The One Element Of The New I Know What You Did Last Summer That Hooked Me The Most

SPOILER WARNING: The following article gives away some crucial details from I Know What You Did Last Summer. If you have not yet seen the new 2025 movie, try not to make a mistake that will haunt you and proceed with caution as you read on.

After hearing some positive rumblings about 2025’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, including from Eric Eisenberg’s review of the slasher legacyquel, I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, all it did was reinforce what I dislike about horror requels with a recycled plotline, bland characters, subpar acting, ear-aching dialogue, nonsensical twists, and not even one memorable kill, in my opinion.

However, I will admit that the new horror movie, which once again follows troubled youths targeted for a fatal mistake they made a year earlier, is not a complete wash for me. In fact, I will give the new I Know What You Did Last Summer some credit for incorporating one aspect that was a genuine surprise and even had me and my crowd applauding.

Are you curious to learn what I am referring to? Well, what are you waiting for, huh? Read on to find out…

I Love That The Movie Acknowledges I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Days before seeing the new film, I decided to watch, for the first time, the second installment, 1998’s I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, which I ended up enjoying more than the original, mostly for ironic reasons, that is. Because of its reputation as an inferior slasher sequel (and, honestly, for totally valid reasons), I expected the bloody Bahamian B-movie to be ignored in this new film, much like how David Gordon Green’s Halloween movies erase everything that came after the 1978 horror movie classic.

Much to my surprise, the requel seems to have a lot of love for the second chapter. One of its best jokes sees Tyriq Winters’ character, Teddy, recommending that he and his friends “fuck off to the Bahamas” to escape the killer’s wrath, which Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.) advises against for reasons he opts not to disclose. My favorite moment, however, is the mid-credits scene when Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) pays a visit to her old college roommate, Karla Wilson (Brandy Norwood, reprising her I Still Know… role). Speaking of…

This Movie Could Have Used More Brandy

It appears that the makers of the new I Know What You Did Last Summer were listening when Brandy Norwood told them to “hit her up” while speaking to THR in 2024. However, I cannot help but imagine she was asking for more than just a mid-credits cameo and, quite frankly, I think she deserved more than that.

In just a few minutes of screentime, the R&B singer, who is easily my favorite thing about I Still Know..., gives a more compelling and enjoyable performance than any of the returning franchise cast members. For that reason, I think the movie could have been even more fun if Karla played a larger role in the film, as opposed to a brief, sequel-baiting appearance. Actually, on that note...

I Really Don't Want A Sequel, Even With Brandy

As I established at the top, this is one of my least favorite horror movie franchises. I found the first movie bland, the second more enjoyably nonsensical (especially with its unbelievably stupid plot twist), I have been advised not to bother with the straight-to-video I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, and this new film did nothing to remedy my issues with the previous installments

If anything, it only proved to me that this franchise has very little fumes to run on in terms of creativity, and I honestly think the plug should be pulled. I realize that this would cost the chance of seeing any more of Norwood as Karla, but a bigger part of me would rather see her act in just about anything else. Perhaps it is time I check out her recent A24 movie, The Front Room.

You know, I am not going to lie, though, if Brandy Norwood does return as Karla for another freaking I Know What You Did Last Summer, I’ll probably watch it. Then again, the new film doesn’t seem to have hooked in that many moviegoers based on its opening weekend box office returns. That being said, I am glad to see some fans enjoying this new slasher, especially if it will mark the last of The Fisherman’s murder streak.