Time Cut is a 2024 American science fiction slasher film directed by Hannah MacPherson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Kennedy. It stars Madison Bailey, Antonia Gentry and Griffin Gluck.
| Time Cut | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Hannah MacPherson |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Michael Kennedy |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tony Mirza |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Anna Drubich |
Production company | ACE Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes[1] |
| Language | English |
The plot follows Lucy, a girl who accidentally travels back in time to 2003 and attempts to save her older sister from a masked killer.
The film was released by Netflix on October 30, 2024.
Plot
editOn April 18, 2003, high school senior Summer Field unenthusiastically attends the senior class celebration Spring Fling, as her close friends Emmy, Brian, and Val were recently murdered by serial killer The Sweetly Slasher. Her lifelong friend Quinn tries to give her an envelope but Summer brushes him off, and does the same when her recent ex Ethan asks her to dance.
As Summer is in a back bathroom, the police are shutting down the party and everyone is rushing out the front. A masked figure lunges at her with a knife, so she escapes out back towards the barn where he takes her down.
20 years later, high school student and amateur inventor Lucy Field feels largely invisible, as the town and her parents are fixated on the date of Summer's death, the town having been torn apart by the murders. Downtown has been left decrepit, people continue to talk about the unsolved murders and Lucy accompanies her parents to the small shrine to the victims in front of the barn.
Noticing a light flash from a nearby hay barn, Lucy accidentally finds a time machine and travels back to 2003, the year and two days before her sister Summer was murdered by the Slasher. Disoriented by how not run-down Sweetly is, she goes to the high school to consult with her mentor, science teacher Mr. Fleming. Quinn overhears her asking about time travel, and insists it is too irresponsible to undertake.
Moments later, when Quinn is swept up by a wave of students to be this year's victim of the senior prank, Lucy intervenes. She stops the group, and sweeps Ethan onto his back. At first Quinn is resentful, but she soon confides in him that she accidently came via the time machine. Knowing he is good at physics, Lucy enlists his help in refueling it.
When Quinn has to head out to his mall job, Lucy asks for a lift to her house, surprising him, as he did not realize the connection. She is invited in, under the guise of helping Summer with her chemistry homework. The house and her parents are very different. It is messy, her parents are relaxed, and Summer and her mother cook together daily. Later, the Slasher murders Val and Brian, but Lucy's attempt to intervene results in the murder of a security guard who had not originally died.
Summer eventually discovers the truth and works with Lucy and Quinn to save Emmy from the Slasher. At the same time, Lucy discovers that Quinn is in love with Summer, the letter that he had tried to give her being a confession of this. While Lucy and Quinn steal fuel for the time machine, Summer attends the dance where she publicly confesses her love for Emmy. The Slasher attacks Summer, but Lucy and Quinn save her life.
The Slasher is revealed to be a future Quinn from an alternate timeline, having been driven insane by the rejection and bullying that he had endured. He had traveled back in time, seeking revenge on Summer and her friends, inadvertently creating Lucy as a result of the hole that Summer's murder had left in their parents' lives. Lucy transports herself and the future Quinn back to 2024 where she manages to electrocute and stab him to death.
Discovering that she doesn't exist in this new, better timeline, Lucy decides to return to 2003 to live her life in the past with Summer and Quinn, getting an internship with NASA similar to the one that she got in her original timeline. In her personal statement, Lucy displays a more optimistic outlook on life than she did originally.
Cast
edit- Madison Bailey as Lucy Field, Summer's younger sister
- Antonia Gentry as Summer Field, Lucy's older sister
- Michael Shanks as Gil Field, Lucy and Summer's father
- Griffin Gluck as Quinn, a physics genius and Lucy's helper
- Megan Best as Emmy Golden, Summer's best friend
- Samuel Braun as Ethan
- Sydney Sabiston as Val Vaughn
- Kataem O'Connor as Brian Palmer
- Rachael Crawford as Kendra Field, Lucy and Summer's mother
Production
editIn May 2021, it was announced that a script written by Michael Kennedy and Sono Patel would be directed by Hannah MacPherson.[a] Madison Bailey and Antonia Gentry were the first cast members announced to star in the film.[3] Additional cast members were revealed when a 2024 release was announced.[4]
Filming was to take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada between June 21 and July 28, 2021.[5] Principal photography eventually began on July 6 and ended in August, with cinematography work done by Tony Mirza and Halyna Hutchins before Hutchins worked on her final film, Rust.[6][7][8][9] The production of Time Cut used unloaded guns, yet the firearms safety personnel still followed standard safety precautions to ensure the entire cast and crew was aware.[8]
Release
editReception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 20% of 20 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10.[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 37 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[12]
Notes
edit- ^ The final credits by the Writers Guild of America give Sono Patel "additional literary material (not on-screen)", along with JT Billings and Ian Shorr.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Time Cut (15)". British Board of Film Classification. October 29, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ "Time Cut". Writers Guild of America West. November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (May 4, 2021). "Madison Bailey, Antonia Gentry Set for YA Movie From 'To All the Boys' Producer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 1, 2024). "Netflix 2024 Movie Slate: Titles From Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Jerry Seinfeld & Woody Woodpecker; Beverly Hills Cop 4 Sets Release Date". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
- ^ "Time Cut". Production List. May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ Squires, John (July 7, 2021). "Back to the Future Meets Scream: Filming is Underway on Freaky Writer's Time Cut". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ King, Randall (July 2, 2021). "Jul 2021: Horror projects lead way as film, TV sectors ramp up after pandemic pause". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022.
- ^ a b Grabish, Austin (October 25, 2021). "Winnipeg film community shocked by death of Halyna Hutchins, who worked in the city recently". CBC.ca. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ "Tony Mirza Resume" (PDF). Worldwide Production Agency. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Squires, John (August 28, 2024). "Netflix's Halloween Horror Lineup Includes Slasher Time Cut, The Platform 2 and More". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
- ^ "Time Cut". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
- ^ "Time Cut". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
