The slasher renaissance is still in full swing, with recent titles including Scream VI, Terrifier 2, and Thanksgiving proving that this beloved subgenre of horror won’t be going away anytime soon. In 2023, director Nahnatchka Khan delivered the super fun retro vibes of her time-travel slasher, Totally Killer. Now, just over a year later, we somehow have yet another time-travel slasher, sporting a nearly identical premise with some obvious tweaks. If the two movies sound similar on paper, in execution, the directors involved were clearly going after two entirely different visions. Still, though notably flawed, there is much fun to be had, but do not expect graphic kills or meta hijinks. An impressive attention to 2000s aesthetics, paired with a contagious soundtrack, delivers a potent dose of nostalgia for anyone who grew up during that era. Despite its playful setup, Time Cut lacks the stylistic flair or emotional depth needed to make it truly stand out.
After opening with (what else) a quick kill and a brief chase scene through a bit of farmland, Time Cut flashes forward from 2003 to 2024. The opening victim’s sister, Lucy (Madison Bailey, Super Cool, American Horror Stories: Drive In), has been living in the shadow of her deceased predecessor since the day she was born. Her killer has never been caught. In Sweetly, Minessota, the murderous rampage of the Sweetly Slasher has left the town a shell of its thriving past. Lucy longs to start her NASA internship once summer arrives, but Lucy’s controlling parents want to keep her close to them in Sweetly. They won’t even cook for Lucy, either, marking the first of many random bits of product placement as the family frequent the Olive Garden restaurant. Implored by a teacher to “take control of her future,” Lucy accidentally does just that when traveling with her parents to pay respects at the scene of the crime.
Lucy discovers a beeping time machine conveniently located inside of the very same shed where we saw her sister attacked. A few beeps and lasers later, Lucy ends up in the colorful world of 2003. She needs only to travel to her school and observe the appalling fashions to realize she definitely has left her version of the present. She just happens to arrive on the same day the murders began, presenting an immediately compelling question. If she knows something very bad is about to happen, should she try to stop it? What would the consequences be for messing with the future? How can she fix her wonky time machine and get back to 2024?
Lucy finds an ally in uber-nerd Quinn (Griffin Gluck, Locke & Key, Big Time Adolescence), and eventually, in her very much alive sister, Summer (Antonia Gentry, Ginny & Georgia). Their dynamic creates some charming moments and entertaining dialogue, some of which lovingly recall the much simpler time Lucy has travelled to. Specifically, Lucy and Summer’s relationship becomes the beating heart of the film. Can she save her own sister? Can she trust her with the truth? Gentry and Bailey have an easy chemistry with each other that left me wishing the movie happening around them was a bit stronger.
The actual horror element is where Time Cut falls flat. The killer’s mask looks eerily similar to that of the Sweet Sixteen Killer in Totally Killer. Undoubtedly, the two were both in production at the same time, but many of the similarities are too glaring to stop from comparing them. As far as the actual slayings, the murders play out in rapid speed, showing minimal blood or gore. If this was in theaters, it would be a PG-13—it is unfortunate that the kills are so tame when the actual idea of them would have benefitted from gory practical effects. Without satisfyingly engaging kills, getting invested in the characters is all that remains. The sci-fi time travel angle also ends up nearly as flimsy, especially if unwilling to throw logic out the window. As with any movie involving the concept of time travel, there are bound to be plot holes, but a few of them here really bothered me. The killer reveal underwhelms, too, underlining the film’s most glaring flaws instead of balming their damage. Their motivation comes off cliché and underwhelming, especially given that time-travel villains can have much more complex motivations.
As someone who was a teenager during this time, the nostalgia was undeniable, between the kitschy sisterly fashion show set to “Teenage Dirtbag” to the very apt poster of the best television show ever made, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Each time we see Summer’s room, it feels like a total time capsule of this defining period of my life. I felt very attacked when one teen tells another, “what’s crack-a-lackin’,” a dated phrase that I still use to this very day. In fun moments where Time Cut leans into the absurdity of the past, it approaches greatness. Only when the actual narrative is concerned do we begin to run into issues.
Tonally, screenwriter Michael Kennedy explores similar themes here as in last year’s underrated Christmas-horror, It’s A Wonderful Knife. We see different versions of this town—one bustling, the other in disrepair—and explore the dynamics of meeting versions of people that could never have been the same with a straightforward narrative. An entertaining but flawed mix of time-travel and slasher, Time Cut lacks the tension and suspense of its many subgenre brothers and sisters.
Slice back into the early 2000s with Time Cut, premiering globally to Netflix subscribers on Wednesday, October 30th.
