2006’s The Barbie Diaries was one of my favorite Barbie movies ever, despite being derivative of everything of the era, especially Mean Girls. Watching Time Cut had me feeling the same way, but I suppose it didn’t evoke as much of a positive reaction as the other one, and I’ll tell you why. Time Cut follows Lucy, a high schooler whose sister was murdered before she was born. Lucy finds herself wondering what it would’ve been like with her sister alive, only to learn about it when she accidentally time travels to a few days before her sister’s death. Look, the premise is madly intriguing, and that’s also why it’s a difficult film to make. I found myself circling back to the idea of a “wholesome” slasher, a “feel good” horror. Doesn’t make sense at all, yet it makes complete sense, no? Netflix has the tendency to drop new horror movies every year during the Halloween season, and this time they’re trying something new. Nobody’s managed to have a chokehold on the teen media industry as much as Netflix, so it comes as no surprise that they’re going all in on that cash cow. But, having said that, I think Time Cut is a misguided step in that aspect.
Just like many of its predecessors, Time Cut struggles to present itself genuinely from the point of view of the kids. While I feel too old to be writing about this movie, I also feel like most of the music and the tropes of the film were directed at me, so where does the line get blurry and why doesn’t it work? Well, Time Cut is essentially a movie set in 2003, but it occasionally feels like someone who is 40 in the 2020s has written it in the hope of evoking some nostalgic vibes. Sure, it does manage to do that, but it also struggles to keep your attention as a slasher and sibling bonding movie. I suppose neither Lucy nor Summer really get any kind of arc as such; they just flatline to the end of the film. Also, for a movie under the slasher category, it’s not really gory as such; there’s only instances when you think it’s going to get bad, until it doesn’t. Though this is not to say people don’t die, they definitely do.
While researching this film, I quickly learned that we’ve been on the slasher-time-travel journey for a while now, and apparently it’s already a tired trope. I’m genuinely happy I never caught onto the trend because how much more could we see in this particularly frozen subgenre? Maybe next time we can introduce some ghosts to the mix, you know, just for something nuanced and interesting. I will admit I quite enjoyed the music of this film, probably because I grew up listening to a lot of those songs or simply vibing to that kind of music. Additionally, A Thousand Miles never gets old and is going to be stuck in my head for the next week at least.
There’s nothing genuinely horrifying about Time Cut, except for one scene that looks like it’s going to go too far but gives us the relief of switching scenes at the last moment, whereas in the Fear Street films we got to see everything clearly. I suppose when we’re thinking slashers, I actually quite enjoy the Fear Street version better. That’s also one of the reasons why this film seems half-baked. It’s a slasher, but it doesn’t go all the way; it’s a time travel film, but the sci-fi fans will get nothing from it; and it’s a slice-of-life about sibling bonding, but we see more friendship development than actually sibling “bonding.” But hey, at least we get a makeover montage, so we’re all satisfied, right? Wrong. Also, the film’s a lot more predictable than you’d imagine.
I think Time Cut is one of those films that underestimates its audience. Some things are just not tied up well enough, and the conclusion of the film just leaves you a little bit concerned. Still, I didn’t find myself hating this movie; it was fun at least at some points. I think all the actors did a great job, and it’s a shame, but I’ve only seen the dude in Tall Girl before, even though both actresses are in some big shows on Netflix. Madison Bailey from Outer Banks plays Lucy, and Antonia Gentry in Ginny and Georgia is Summer. Seems we’re still stuck on the half-White, half-Black protagonists on movies and shows, but something’s better than nothing, I guess. The characters are very 2D, but the actors do their best to make them work. I guess since so much is going on externally, we don’t get enough time for what’s happening inward, though that is the reason for everything going on here. You’ll know what I mean if you end up watching the film. But having said all of that, I think it’s still somewhat enjoyable.
I guess this is what you get from an “average” film. It’s neither excellent nor terrible; it just exists in a limbo of time-travely green goo that seems like a mass that keeps growing, maybe one day engulfing us all in it too. Jokes aside though, if you’re looking for a lighthearted slasher, then I’d actually recommend this film, and I can see that it’s trying to be a lot of things, paying homage to a lot of tropes and vibes, so we’ll give it that. But if you’re looking for a genuinely good film, I would suggest skipping this one. Definitely a fun background watch for a busy day where you just need some relief, and I guess it’ll be fun to watch with a sibling, seeing as that’s kind of what it’s about. There’s some violence, but no sex or nudity, so you can watch it with younglings, with a little bit of a gore warning. I’d give Time Cut 2.5 out of 5 stars because I see the potential, but it just didn’t get there.
