah Michelle Gellar and, dammit, they were gonna have her. Okay, first off, shouldn't Julie be the one to have this dream? I mean, once you know that she kept having recurring nightmares of Ben Willis, it would be inevitable that she would have nightmares of her dead best friend, too. This would also align with her story arc of the past coming back to haunt her, and overcoming her trauma to save the new characters. But overall, I thought the cameo was forced, and it didn't make sense in the narrative. 

Finally, we have Chase Sui Wonders as Ava Brucks. One of the many qualities that I like about Ava is that she holds her own, is sexually liberated, and is quite an effective leader when it comes to dire circumstances. The actress actually does a good job here; it's just that the only problem is that she should be in a better movie. Other than the qualities I've listed, there's not much to know about her. We never really know about her home life, her occupation, or even her family lineage. For all we know, she could just be a socialite, living off her daddy's money. Besides that, Ava was the easiest character out of the main five.

Now, we have our legacy characters:

Ray is a much more proactive character this time around. He's not the guy who just hangs around or gets left out until the end; he actually serves a purpose to the story, particularly with the character of Stevie, who's mentioned to be a family friend of his. This time, Ray and Julie are divorced. There isn't any explanation why their relationship crumbled, but seeing how they were in the first two films, I'm not surprised at all. Freddie Prinze Jr.'s acting is mediocre at best. He's a little bit better than he was in the first two films, but he seems to be phoning it in this time around, and I don't blame him; the script doesn't do him any favors. However, Ray holds a deep, dark secret that will unravel in the climax...more on that later. 

Last but not least, we have Julie James, who has since become a professor who conducts studies on the effects of PTSD. Initially, Julie is a supporting character, but she takes center stage by the middle of the film as things begin to unravel. Jennifer Love Hewitt did a serviceable job despite the script's shortcomings and the cringy dialogue. I know most people don't really care for her acting in these movies, but at least she tries her best. 

The weakest part of the movie for me is the self-aware humor. The appeal of the 1997 version of I Know What You Did Last Summer is how straightforward it was, despite the not-so-great writing and mishandling of its characters. As mentioned, the screenplay is below-average if not outright subpar. There's nothing to keep my interest, and at times, it's a bit try-hard. It's not as clever as it thinks it is, and if it's trying to be like Scream, it failed miserably. For a slasher film, the deaths are creative enough. Although it's nowhere near as gory as the second sequel, they're still quite brutal, but it doesn't save the movie from being underwhelming. 

The worst part of the movie for me has got to be the climax. Oh yes, now, it's time for the spoilers.

So out of the main five, it dwindles down to only Ava, Danica, and Stevie. After discovering the dead bodies of Teddy and his father, Grant, Ray urges the girls to escape Southport on Teddy's yacht. But suddenly, the scene cuts to the church, where the police find Pastor Judah's corpse. As they go to investigate, they see a photo of Stevie and the accident victim, Sam Cooper, together, which means...

Stevie is the killer! There seems to be a suspension of disbelief because there's no way a woman of her size would do all these killings herself unless she had some help, that is, and I'm pretty sure there's a second accomplice somewhere, but let's focus on Stevie for now. You see, Stevie met Sam Cooper in rehab, and the two instantly fell in love. After Sam's death, she went into a deep despair and even contemplated suicide. But instead of killing herself, she decides to take her anger out on her so-called friends and thus begins her killing spree. Quick side note here, see how Stevie is supposed to be the wayward one with less money and status, yet she turns out to be the killer? I mean, knowing how the economy is, don't you think that's a teeny bit offensive? Anywho, Ava, Danica, and Stevie have a bit of a struggle until Stevie stabs Danica in the gut and throws her overboard. So, Stevie has Ava cornered until Ray steps in and saves the day. He pleads with Stevie to stop the madness, but she doesn't, which prompts Ray to shoot her off the boat. As Ray comes to Ava's aid, she notices a wound on her shoulder, remembering her first encounter with The Fisherman, where she gave him the same wound. Then it cuts back to Julie, where she finds a picture of Ray and Stevie, realizing that she used to be a bar manager at Ray's restaurant. Somehow, Julie comes to the realization that...

Ray is the main killer! Wow, this literally shocked me, but then again, it doesn't make any sense, especially when in the second sequel, Ray went out of his way to save Julie. It's kind of like if Dewey or Gale turned out to be one of the Ghostface killers in the Scream series. It's incredibly jarring. And I swear, if they pull that crap in Scream 7, I would be officially done with that series and any other horror legacy sequel for that matter. But on to Ray. What is his motive? He doesn't want people to forget the trauma he experienced, so why not project that trauma onto someone else? Again, that doesn't make any sense. You know what, fuck motives at this point. Whenever I watch a modern slasher these days, I wouldn't mind if the killer just likes killing because motives are overrated at this point. By the way, who the fuck wrote this script? Man, it's awful. And it gets even worse when Julie shows up to confront Ray. The back and forth between them is totally corny, and Julie even recites the "what are you waiting for, huh? line. Give me a fucking break. 

So with a bit of a struggle, Ava saves Julie by impaling Ray with a harpoon, and all is well. 

For some logical reason, Danica survives being stabbed in the gut and thrown into the sea. Not to mention, Ava got stabbed in the shoulder, but despite their wounds, the two seemed to walk just fine.

As they have lunch together, the two just laugh and joke as if they haven't experienced the most traumatic moment of their lives. Then they make a comment like "Oh, this could've been resolved if men had therapy." Okay, did they forget that one of the killers was female? Holy crap, this script is shit.

Then they casually mention that Stevie's body was never found and she could still be alive, as if it was nothing. Hello? This person tried to kill you. Shouldn't you be panicking or something? But this is all just to hype up ANOTHER sequel. My god, make it stop!

After a brief credits sequence, we meet Brandy Norwood as Kara Wilson. Great to see Brandy again, gotta love her, but the scene ends up being stupid, of course. What could've been a cute, nice cameo ends up being yet another sequel bait. Julie appears at Kara's doorstep. How does she know where she lives? I don't know. So, Julie tells her that she received a letter. Kara opens it, and it reads, "It isn't over." Instead of having some sense of urgency, Kara makes a sassy comment as if to say, "Let's go kick some ass, girl!" Yeah, whatever, I'm not waiting for the sequel.

So that was the I Know What You Did Last Summer legacy sequel. Yep, it was a pile of shit. But I will say that it's a hell of a lot better than I Always Know, that will always be the worst in my eyes. This one was more forgettable if anything. Plus, the writing is way worse than the original, which soured any enjoyment from watching this, not that I was expecting much, though. I heard that Mike Flannigan was going to be involved, and since he's seen as the king of modern horror, this would've been way much better than it was and actually could've matched the tone of the novel. But the studio execs wanted to appeal to the TikTok crowd instead.

I just don't see this as a franchise. If there were only two films in the series, I would've been totally fine with that, but these film execs try to make fetch happen, and it's just not gonna happen. However, the film was a moderate success, which means, yes, we might get that fifth sequel. Again, I will not be looking forward to it. If anything, this series is done and should be done. 

My last word: watch it at your own risk. 

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)...And A Brief Summary of I'll Always Know (2006)

 

After the success of I Know What You Did Last Summer, it was inevitable that a sequel would be greenlit a year later. Lo and Behold, we have I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. For kicks, I decided to read the script, which is nearly identical to the movie, but with a few changes here and there. Yes, I know this is an unnecessary sequel, and yes, I know it is a cash grab, but...and this is a big but... This is a guilty pleasure of mine. Maybe it's the nostalgia calling me; however, I keep finding myself watching this movie over and over again. I don't know why. Sure, this movie is beyond dumb, and the plot twist is so stupid to the point where I ask myself, 'Why would they come up with that? Yet and still, this movie has a hold on me. This is what I call an adventure slasher, and compared to the original, things are a lot more exciting this time around. The story has stakes. HUGE stakes. It's bloodier, gorier,  has action, and a few suspenseful moments. It's a dumb popcorn movie, and I'm okay with that.

 

The movie begins with an overly dramatic opening scene, where Julie walks to the cathedral to confess her sins. It is actually really well shot, and the light blue shadows of the cinematography give it this ethereal yet ominous feel. So, Julie starts to confess her sins to the priest, which is a recap of the events of the first film in case the audience forgot. Then the priest creepily says, "I know..." Julie catches her breath for a moment and replies, "You...know?" The priest turns his head to reveal it's Ben Willis, the killer from the last movie, and shouts this cheesy line, "I Know What You Did Last Summer!" and punctures his hook through the frame. I just couldn't help but laugh; it was so corny. 

Of course, this turns out to be a dream, and Julie wakes up screaming in class. This indicates that the ending of the first film was all but a dream and has been a recurring problem for Julie ever since.

Embarassed by her outburst, Julie scurries out of class, where she is then accompanied by her new male friend, Will, played by the very attractive Matthew Settle. To add more to Julie's worries, it's the fourth of July, the day her friends were killed by Ben Willis. Will reassures her that everything will be fine and just a relic in her past. But just as he says that, here comes Ray, Julie's boyfriend, appearing out of the blue. 

He tries to lure Julie back to Southport to celebrate the Fourth of July together, but considering that she's still traumatized by the events of last year, Julie refuses. Instead of understanding her plight, Ray gets upset and walks off in a huff. He is extremely whiny and selfish here, which doesn't help that he was a bland character in the first movie, but he soon improves. 

After she argues with Ray, Julie drags her feet to the apartment, feeling sorry for herself, and jumps on the bed to sleep off the stress. 

Then comes nighttime...

Julie stirs from her sleep and hears a sudden noise. She becomes instantly spooked. Investigating the apartment, Julie senses someone there and, on instinct, she grabs a kitchen knife. She hears ruffling in her closet. Julie creeps closer and closer, ready to strike and then...

Out pops Brandy. Yes, the Brandy Norwood, in her closet. She plays Kara Wilson, Julie's friend and roommate, who encourages her to go to the club with her to dance off the stress of her strained relationship with Ray. 

Say what you will about the movie, but one of the best parts, in my opinion, is the chemistry between Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brandy. They actually come off as genuine best friends, and it gives the film a lot of heart. I know I'm pushing it, but I'm just being honest here: if Jennifer and Brandy were in a buddy comedy, I would definitely watch it. 

So, then Kara takes Julie to the club where we meet with Kara's boyfriend, Tyrell, played by the very handsome Mekhi Phifer. Tyrell is pretty much Barry 2.0, but he's not as bad, though. His only takeaway is that he's on the snarky side and dismisses Julie's suggestion that there might be a killer a foot.. Kara also invites Will over, unbeknownst to Julie, and it's clear that she is setting him up to be Julie's next love interest. Just when Will shoots his shot, Julie gets distracted...

For some reason, The Fisherman stalks Julie at the club. This is one of the few nonsensical moments of the film, but at least there is an explanation for that later. When Will comes back over, Julie forgives him and decides to cool off at home to shake off her PTSD. 

The next morning, Kara gets a call from a local radio station offering the chance to win a vacation to the Bahamas if she answers what the capital of Brazil is. As they scramble to find a clue to where the capital of Brazil is, Julie grabs coffee mix. Yes, coffee mix to figure out the answer. These days, they would just Google it on their phone and presto! But in the heat of the moment, Kara spurts out, "Rio de Janeiro." There's a moment of uncertainty until the radio host says, "Congratulations, you just won a weekend getaway!" The girls are ecstatic and instantly plan out who to invite on the trip. Julie decides to call Ray. Of course, he acts like a whiny self-centered jerk, saying, "Oh, you'd rather hang out with your college friends instead of me." Dude, she WON a vacation trip, and you were the first person that she called. At the end of the day, it's the thought that counts. Be grateful. 

When Ray realizes this, he softens and says he'll try to come. His friend and coworker, Dave, convinces him that he should take the work off of him. So, Ray agrees, and the two hang out before their departure. But as they stop near a supposed hit-and-run accident in the dead of night, Ray goes to investigate. Once he kneels down towards the body, it turns out to be a mannequin. Turns out, The Fisherman is alive after all, and he instantly kills Dave with the swift movement of his hook. He goes after Ray in his car, but fortunately, Ray dodges from the car and jumps over a hill, rendering him unconscious. 

As they get prepared for their trip to the Bahamas, Julie and Kara hopelessly wait for Ray. Julie tries to make excuses for him, but Kara doesn't budge and figures that Will would be a good replacement for him, to Julie's dismay. From plane to boat, Julie, Kara, Tyrell, and Will finally arrive at the Bahamas to the tune of Esethro's That Girl. Sure, this is a bad movie, but the soundtrack is fire, you can't fight me on that. 

Upon arriving at the hotel, Julie and the gang get some bad news. It just so happens that they're in the middle of storm season, which means that they're the only ones left in the hotel. Therefore, that's when the carnage really begins. 

Before I continue with the main characters, let's get the lesser characters out of the way, which is basically half of the hotel staff. 

There's Darick the Dockhand Guy. He only gets a few lines here and there and...that's pretty much it. The Fisherman kills him before he becomes an actual character. 

Then there's the housekeeping lady, Olga. She doesn't get that many lines either, and once she sees there's something fishy going on, she instantly gets hooked by The Fisherman.

Further down the line, we have the poolboy, Titus, played by none other than Jack Black. He is probably the most cringeworthy character in the movie, but he is also the funniest because...he's played by Jack Black. The only thing we know about this character is that he is a hardcore stoner, and that's it. He had a different death scene in the screenplay, but the producer thought his death wasn't gory enough, so The Fisherman gives him a good stab on the hand and some shears to his chest. 

We have Bellhop Estes, the all-knowing old man who uses Voodoo to protect our main cast. Apparently, his using Voodoo is a bad thing, and they instantly accuse him of being the killer, though it's obvious it's not him, and the gang is just uneducated on how Voodoo actually works. You see, Estes knew about Ben Willis, and he gave out a hint that he might've killed his wife because of the affairs she had. Although he tries to save the main group, unfortunately, he's no match for The Fisherman. 

Then we have Bartender Nancy, played by the criminally underrated Jennifer Esposito. Nancy is probably one of my favorites of the hotel staff because she actually has personality. She's a smart whipper-snapper who holds her own and is also the most proactive of the bunch. If she had the chance, she would've survived the whole movie, but again, The Fisherman has too much of tight a grip on her and she goes down without a fight. 

Lastly, we have the cratankerous hotel manager, Brooks, played by cult favorite Jeffrey Combs. He's quick to throw insults at our main cast, and he's not quite as hospitable as he should be. He's definitely one of those characters you root for to die.

Although he gets killed off-screen, his death looks extremely painful. You can tell that The Fisherman did a number on him. 

Now on to our main foursome:

First, we have the one and only Brandy as Kara Wilson. Kara could've easily been a throwaway character, but Brandy's personality shines through as I find her to be quite likable and easy to root for. She's seen as Julie's emotional anchor and is the kind of friend who cheers you up when you're having a bad day. That's why I find the chemistry between Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brandy to be so palatable because you actually believe it. Say what you will about the movie itself, but I honestly think Brandy did a good job and made the film a bit bearable, in my opinion. 

It's already said what needs to be told about Tyrell. He's basically a Barry clone and spends most of the movie complaining. However, the most frustrating part is that, despite all the carnage, he still dismisses Julie's claims that there might be a killer afoot. Even though he has seen dead bodies, it's pretty obvious that Julie has a target on her back and that the person who's after her will probably kill him too. Just as soon as he says he hasn't seen a psycho killer yet, right on cue, The Fisherman pops out and hooks him in the neck, complete with cartoonish CGI blood. Yelp, that's all I could say about Tyrell. 

Then there's Will, who's the typical dogged nice guy, pining for Julie's affections when she's clearly not over Ray yet. But beneath that nice guy facade, he harbors a deep, dark secret that would implode in the film's climax. More on that later...

Julie is a lot more likable this time around and is quite sympathetic, given the trauma she went through in the first film. By the time we get to the film's middle section, you can tell that she has grown tired of The Fisherman's bullshit and finally takes charge. There's this part in the movie where Kara gets pursued by the killer, and Julie bursts in with an ax as if to say, "No, not this time!", and hacks away at the door for Kara to escape. You see, this is what I like about Julie: she makes sure that no friend gets left behind. 

Of course, she gets her "what are you waiting for!" moment, but this time, when she sees her name and birthdate spray-painted on a tombstone, she shouts out, "You want me, Ben! Come and get me, but my grave stays empty!" Not as cringy, but it's just as entertaining. 

There are a lot of stupid moments in the film. For example, Julie finds a dead body in her closet, and it's quite a bloody mess. But as soon as the rest of the characters come in to check on it, it's gone, and the floor is sparkling clean. Oh, where have I seen this before? Oh yeah, the first movie. Boy, it seems like Ben Willis has super-cleaning skills. 

Probably the dumbest moments in the movie have got to be the karaoke scene. I've seen this scene in all the promos and trailers, and I always kept wondering how the killer was able to even program the machine unless he had some supernatural powers to make that happen. 

I think I find the tanning bed scene to be most suspenseful, but then again, it's just an excuse to show off Jennifer Love Hewitt's sculpted body for the horny male audience. 

Unlike the first movie, the movie goes to the extreme when it comes to the blood and gore. Pretty much the entire film has this approach of bigger, broader, and bloodier with a different location, higher body count, and over-the-top action. 

Which leads us to the climax of the film. It sort of hints that Ben Willis might have an accomplice who does his dirty work, and it turns out that this accomplice is none other than....

Will Benson. Will is Ben Willis's son. The name says it right there. Will, Ben's son. He explains this to Julie verbatim. It's just so fucking ridiculous. But what's even more ridiculous is how Julie and the gang got there in the first place. You see, the movie relies on our good ol' friend, the idiot plot. Ben and his son, Will, devised an elaborate plan to lure Julie and her friends to the Bahamas. Will impersonated the radio host who won them the trip, and it turns out, in the middle of the film, Julie and Kara got the answer wrong. Whether they got the answer wrong or right, they would've been screwed either way, but what really gets me about this is the time spent between the first movie and this sequel. So, it's been a year, right? How come Will just spots Julie at her college, pretends to be a student, or rather attend the same school as her, I don't know, then befriend her, somehow got in contact with his father who was presumed dead since then, and for some reason, plan this whole evil plot to get Julie and her friends shipped off to the Bahamas to kill them. That's a little bit overboard, don't you think? I mean, that takes a lot of time and money to actually make that happen. It is beyond nonsensical, unless Ben inherited a million dollars. I don't even know if that's plausible. Now, Matthew Settle's acting was decent until then, but at this point, he becomes cartoonishly over-the-top. He's trying to channel Skeet Ulrich, but it was giving Jim Carrey. So Will brings Julie over to Ben, and just when you think it's over for her, out pops Ray, gun in hand, serving off his big hero moment.

I have to hand it to Ray. He started off a bit whiny and combative, but he actually stepped up and went out of his way to save Julie. I mean, the guy gets run over, escapes from a hospital, takes a bus, and takes a boat through a raging storm just in time to save Julie. That takes a lot of guts.

Ben Willis is no different from how he was in the last movie. Just a generic horror villain who, this time, lets his son do his dirty work in the climax, but this time it costs him.

So he has Will rough up Ray a bit and hoists him up for Ben to give him the final blow. But then Ray hits Will and dodges out of Ben's way, only for him to stab and kill his own son by accident. 

Full of rage, Ben goes after Ray and then...Julie finally takes charge, grabs a gun, and blasts Ben's ass away.

Ironically, Ben falls into the same grave made for Julie, the sludge and mud submerging him into a proper burial. 

So, all is well. The national guard comes through. Julie and Ray hold each other in an embrace, and thankfully, Kara survives her ordeal. 

This should be the end, but the movie feels like it should have one last jumpscare because it's a horror movie. So at the end, Julie and Ray are living the life of young newlyweds in their rather lofty two-story home. The scene sort of takes its time to get through, but finally, we see that Julie still has visions of Ben attacking her. Yes, I said visions. You would think that she was actually attacked by Ben at this point because it was left a mystery for years until the new movie came out. Yes, there has been a recent sequel, or shall I say requel, that addresses that Julie, in fact, survives this and has lived to tell the tale. I will cover that at a later time. But unfortunately, there was a third sequel that was sandwiched between this and the recent one, and trust me, I will get to that soon...

So, what do I think of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer? It's a bad movie. Borderline stupid even. But I can't help to say that I was thoroughly entertained. Maybe it's the nostalgia talkin, but I might count it out as So Bad, It's Good. Am I saying that it's a classic or it's Shakespeare? No. It's a dumbass movie. But it's a fun, dumbass movie. The kind where you get to sit back, get a couple of drinks or some joints, and have the time of your life.

My last word: It's a turn-your-brain-off gory slasher flick. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Okay, now it's time to talk about I Always Know What You Did Last Summer. Very dumb title by the way. I only saw this movie once back in high school, and I was bored out of my mind. Not only that, I could barely see anything. This was, of course, the mid-to-late 2000s, when most horror films were shot predominantly in darkness. Shit, you could hardly tell what's going on, and it would often sour the enjoyment of most of those films. However, the most annoying aspect of the filmmaking was the music video flashes, which could cause seizures if viewed for too long. Alright, the story itself goes like this: A group of high school friends hang out at a carnival, and one of them decides to prank another friend by dressing up as The Fisherman (he's obviously an urban legend now). Suddenly, the friend who pranked that friend causes his accidental death, which evokes the ghost, yes, I said ghost, of Ben Willis one year later, killing them one by one. The characters are nothing to write home about, along with some terrible, terrible acting. I guess the lead actress tries to do a good performance, but nothing ever comes out of it. Then you have The Fisherman, who has basically turned into a Freddy/Jason clone. Considering that he has the power to hide and clean dead bodies in record time and teleport out of nowhere, why not make him a supernatural ghost? There's really not much I can say about this movie. It's a cheap, low-budget direct-to-video knockoff with no connection to the original except for the zombie/ghost fisherman Ben Willis. But ever since, this sequel has been forgotten and should be forgotten. Hell, I don't think it's even canon in the film series, so yeah, that's a good thing.

My Last Word: Avoid at all costs.

So those are the two sequels to I Know What You Did Last Summer. Are they great? Hell, no. But will the 2025 reboot be any better? I highly doubt it, but I'll check it out anyway.