Time Cut review
Time Cut is as fun as reading about what happened two decades ago written by someone with no opinion on the subject.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Time Cut
Directed by Hannah Macpherson
Screenplay by Michael Kennedy and Hannah Macpherson
Starring Madison Bailey, Antonia Gentry, Michael Shanks, Griffin Gluck, Rachael Crawford, Jordan Pettle and Megan Best
Time Cut Review
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes…the plot of Time Cut sounds awfully familiar to that of last year’s Totally Killer. A high school girl accidentally travels back in time where she can prevent a serial killer’s rampage…possibly saving a family member in the process. It’s true…that’s the plot of both movies. But here’s the rub…despite releasing a year after Amazon Prime’s time travel slasher comedy, Time Cut was filmed before it. Which makes it impossible to begrudge the latest Netflix release any similarities. But it doesn’t dismiss that Totally Killer did it totally better.
Despite the plot similarities, the two films aim for starkly different tones. Totally Killer is a comedy through and through. Time Cut barely attempts to make you chuckle. It’s played straight as an arrow through the neck that the TV-14 rated movie isn’t going to show you. It leans heavily on the drama that Totally Killer uses as a foundation to build something more fun on top of. Less fun. Less entertaining.
At least it sends us back to a different era. Totally Killer travels to the well-trodden ground of the 1980s. Time Cut sends its protagonist back to 2003. I say “at least” because, aside from some fine music choices, there’s nothing remotely interesting about 2003. Sure, phones are smarter and… … actually, that’s about it. Fashion hasn’t changed enough for the differences to be noticeable. Even when the movie tries to tell you that it is. In fact, the couture that our hero settles on to blend in looks more 80s than 2003.
Lucy (Madison Bailey) finds herself 21 years in the past on the very weekend that the Sweetly Slasher killed her sister. She wasn’t born when the event took place…but it had an unmistakable effect on her upbringing. She gets to see what her parents were like before her sister Summer’s (Antonia Gentry) death…and how that loss changes people. She even gets to befriend her sister…all while wrestling with the fear of changing things in the future for the worse.
Totally Killer wasn’t as concerned about the repercussions of changing the past. Time Cut is obsessed with it. In fairness, there is a good reason Lucy is terrified of saving her sister. She was conceived following Summer’s death because her parents had lost their child. Saving Summer may mean Lucy will never be born.
It’s heavy stuff. Unfortunately, Time Cut is overwhelmed by it. Stories about growing up in the shadow of familial tragedy aren’t a great launching point for entertainment. While some of the time travel elements are interesting (though not as well implemented as in Totally Killer), the tone of the story never rises from its somber funk. Neutered kills don’t help shake off the lethargy. Madison Bailey isn’t given anything to work with beyond notes to “look sadder” and “look more worried”.
Even the mystery of who is behind the mask isn’t given any juice. A strange choice given the eventual reveal is somewhat interesting. But Time Cut doesn’t want to be a mystery. It doesn’t want to be a slasher movie. Or a comedy. Or a commentary on the period it sends Lucy too. It doesn’t want to be anything other than glum. It accomplishes that.
The nature of the story makes Lucy a passenger far too often. Even when she decides to act…Time Cut fails to ratchet up the excitement. Mostly, she looks worried and acts indecisively. Totally Killer had a mission statement and a story that carried out that mission. It utilized comedy, the setting and sci-fi concepts to make for an entertaining watch. Like Lucy, Time Cut rarely decides to do anything. It’s exactly as exciting as watching someone who can’t make a choice sounds like it would be.
Scare Value
Time Cut avoids almost every entertaining choice that it could make. A frustrating watch that sticks to its sole intention…to plod along on a road that feels like it isn’t going anywhere. The climax is a highlight…but an unearned one at best. Totally Killer did it better…because it did anything at all. It isn’t hard to see why Time Cut sat unreleased for so long.
1.5/5
Time Cut Link
Streaming on Netflix
