Madelyn Cline | Scott's Film Reviews-1,498 Reviews posted!!! RECENTLY LAUNCHED-MY TOP 250 FAVORITE FILMS AND TOP 40 HORROR FILMS!!!

I Know What You Did Last Summer-2025

Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Starring Chase Sui Wonders, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Madelyn Cline

Scott’s Review #1,494

Reviewed October 3, 2025

Grade: B+

The 2025 I Know What You Did Last Summer offering is pure nostalgia for fans of mainstream 1990s horror flicks. Those who love film franchises like Scream (1996-present) and Final Destination (2000-present) will be pretty pleased.

I adored watching the film and traveling back to my youth, although I was startled by the revelation that the young cinema stars of the 1990s are now almost 50 years old.

I only knew that Jennifer Love-Hewitt was returning by way of coming attraction trailers. Still, I had no idea that Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar were also returning, which added to my viewing pleasure.

It felt like catching up with old friends you haven’t seen in nearly thirty years.

While not a sequel to the 1997 original, it feels fresh with its clever ideas, twists and turns, and whodunit sensibilities, adding a refreshing dose of feminism that is timely.

This can undoubtedly be due in large part to being directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, a female director who also co-wrote the screenplay.

Just like in 1997, 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.

A year later, their past comes back to haunt them when one of the friends receives a threatening note, and they realize that someone knows what they did last summer.

As one by one the friends are stalked by a killer, they discover this has happened before, and they turn to two survivors of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997 for help.

The most fun is the whodunit factor and trying to figure out who is the one donning a fisherman’s cloak and brandishing a hook to slice and dice their victims to ribbons.

Or does Robinson borrow a gimmick from the Scream films and make it two killers?

Of course, the victim of the original summer tragedy shares a link with the killers, and plenty of red herrings are in store, adding to the enjoyment.

The rulebook is slightly bent to allow for even more female empowerment than the original, wisely bringing Love-Hewitt’s Julie James back into the fold.

Now older, wiser, and tougher, and a college professor, she serves as a coach and mentor to Ava Brucks (Chase Sui Wonders), the leader of the new group of friends.

In a cool bit of inclusion, the character of Ava is bisexual, having a passionate bathroom encounter with a rocker chick while also having an ex-boyfriend, Milo (Jonah Hauer-King).

It’s also revealed that Julie and Ray Bronson (played by Prinze Jr.) were once married and have a tumultuous past. This is appealing to viewers familiar with the duo from the original film.

Putting the soap opera trimmings aside, the main highlight of I Know What You Did Last Summer is the accident during the first summer, the chase scenes, and the kill scenes, and the film wisely provides many of these.

When Teddy (Tyriq Withers) and Danica (Madelyn Cline) go to a dark graveyard to snoop for information, it doesn’t bode well for either when the fisherman lurks nearby.

These straightforward yet compelling sequences blend seamlessly with the finale aboard a yacht and later in a bar. The twists and turns, as well as the killer reveal, are well-written and character-themed, building on history and making sense.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) successfully takes a stroll down memory lane while providing jumps, scares, and even a few laughs along the way.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery-2022

Director-Rian Johnson

Starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe

Scott’s Review #1,331

Reviewed January 5, 2023

Grade: B

I teetered over grading Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), simply referred to as Glass Onion, a B+ or a B but the hardline critic in me won out on this day.

If I hadn’t compared it so much to the deliciously witty and inventive Knives Out from 2019 I might have given in and awarded it a generous B+ rating but it’s also impossible not to compare the two since the setups and similarities are too apparent.

Rian Johnson who returns to the fold as director, writer, and co-producer pays tribute to the fabulous Agatha Christie murder mystery whodunits and the Hercule Poirot detective inclusion with the delightful Daniel Craig as the lead, reprising his role as master detective Benoit Blanc as he takes on an exciting new case.

A Greek island owned by ultra-billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) provides the setting for the Southern detective’s latest adventure, which unfolds as a group of the tech giant’s friends gather for a murder mystery party, quickly turning deadly.

I couldn’t watch Miles without thinking of Elon Musk, the current controversial social media Twitter chief executive officer in all his juvenile buffoonery.

Appearances by top stars Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, and Leslie Odom Jr., and a surprise cameo by Hugh Grant round out the cast. Along with Craig and Norton, this brings enough star power to create buzz.

It’s also appealing that Benoit, a clear ode to Poirot, is the only character that is the same from the first Knives Out story. His character is immediately developed when we see him soaking in a bathtub in his Manhattan apartment conversing with a male voice offscreen.

He refuses to leave the tub during the very topical COVID pandemic making the entire film feel incredibly timely and relevant.

Let’s see what happens when the film ages ten years.

We later learn that his husband, Phillip (Hugh Grant) lives with him and Blanc is gay. How wonderful to incorporate an LGBTQ+ presence into a main character and icing on the cake is that the studly James Bond actor is all in.

With Blanc’s vague sexuality revealed, the exciting mystery commences with many twists and turns among the characters, led by a wonderful dual performance by Monáe. She plays sophisticated New Yorker Andi and her southern sister Helen Brand.

The other characters are a mixed bag with Hudson and Hahn playing ridiculous, over-the-top roles as a washed-up fashion designer and an aspiring governor, respectively.

But the cartoon character award goes to former WWE professional wrestler David Bautista as the weird, buff guy, Duke Cody who barely keeps his clothes on.

Still, the characters are a hoot, and the anticipation of how they all connect, who has screwed over who, and why, are slowly revealed in fun form.

Not to be outdone there are even revelations of who is screwing who in the bedroom.

The story isn’t as interesting as the story in Knives Out was. The ingenious script is lost and by the end, it’s a case of who cares? All we want to know is who’s dead and who’s alive and what does the Mona Lisa have to do with anything?

The cast undoubtedly had a ball making Glass Onion and the sunny Greek Island locale is a great choice. As the players bask in the sun and saunter around in bikinis sipping a cocktail or three amid peril is great fun for the cast and viewers alike.

It’s unclear if Johnson will create another installment of the Knives Out ‘collection’ but I’m on board if he does. I’ve been fascinated by the whodunit genre for as long as I can remember.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) isn’t quite as riveting or satisfying as Knives Out (2019) but the film is simply fun with superior, glossy production values and a great cast.

Oscar Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay