Time Cut (2024) is directed by Hannah Macpherson and stars Madison Bailey, Antonia Gentry, Griffin Gluck, Megan Best, Samuel Braun, Sydney Sabiston, Kataem O’Connor, Michael Shanks, Rachael Crawford, and BJ Verot. The film follows Lucy (Bailey) a lonely teenager living in the shadow of her sister, Summer (Gentry), who was murdered by a masked killer 20 years prior. One night, Lucy stumbles upon what appears to be a time machine. Out of curiosity, she enters the date 2 days before her sister’s murder. Unexpectedly, the machine works, sending Lucy back to 2003. There, she joins forces with Summer’s hopelessly romantic friend, Quinn (Gluck) so they can stop the murders before they occur. Unfortunately, Lucy quickly learns that saving her sister’s life may have unintended consequences.

The young cast’s performances aren’t mind-blowing, but they do the job well enough. Although the script is somewhat weak, they do their best with what they’re given. For example, Madison Bailey has a likable enough energy as the film’s lead but her character is one we’ve seen countless times before. This is a typical, isolated, grief-stricken protagonist forced to rise to the occasion. On top of this, the script makes the strange choice of having Lucy be a teenage genius who’s applying to work for NASA. Besides some prowess on old computers, the character does nothing to make me believe she’s smart enough for NASA. All this achieves is that it makes the character more difficult to relate to. 

The film immediately puts a bad taste in one’s mouth because the first ten minutes feature at least 4 eye-rolling teen movie cliches. From there, the experience is a lot more entertaining, but it’s noticeably tough to adjust after such a weak opening. There’s also a fair share of noticeably choppy editing as well as one particularly silly voiceover that gives the viewer exposition on something they JUST WITNESSED in the previous sequence. 

The cool premise feels far too derivative of last year’s Totally Killer and It’s a Wonderful Knife. That’s the thing about gimmicky premises: after they’re used more than once or twice, it becomes clear that the gimmick is all there is and therefore comes across as boring and derivative. That being said, it does do a few unique things within its premise that distinguishes it from the two previously mentioned films. That being said, it’s not enough to save it from feeling too similar overall. The movie makes the all-too-common modern scriptwriting mistake of failing to commit to one specific genre and therefore ends up half-assing the thrills of multiple. Don’t get me wrong, multi-genre films are great, Hollywood is just starting to act like every film they make needs to satisfy fans of every genre within a single experience. It just ends up diluting the specific effects/feelings that each genre brings to the table. It’s too fun to be scary, too scary to be fun. 

I did find myself enjoying the film’s 2003 setting. Maybe I’m just nostalgic because I grew up during that time, but it also feels like an era that movies are just now starting to tap into. 80s and 90s nostalgia is starting to feel overused (80s more so) so it’s nice to see a new era given the flashback treatment. The songs, fashion, and attitudes feel authentic to the era and the movie constantly takes advantage of it for comedic effect – maybe a little too much. This is one of the most fun and unique aspects of the film but like so many other elements distracts from delivering both comedy and drama. The only thing the movie seems interested in delivering to the audience is nostalgia and therefore feels like a hollow experience. 

I was also frustrated with the fact that the design of the killer’s mask as well as their motivations are forgettable at best. In a lot of slasher films, the best element is the killer, but this movie just never seems interested in appealing to its core fanbase. For example, only two people die throughout the entire movie, and (spoiler alert) they’re not any of the characters we care about. In other words, there are few stakes, and therefore, there’s a lack of tension. 

Overall, this is a serviceable slasher experience if your expectations are low and don’t care too much about genre tropes. It’s entertaining and short but it’s never quite as funny or scary as a person would hope. It’s also just something we’ve seen before more than once in the last year and a half. Unless you’re looking for some early 2000s nostalgia, you can safely stay away from Time Cut. C