Netflix's 'Time Cut': A 2000s Horror Trip That's Not Worth Taking
Is Netflix's Time Cut Actually Worth Watching? A Deep Dive into a Teen Time-Travel Slasher
Netflix dropped a new horror flick, Time Cut, starring some major teen stars. It even hit #2 on Netflix's Top 10 list the day after Halloween! But unlike some surprisingly decent Netflix horror movies, this one is...bad. Really bad. So bad, we're writing an entire article about how terrible it is!
Should you watch it? Nope. Just trust us (or the critics, or the audiences). We're saving you from this waste of 90 minutes.
The basic concept: A teen in 2024 time travels to 2003 to save her sister from a masked killer. Sounds familiar? Because it totally is! It's trying to cash in on those retro vibes. Yet that's where those initial problems start; and is something discussed further later in this article! But before continuing, let's go back and remember just how bad those things are for those who simply need the core plot, rather than the individual points which highlight some problems with it. Those retro aspects aren’t all that exciting; this article dives even further.
Why Time Cut is a Total Disaster: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and More!
The critics hate this thing: 14% on Rotten Tomatoes (Netflix originals rarely score that low). The audience score is only slightly better: 40%! IMDb? A generous 5/10. Ouch. It even feels like an algorithm-made movie: throw in popular actors and hope it magically works (it doesn’t!). This involves bringing Madison Bailey (Outer Banks), Antonia Gentry (Ginny & Georgia), and Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key) all together, it feels far too artificial. The transparency here truly creates those moments of obvious attempt at copying; using all available means to enhance that possibility but it doesn't work, for any meaningful amount of time, it remains frustrating, annoying and an unfulfilling attempt at cashing in that 2000’s retro trend which only recently resurfaced through pop-Culture.
Here are some critical reviews summing up why this failed so hard: It's really, really hard to make a compelling time travel horror story that doesn't completely fall apart! Yet this seems close to impossible to make. Time Cut never had a chance and the end result is quite sad, a sad tale about another terrible Netflix Original. Skip this! And just watch Woman of the Hour (still at #1 on Netflix’s Top 10 and boasts 90% Rotten Tomatoes!).
Time Cut's Tired Time-Travel Trope: Nothing New Under the Sun
That basic storyline sounds interesting at first: It's the opening, the infamous cold open involving that cheesy setup for setting the scene and tone– terrible lighting and awful suspense that should already be setting up alarm bells for most movie viewers–it opens in 2003, with high schooler Summer (Antonia Gentry) getting murdered, the beginning of a killer’s spree. Then jump to 2024, with her sister Lucy (Madison Bailey) dealing with it.
Then, this predictable story of time-travel starts, this extremely simplistic story involving some device, zapping Lucy back to the time shortly before Summer’s death, which is almost identical to totally killer. This attempts to recreate the nostalgia yet feels really artificial. The only kind of original aspects exist only in a specific, really short scene involving discussions surrounding queer acceptance; making some otherwise unoriginal choices which adds some additional value. Those core elements and all those other attempted stylistic choices however fail to deliver that needed punch and simply end up rehashing various familiar aspects already tried several times with mediocre to failed results; all easily visible at the later part of the storyline. That makes this a very frustrating attempt at generating suspense and thrills.
Whodunnit? Time Cut's Big Reveal (and its Predictability!)
Time Cut does build towards a dramatic final confrontation in a classic slasher style: Lucy, Summer, and Quinn (a science nerd) confront that killer– and we discover that’s Future Quinn. It reveals he wanted revenge for some personal trauma experienced by past Quinn. That's almost interesting but extremely predictable.
There’s this bizarre fight and eventually he dies! Summer is safe and then this amazing ending with Lucy choosing to remain in 2003, making her own life effectively disappear, causing those important questions surrounding personal value and importance. The movie never fully explores that topic; which might have helped elevate its otherwise shallow portrayal and character development. This shows some serious flaws that affect some core elements throughout that story!
Conclusion: Save Your Time (and Your Sanity!)
Time Cut's attempt at those teen-centric 2000s vibes backfired totally. It didn’t just borrow; It made for those terrible, bland stylistic choices which attempted to connect with nostalgic fans; It didn't generate thrills. Even though Bailey and Gentry are excellent and some aspects of that story do work well and showcase the possibility and potential in these aspects. The movie failed! Those aspects never got delivered to their full extent; ultimately harming its possibility, due to the inherent limitations.
Watch something else. Really. This really shows that simply copying things doesn’t make it a better story; it needs clever use and unique writing approaches; Time Cut didn't offer that and this makes it terrible; wasting time on such predictable choices and plots.
