The Fisherman returns, but does the hook cut as deeply this time?
The late ’90s slasher boom had a formula: a pretty cast, a masked killer, and a dark secret that refuses to stay buried. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) stood in the shadow of Scream but carved out its own cult following with its fisherman killer — a ghostly presence of guilt that stalked teenagers with a hook.
Now, almost three decades later, Hollywood has exhumed the body. The question is simple: Did they bring him back to life or just string up a corpse for one last parade?
The newest installment of the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise is not a simple reboot but a “legacy sequel” that attempts to connect to the original 1997 film.
The return of original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Julie James and Ray Bronson is a significant selling point. Reviewers note that their brief appearances provide fan service and some of the movie’s most decisive moments.
The film’s plot is familiar: A new group of teenagers accidentally causes a car accident and covers it up, only to be stalked by a hook-wielding killer a year later.
While critics found the new cast’s chemistry lacking, they often praised the central murder mystery and the film’s surprising twist ending as its strongest elements.
Several reviewers noted that the “whodunit” element is more compelling and unpredictable than in the original movie.
However, the film suffers from an identity crisis, struggling to balance a sincere horror tone with a self-aware, wink-and-a-nod approach.
While it delivers throwback slasher fun, many critics felt it relied too heavily on nostalgia and lacked originality. Despite its flaws, the film has been described as watchable, if forgettable, and some consider it the best film in the franchise.
The mid-credits scene introduces a new character and hints that this may not be the last we see of the saga.
The Weight of Nostalgia
The 2025 film doesn’t hide its intentions. It’s not just another cheap reboot; it’s a direct sequel that brings back Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. to play Julie and Ray again.
Their return is the headline, the bait. We’re not just here for fresh blood; we’re here to see if the survivors of the past can outrun their sins.
That’s the clever hook (pun intended). Rather than discarding the original, this film acknowledges it by weaving the 1997 trauma into the story of a new generation.
Julie and Ray aren’t just cameos; they’re ghosts of a bygone era standing alongside the TikTok generation cast, who now inherit their curse. Here, nostalgia isn’t just a marketing trick; it’s a weapon.
A Killer Reforged.
The Fisherman is back, and yes, he’s still dragging that slicker and hook like Death’s own Fisherman.
But this isn’t the same pantomime villain from the ’90s. The trailers tease a nastier edge with kills that don’t cut away and dread that doesn’t wink.
If the original films were campfire stories, this feels more like a nightmare bleeding onto the screen.
There’s a deliberate shift toward modern horror here. The ’90s slashers were about bad decisions and bloody consequences.
The 2025 version leans into generational anxiety—guilt, paranoia, and the impossibility of burying secrets in a world where everything lives online forever.
You can’t cover up a crime when the whole world is a surveillance state. And yet, the Fisherman comes anyway.
The Cast and the Curse
On one side are Hewitt and Prinze Jr., whose faces are weathered by time and haunted by what they thought they had left behind.
On the other side are the new cast members, Generation Z victims-in-waiting with faces lit by ring lights. They are haunted less by guilt than by the digital panopticon.
Together, they blur the line between legacy and replacement.
Some critics will call it “safe”—another studio attempt to cash in on Gen Z nostalgia. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear a sharper undercurrent.
The Fisherman isn’t just a killer anymore. He’s a metaphor for memory itself. He represents the sins we tried to scrub out with sequels, spinoffs, and reboots.
You can’t bury what you refuse to acknowledge. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching on VHS or TikTok Live when the hook comes.
Final verdict:
I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) isn’t perfect. It lacks the raw nerve of Scream (1996) and the sheer spectacle of Halloween (2018).
At times, it feels like it wants to be both: a glossy resurrection and a gritty reinvention.
But here’s the truth: the hook still glints in the dark. The Fisherman still walks. And for a moment, that’s enough.
Rating: 7/10 — The past comes back swinging, bloodier and smarter than expected, yet still bound by nostalgia.
