MOVIE REVIEW: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

 

When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. One year later, the past comes back to haunt them as they learn someone knows what they did last summer. Stalked by a mysterious killer, they soon seek help from two survivors of the legendary Southport massacre of 1997.

Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cast: Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Billy Campbell, Gabbriette Bechtel, Austin Nichols, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt

Release Date: July 18, 2025

Genre: Horror

Rated R for bloody horror violence, language throughout, some sexual content and brief drug use

Runtime: 1h 51m

Review:

The legacy revival of I Know What You Did Last Summer dusts off the same basic plot of the original with fresh new faces, led by Chase Sui Wonders and Madelyn Cline, but it never decides if it wants to play it straight or lean into outright camp. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson film borrows heavily from the 1997 original as it immediately feels familiar for better or worse.  Legacy films typically have a classic film to fall back on for inspiration but if we are being honest the original was a so-so product of the post Scream craze.  It’s an opportunity for her to do something different or interesting with the concept, something she toys with at various points but never fully commits.  There are moments that feel like the film might go full bore satire thanks to an incredibly fun turn from Madelyn Cline who seems to be channeling Amanda Seyfried's Mean Girls character throughout.  She provides the film with some much-needed injections of energy that the film sorely lacks since it’s never scary or inventive with its kills.  The clunky need to add in random call backs to the original film like random mannequins in a restaurant or a parade float in a cemetery ultimately keep the film from ever finding its own footing.  Chase Sui Wonders does her best to keep the whole thing afloat as she desperately tries to deliver a much more nuanced performance that the film deserves.  The script doesn't do anyone any favors as it's filled with plenty of aggressively stupid logical leaps that are just nonsensical instead of shocking.  Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt's return should make a bigger impact on the film than they do, which just hammers home the point that their original characters weren't terribly interesting to begin with.  There's a late game story thread about the gentrification of the town and its horrific history which would have been a more interesting approach to the story than we get in this overlong, tepid redux.   

C-

MOVIE REVIEW: BODIES BODIES BODIES

 

A party game leads to murder when young and wealthy friends gather at a remote family mansion.

Director: Halina Reijn

Cast:  Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Pete Davidson

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller

Rated R for violence, bloody images, drug use, sexual references and pervasive language.

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a fun pitch black whodunit that effectively captures a moment in time for millennials including all their worse tendencies much like the slasher films from the 80's and 90's. Halina Reijn's film has a chaotic energy about it which persist throughout the film's lean runtime.  The script is sharply written with dialogue that skewers millennials on multiple levels.  It's aided greatly by a strong cast who lean into their characters with impressive aplomb.  Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova are the film's central duo with each delivering strong performances as the party interlopers.  Stenberg gives her character an unsteady, unreliable feel that makes you question her motivations at various points.  Bakalova delivers a believable sense of naivety as she watches the gaslighting descend into more extreme madness.  Rachel Sennot who plays Alice, an airhead people pleasing podcaster, steals practically every scene she in especially in the final act.  Lee Pace and Pete Davidson have smaller supporting roles with each making the most of their screen time.  Bodies Bodies Bodies plays like a modern version of the 80's cult slasher April Fool's Day as it shares that film's basic premise and it's fun but dark sense of satire.

B+