Time Cut

Lore & Background

The plot centers on Lucy Field, an amateur inventor who accidentally travels from 2024 back to 2003, two days before her older sister Summer is murdered by the Sweetly Slasher. In 2003, Lucy enlists the help of a local student, Quinn, to refuel the time machine. She discovers that Quinn is in love with Summer, and that Summer is a lesbian in love with her friend Emmy. The Slasher is revealed to be a future Quinn from an alternate timeline, driven insane by rejection and bullying. Lucy transports the future Quinn to 2024 and kills him, then decides to return to 2003 to live with Summer and Quinn.

Reader's Guide

Time Cut is notable as a time-travel slasher that combines science fiction with horror, but it was widely panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, only 26% of 34 critics gave positive reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. Metacritic assigned a score of 36 out of 100, indicating 'generally unfavorable' reviews. Critics such as Benjamin Lee of The Guardian and Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com criticized its focus on time travel mechanics and its similarity to Totally Killer. However, some reviewers like Mini Anthikad-Chhibber of The Hindu and Ben Travis of Empire offered more positive assessments, praising its lighthearted tone or its understanding of character-driven time travel stories. The film's production involved unloaded guns with standard safety precautions, and cinematography was done by Tony Mirza and Halyna Hutchins before Hutchins worked on her final film, Rust.

Did You Know?

• The film was released on Netflix on October 30, 2024.
• It was unfavorably compared by critics to the 2023 film Totally Killer.
• The plot involves a time machine hidden in a hay barn.