Rewind or Regret: A Review of Time Cut

The movie Time Cut was released on October 30, 2024, and was directed by Hannah Macpherson. This movie mixes time travel and slasher horror making for an interesting ride. The story follows Lucy (Madison Bailey), a teen girl in 2024 who accidentally discovers a time machine that takes her back to 2003, the year Lucy’s sister Summer (Antonia Gentry) was murdered by a masked serial killer. While the plot is interesting, the movie received mixed reviews for its execution. 

Spoilers ahead. 

There are reasons for these mixed reviews. The movie attempts to balance the sci-fi world of time travel, which is already a hefty task, and slasher elements. Time travel in media is so rarely done cohesively, and Time Cut is no exception. The time travel in Time Cut contains poorly defined rules, making the plot holes extremely excessive. The end of the movie features Lucy deciding to save her previously dead sister, meaning that Lucy would have never been born. However, instead of Lucy’s entire existence being erased, she is still alive and well, deciding to live out the rest of her life in 2003 with Summer. While this ending is sweet and sentimental, it is not realistic given the parameters of time travel. 

Similarly, the slasher aspect of Time Cut falls flat as well. The killer’s attacks lack suspense and impactful violence, leaving viewers to feel underwhelmed. Overall, Time Cut’s refusal to commit to time travel or slasher made the film feel disconnected and disorganized. 

Time Cut offers an interesting take on early 2000s fashion and culture, however, viewers were also left unsatisfied due to some historical inaccuracies and exaggerations. The film focuses on low-rise jeans, metallic belts, and UGG boots, and although this is accurate, this fashion is greatly oversimplified. Instead of showcasing a diverse era of fashion, the movie reduced its fashion to mere clichés of the time. While these choices were trying to be nostalgic, they majorly missed the mark. 

Due to the chaotic plot of slasher and time travel, there wasn’t a lot of time left to actually develop the characters emotionally. Bailey and Gentry did well with what they had, but the characters still remained significantly underdeveloped, making their relationship feel inconsequential. 

I know I have essentially completely degraded this movie. However, I didn’t think it was terrible. It missed the mark on a lot of aspects, but I still enjoyed watching it. If you are looking for something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, you would probably enjoy Time Cut. I don’t regret watching this movie, but I don’t see myself rewatching it in the future. I would recommend watching Time Cut with a group of friends in a relaxed setting if you want to truly enjoy it.