‘Time Cut’ Review: Netflix film is a confusing mess and now we know why it sat on a shelf for years
Contains spoilers for ‘Time Cut’
SWEETLY, MINNESOTA: ‘Time Cut’ is definitely the kind of movie that wears its 2000s heart on its sleeve, proudly throwing us back to an era of chunky belts, Avril Lavigne, and dial-up modems. For those of us who lived through that denim-filled decade, there's something immediately heartwarming about seeing Sweetly High’s hallways lined with Juicy Couture tracksuits and Ugg boots. But the problem is, ‘Time Cut’ doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a nostalgic time-travel trip, a thriller, or a slasher and in trying to do it all, it ends up not fully delivering on any one front.
For the unversed, ‘Time Cut’ follows Lucy Field (Madison Bailey), a high schooler who discovers a time machine hidden in a barn and decides to travel back to 2003 to prevent her sister Summer (Antonia Gentry) from becoming the next victim of the “Sweetly Slasher.” The idea of saving a lost loved one is touching indeed, and you can feel that this Netflix film wants to tug at our emotions with this sisterly bond. But instead of leaning into this, ‘Time Cut’ seems like a confused plot that is more interested in having fun with 2000s throwbacks and easy jokes.
‘Time Cut’ feels strikingly similar to last year's ‘Totally Killer’
I mean, the focus on nostalgia isn't inherently bad. In fact, some of it is pretty fun. Hearing Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton echo through scenes or watching Lucy react to a dial-up modem for the first time will no doubt hit a soft spot for anyone who remembers those early-2000s quirk. But the movie tries to pull off a "sleepover horror" vibe that never really finds its footing, and as a result, the slasher element, which is supposedly the film's core, ends up feeling like they’re just along for the ride.
It also doesn't help that ‘Time Cut’ feels strikingly similar to last year's ‘Totally Killer’, which also leaned on similar themes. Where ‘Totally Killer’ dialed up its horror-comedy in a way that felt balanced, ‘Time Cut’ feels uncertain about how far to go. There are brief mentions of time-travel rules like the butterfly effect, but the stakes feel strangely low. When characters meet the “Sweetly Slasher,” there's little sense of actual danger, deaths happen off-screen or in quick cutaways that dodge any real horror effect.
‘Time Cut’ fails to deliver despite its potential
Beyond Lucy and Summer, who share a tender, if underexplored, connection, the rest of the characters don't get much to work with. Griffin Gluck plays a friend-zoned nice guy, and that's about as deep as it goes for his character, Quinn. Other supporting characters seem to drift in and out, never really getting the time they deserve to make us care. It feels like ‘Time Cut’ had the chance to dig into these elements and maybe even play with the whodunit theme, but instead, it skims the surface, which is quite disappointing.
For those new to horror or for anyone just wanting an easy night of light scares and heavy nostalgia, ‘Time Cut’ might be exactly what they're looking for. But for anyone hoping for a gripping, genre-blending thriller, it might come up short. It's more of a bubblegum rewind to the 2000s than a fully formed slasher, leaving us with a film that's fun on a surface level but misses the depth it could have had. That said, that soundtrack really does slap.
‘Time Cut’ is currently streaming on Netflix
