The return of the slasher movie genre, which had long been dormant, came with some important conditions. The new films were either part of a well-established franchise (like the updates to Scream or Halloween, or next year’s I Know What You Did Last Summer) or they relied on a quirky gimmick. We saw time loops (in the Happy Death Day series), time travel (Totally Killer), timeline jumping (the excellent Fear Street trilogy), alternate realities (It’s a Wonderful Knife), or body swapping (the underrated Freaky). These bold genre-bending variations seemed hesitant to rely solely on the basic pleasures of the formula.
What initially seemed innovative has now become predictably repetitive, as shown by Netflix’s lackluster teen film Time Cut, which almost feels like a parody of this recent trend. Even if its concept were fresher, there’s not enough substance here to warrant a prime Halloween viewing slot. Keep scrolling.
The film starts with a cold open set in 2003 that sets the tone for what’s to come – poor lighting, zero suspense, and a nostalgic soundtrack. We witness high schooler Summer (played by Antonia Gentry from Ginny & Georgia) being murdered by a masked killer, the latest victim in a series targeting her friends. Fast forward to 2024, and her sister Lucy (portrayed by Madison Bailey from Outer Banks) is still grappling with the loss. Although they never met – Lucy was born just two years after Summer’s death – the house remains haunted, with her room preserved as a shrine and their parents overly protective. On the anniversary of Summer’s death, Lucy stumbles upon a strange machine that transports her back to the week before her sister’s murder, forcing her to try and alter history.
There’s little of interest in this setup, which closely resembles last year’s Totally Killer, where Kiernan Shipka played a high schooler sent back to the 80s to prevent her mother’s murder by a madman. The most intriguing notion, albeit dark, is the idea that saving her sister would erase Lucy’s existence, as her parents only had her as a replacement for Summer. However, the film quickly sidesteps these darker themes for ineffective sentimentality.
While lack of tension, innovative kills, and atmosphere are common issues in slashers, they are particularly glaring in this film, which looks as flat and uninspired as some of the worst offerings on streaming platforms. Writer-director Hannah MacPherson, working from a story by Michael Kennedy (of Freaky fame), heavily relies on nostalgia to appeal to those who grew up with the previous slasher film cycle initiated by Scream. However, references to velour tracksuits and Vanessa Carlton can only go so far. The film only briefly touches on something vaguely original in a poignant scene where the sisters discuss the evolution of queer acceptance. Netflix’s own stars Bailey and Gentry shine in their underdeveloped roles.
Similar to the disappointing second Happy Death Day film, there’s too much emphasis on the mechanics of time travel, as if viewers expect or desire a film like this to be scientifically accurate. Like many recent high-concept horror films, there’s a laziness in how it handles the basic slasher elements. Once again, the gimmick is used as a distraction from an otherwise uninspired rehash, and at this point in the cycle, it’s becoming transparent.