ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — “I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER” (2025, 111 min., directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson)

How much of an enduring legacy does the original “I Know What You Did Last Summer” have? Compared to its peers, the 1997 slasher is a small fish in a big pond, lacking the countless sequels, re-imaginings and Halloween costume tributes of “Scream,” “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th.” The problem might be that there is little instantly iconic about “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” even down to its villain’s weapon of choice: “Candyman,” another 90s slasher contemporary, has a much stronger hold on the pop culture hook hand than The Fisherman of this film. Beyond one goofy sequel set in the Bahamas, its misbegotten direct-to-DVD follow-up and a derided single season TV show, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” feels largely forgotten.

Nonetheless, this weekend sees the release of a brand-new legacy sequel of the same name, bringing back previous franchise stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. to guide a whole new group of manslaughter-complicit young people through the murderous onslaught of a hook-wielding killer in a fisherman slicker.

(Courtesy: Sony Pictures) “I Know What You Did Last Summer” is the first film in the franchise in nearly three decades.

There are things to like about this new “IKWYDLS” effort. For one, it’s earnest in a way most legacy sequels are not. Rather than slavishly recreating story beats of the first film and roping in the past cast for cheap nostalgia ploys, the movie feels pleased to be in the same “Billy Blue” boat as its predecessors. There are a shocking number of references, for instance, to “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,” the original’s 1998 sequel. Even if general audiences don’t “still know” about anything that happened in that movie, or even worse, that it exists at all, this new sequel does. If we have to have regurgitated IP stories dominate the current Hollywood landscape, more of them could aspire to the “IKWYDLS” (2025) heights of charming, enthusiastic geekiness toward its own brand.

The new cast, however, is more of a mixed bag. The five central characters, played by Madelyn Cline, Jonah Hauer-King, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers and Chase Sui Wonders, aren’t entirely lacking in chemistry, but neither do they form a cohesive unit. The premise of “IKWYDLS” hinges on the idea that a group of friends could feasibly form a trauma pact of secrecy after inadvertently causing someone’s death. I never bought that this group of friends ever would. While the gore, kills and campy jokes to come were totally adequate, the movie failed at the simple task of its setup.

It doesn’t help that the cause of the accident is more dubious in this rendition: in the original, the central quartet hits their victim in a drunk driving accident before dumping his still-twitching body into the ocean. In this version, Withers’ character is standing in the middle of the road, which leads to a car swerving out of his way, careening through the roadside barricade, and despite the characters’ best rescue efforts, plummeting down the cliff to the sea below. The resulting angst around the presumed death – no body dumping here – only comes after the friends responsibly phone 9-1-1 and then leave the scene.

The new take on the “IKWYDLS” original sin lacks any truly despicable wrongdoing, more afraid of alienating the audience from its central characters than creating compelling drama. Ironically, a dose more drama might have helped, since half of the new characters are dull as dirt.

Wonders, in particular, is incredibly underwhelming as the protagonist of the piece. While the marketing materials for the film would have you believe that Cline is the main character, Wonders is technically – and unfortunately – the focal point of the film. While she is admittedly given little to work with on the script level, it is a wonder Wonders was chosen to lead this movie. Whoever cut the trailer, meanwhile, must have seen what this film has in Cline: the “Outer Banks” star steals every scene she’s in with a hilariously ditzy performance. Nearly every major laugh line comes from Cline.

It makes sense that the new “I Know What You Did Last Summer” isn’t a triumph. It’s a perfectly fine, middle-of-the-road slasher, just like the original. But considering the love this movie has for its predecessors, I think it would take that as a compliment.

Rating: 3/5