‘Time Cut’ Review – A Time Travel Slasher With a Case of Been There, Done That

A sense of déjà vu is inevitable when watching Hanna MacPherson’s Time Cut. Just like Totally Killer, a movie that came out only a year ago, this new slasher flings a final girl to the distant past so that she can solve a loved one’s murder. Yes, Time Cut was technically announced first, but the movie has the misfortune of being released later rather than sooner. And today, in an age where nostalgia bait runs rampant, the plot already feels outdated.

While the ‘80s and ‘90s tend to be the go-to destinations in these kinds of movies, Time Cut takes us back to the less visited early-aughts. 2003, to be exact. Madison Bailey’s character Lucy realizes her new surroundings like any teen time traveler might nowadays: by song. In this needle dropper set to Hilary Duff’s “So Yesterday,” the movie rolls out a parade of the decade’s greatest fashion don’ts. The puka shell necklaces, the low-rise jeans, the Uggs — the mere sight of these and other sartorial eyesores is ultimately more dread-inducing than the movie’s actual horror parts.

For a slasher, Time Cut doesn’t do a whole lot of slashing. The requisite opening kill sets things in motion, yet largely, the movie ends up concentrating on the sibling relationship between Lucy and her older sister Summer (Antonia Gentry). There are chase sequences and deaths, albeit a very few, but they neither make the pulse race nor leave any lasting impression. They feel more like something the story needs to get out of the way so it can return its focus to Lucy and Summer, as well as their mutual friend Quinn (Griffin Gluck). The intent here is to mend a lifelong rift between sisters who have never met before. So for those expecting a lot of carnage, they will be disappointed.

Since Summer’s death at the hands of the Sweetly Slasher, Lucy has been trying to fill an impossible void at home. That type of sadness casts a heavy cloud over the story, which only amounts to a very unfun protagonist. It also doesn’t help that the movie is oddly serious, as opposed to co-writer Michael Kennedy’s previous slashers Freaky and It’s a Wonderful Knife. We’ve become accustomed to funny time-travel tales over the years, so if this was intended to be another time-based horror-comedy, this was not a successful venture. Jokes here are both scant and lackluster.

All is not lost here. Indeed, the slasher bits are disappointing, insufficient and phoned in, but the sibling drama is somewhat affecting, if not rushed. Bailey and Gentry do good work together, and Gluck effectively completes the trio. Admittedly, the group dynamic is forced, but Time Cut appears to be aimed at a younger and maybe less scrutinizing demographic than that of Kennedy’s last two horror movies.

Time Cut is, simply, a movie at odds with itself. It would appear to be a comedy, based on the history of this subgenre so far. In addition, there are these ridiculous moments in the story that would back up that assumption; breaking into a nuclear research facility so quickly and easily has to be an attempt at humor, right? Regardless, the inconsistent tone here, along with the horror-lite execution, is what hurts the movie the most. And frankly, this may be proof that it’s time to move on from time travel-themed slashers. If not completely, then at least until they can feel more fresh than passé.

Time Cut is now streaming on Netflix.