2025’s Most Criticized & Laughed At Horror Flick Lands on Netflix

I Know What You Did Last Summer, the fourth film in the long-running slasher franchise, is now streaming on Netflix, but fans and critics aren’t impressed.

The movie picks up 27 years after the Tower Bay murders seen in the second film, with a new hook-wielding killer targeting a group of friends a year after they cover up a fatal car crash.

Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who co-wrote the script with Sam Lansky from a story by Robinson and Leah McKendrick, the film stars Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon, Billy Campbell, Gabbriette Bechtel, and Austin Nichols. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt return as Ray Bronson and Julie James, linking the new story to the original films.

The movie premiered at the United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles on July 14, and opened in U.S. theaters on July 18 via Sony Pictures Releasing. It made $64.8 million worldwide but received mostly negative reviews from critics.

On Rotten Tomatoes, only 36% of 208 critics gave the film a positive review. The site’s consensus reads: “Faithfully harking back to the original for better or worse, this I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot serves up plenty of nostalgia without finding a compelling hook of its own.” Metacritic gave it a score of 42 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a C+.

Some reviewers found small positives. Alison Foreman of IndieWire gave it a B+ and called it a “lean, mean serial killer flick.” Jordan Hoffman from Entertainment Weekly gave it a B−, writing, “Clever moments and a sensational performance from Madelyn Cline keep the movie (mostly) alive.”

However, many critics were harsher. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the movie one out of four stars and said, “The overall shallowness of I Know What You Did Last Summer would be fine if it were just better made. In particular, the editing by Saira Haider is just off rhythm. It’s like a car in the wrong gear, going in the right direction, but something’s wrong with the speed. The kill scenes are particularly inconsistent as the first couple strike a tone of gory fun, but the back half of the film plays out like more serious fare.”

Fans on social media have been blunt. One wrote, “This was a bad movie. PS: But at least they didn’t give us Jamaican Jack Black.” Another said, “And it’s godawful. Don’t waste your time.” Some were slightly more forgiving: “It was not good lol but worth a watch if you don’t have anything else better to do. But stay for after the credits!” Others were more critical: “Truly awful film,” and “yea I watch it today on Netflix and its not a good movie and I hate most of the story so much but the kills were good for the most part.”

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