Since Netflix’sTime Cutseems to borrow many sci-fi and horror tropes and themes from other renowned films, viewers who enjoyed watching it should have many other movies on their watch lists.Unfolding through several different timelines,Time Cutis among the many flicks that use time travel as a narrative device to walk viewers through the complexities of fate, grief, and the consequences of changing the past. However, despite being driven by a complex sci-fi concept,Time Cutdoes not take itself too seriously and focuses less ongetting time travel “right.”
Apart from featuring characters who travel through time, Netflix’sTime Cutalso presents a slasher element, allowing it to blend its sci-fi with horror. AlthoughTime Cutis not as violent as one would expect a slasher horror flick to be, it features a fair share of brutal killing scenes that add some intense thrills to its otherwise familiar narrative. SinceTime Cut’s approach towards both slasher horror and sci-fi feels derivative in more ways than one, audiences who liked watching it can check out many other similar films.
Directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber
The Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect is a time travel sci-fi movie centered around Evan (Ashton Kutcher), a young man who discovers he has the ability to change events from his past by embodying his younger self. The 2004 film explores the titular concept, which states that any small change in a system’s initial conditions results in extremely different results.
Starring Ashton Kutcher,The Butterfly Effectpremiered in 2004 and received poor reviews from most critics. However, despite having an underwhelming critical reception, the movie became a box office hit, earning $96 million on a budget of $13 million. Owing to its commercial success, the movie even spawned two sequels, which have little to no connection with the original film, both in terms of character beats and story progression.
The 10 Best Time Travel Movies, Ranked
The greatest time travel movies have complex plots and interweaving storylines, making them fun to watch and rewarding to unravel the many threads.
Over two decades after its release,The Butterfly Effecthas a Rotten Tomatoes critics' score of 34%. However, when it comes to its audience score,the movie has an impressive 81%, with many praising its dark and twisted take on time travel. As the movie’s title suggests, it refers to the butterfly effect in chaos theory, which suggests that even the smallest changes in a deterministic nonlinear system can cause massive differences in a futuristic state. With this idea at its core, the movie walks through several extreme scenarios that show how altering the past can significantly change the future.
Directed by Dean Israelite
Project Almanac
Project Almanac is a 2015 science fiction mystery about a group of friends who build a time machine after finding secret plans for one. Project Almanac marked the directorial debut for Dean Israelite and was shot as a found footage movie. Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D’Elia, and Sam Lerner lead the film.
Similar toTime Cut,Project Almanacintroduces many time travel rules in its early moments but later sets out to present a more chaotic narrative. Instead of being scientifically accurate,Project Almanacfocuses more on having a relatable coming-of-age drama that unfolds through a “found footage” filming style. If the movie’s plot inconsistencies and paradoxes are ignored, it can be a fun one-time watch like Netflix’sTime Cutand can even be seen multiple times by viewers who can overlook its lack of adherence to time travel logic.
LikeTime Cut,Project Alamanacalso features many references and homages to theBack to the Futuremovies.
Marking Dean Israelite’s directorial debut,Project Almanacearned $33 million at the global box office against a budget of $12 million. Although the film’s box office performance was not impressive, it managed to break even, suggesting that its mixed critical reception did not hurt its commercial numbers. One of the biggest reasons why the film was able to have a decent performance at the box office was its ability to portray time travel in a more accessible and grounded way, allowing a wider range of audiences to relate to its storyline.
Directed by Richard Curtis
About Time
When Tim Lake learns that he, like all the men in his family, has the ability to travel back in time, he decides to use this ability to help him find love and improve his and his loved ones' lives.
UnlikeTime Cut,About Timedoes not have any slasher horror elements and focuses more on adult characters traveling through time. However, similar to the Netflix film, it presents a wildly fantastical take on time travel. AlthoughAbout Timereceived mixed reviews from critics when it first premiered, the film has garnered more positive attention over the years, with many appreciating the performances of its cast and emotionally stirring take on the romance genre. The film’s story is driven by a man who learns he possesses the ability to time travel and uses it to build a better future for himself.
Thecharacters in Netflix’sTime Cuteffectively use their time travel adventures to fix their timeline and improve their futures. However, the main character inAbout Timestruggles to change his fate.His story feels more personal and tragicbecause, no matter what he does to alter certain events of his timeline, the sands of time slip away into disastrous consequences.
Another Earth
Starring Brit Marling ofThe OAfame,Another Earthis among thesci-fi films that demand multiple viewingsto truly understand the scope of its themes and emotional depths. The film is driven by a bizarre concept where a second Earth suddenly appears in the Solar system. The closer it gets to the original Earth, the more the lives of two individuals, Rhonda and John, are impacted. UnlikeTime Cut,Another Earthdoes not directly feature time travel.
Another Earthmay not be for everyone because it demands viewers to stretch their suspension of disbelief a little too far.
However, like the Netflix film, it shows how even the smallest decisions in one’s past can send ripples down the past. It highlights how every event forks an individual’s future into an alternate reality, leading to bizarre outcomes and unforeseen consequences that challenge the idea of free will.Another Earthmay not be for everyone because it demands viewers to stretch their suspension of disbelief a little too far. However, audiences looking for something deeper and more thought-provoking afterTime Cutmust check it out.
Directed by McG
The Babysitter
The Babysitter is a comedy horror Netflix original. Judah Lewis stars as Cole, a young boy that is in love with his babysitter and finds out she is part of a satanic cult. The film also stars Samara Weaving as Bee, Robbie Amell, Hana Mae Lee, Bella Thorne, Emily Alyn Lind, and Andrew Bachelor.
2017’sThe Babysitteris a fun horror comedy that is not original in any way. However, in its runtime of a little below an hour and a half, the film packs enough kills and one-liners to keep viewers invested and white-knuckled. Netflix’sTime Cuttries to harken back to the80s' slasher movieswith its horror elements but fails to explore the depths of the genre. Therefore, viewers who wish to see more gore and darkly comical moments inTime Cutmust watchThe Babysitteras it does not shy away from embracing the rules of the slasher genre and presenting some hilarious pop-culture gags.
Directed by Tyler MacIntyre
It’s a Wonderful Knife
It’s a Wonderful Knife is a Christmas-centric comedy/horror film by director Tyler MacIntyre, released in theaters and on Shudder in 2023. A spin on the holiday classicIt’s a Wonderful Life, the film follows Winnie Carruthers, a woman who saved her hometown from a serial killer one year prior. However, her life spirals downward, leading her to wonder how the world would be without her - and that wish coming true. Now trapped in a world where she didn’t exist, the killer runs rampant, and she must find her way back while saving the town once again.
A Wonderful Knifecan almost be seen as a spiritual successor toTime Cut. LikeTime Cut’s Lucy, its main character, Winnie, ends up saving her town from a serial killer. However, unlike Lucy, this is not where her story ends. Winnie suddenly finds herself in a parallel universe where she must not only overpower the killer again but also find a way to return to her original reality. LikeTime Cut,It’s A Wonderful Lifealso received mixed reviews when it first hit the big screens. However, the film still packs enough holiday-themed horror and comedy to keep most viewers entertained.
Directed by Christopher Landon
Freaky
Freaky is a film directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day 2U) and centers around a young girl in high school that swaps bodies with a deranged serial killer. When four teenagers are found dead, the Blissfield Butcher’s re-emergence has made the town somewhat on alert. While waiting for her ride home at the end of a football game, Millie Kessler is attacked by the butcher with a mysterious dagger called La Dola, which then swaps the two into one another’s bodies in a Freaky Friday-like fashion. Millie discovers that to get back to her original body, she needs to get her friends and family to believe that their bodies have swapped - and she needs to reverse the ritual in twenty-four hours, or the switch will remain permanent.
Directed by Christopher Landon,Freakyoffers a unique take on the slasher thriller genre, where a high-school student swaps bodies with a middle-aged killer. To ensure she does not stay trapped in the killer’s body forever, she must race against time to find a way to swap back to her original body. With Vince Vaughn as its central serial killer, the movie adopts a campy tone that perfectly aligns with its bizarre storyline. Although it is hard to takeFreakytoo seriously because of its dark body-swapping humor, it also effectively introduces serious themes surrounding gender stereotyping among teenagers.
Happy Death Day
Happy Death Day is a horror-comedy film directed by Christopher Landon. Released in 2017, it follows college student Tree Gelbman, played by Jessica Rothe, who is forced to relive the day of her murder repeatedly until she can identify her killer and stop her death. The film blends elements of slasher horror with dark humor, creating a unique entry in the genre.
Happy Death Dayis another creative Christopher Landon slasher that reflects the director’s penchant for mixing familiar sci-fi tropes with horror and comedy. Driven by theGroundhog Daytime looptrope,Happy Death Dayfollows Theresa Gelbman, who continues living the same day after getting murdered by a serial killer. Even though the time loop trope has been used way too many times in movies of all genres,the film’s tongue-in-cheek approach and B-grade aesthetic allow it to stand out from the crowd. The film also adopts creative ways to ensure viewers cannot guess what could happen in the next time loop.
Directed by Nahnatchka Khan
Totally Killer
Totally Killer is a 2023 comedy horror film by director Nahnatchka Khan (Always Be My Maybe) created for Prime Video. Jamie, a seventeen-year-old, plans to head out for Halloween night thirty-five years after the murder of her mother’s three friends by a serial killer. When Jamie ignores her mother’s pleas and heads out for the night, she becomes targeted by the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer.” However, the chase ends with her being sent back in time to the year it all began- and now Jamie will have to team up with her teenage mother to stop the killer and return home before it’s too late.
Many viewers have noticed howTime Cutseems a little too similar toTotally Killer. Sinceboth movies feature teenage characters who accidentally travel back in time and get the opportunity to save their loved ones from a serial killer, it is understandable why many are drawing parallels between the two. However, beyond the initial story setup, the two movies are quite different from one another.
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WhileTime Cutremains relatively linear throughout its runtime and only introduces one major twist in its final moments,Totally Killeris packed with many twists and turns in its second half. UnlikeTime Cut,Totally Killeralso refuses to take itself too seriously, which makes it easier for viewers to overlook its time travel paradoxes and plot holes.Totally Killeralso boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%, making it far more acclaimed thanTime Cut.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Back to the Future
Back to the Future follows teenager Marty McFly as he is inadvertently sent back to 1955, where he disrupts his parents' meeting. With the assistance of eccentric inventor Doc Brown, Marty must restore the timeline by ensuring his parents fall in love and find a way back to 1985.
Almost midway through its runtime,Time Cuttakes a jab atBack to the Future. One of its main characters says that altering the past will lead to a lot more than one’s disappearance from a few photos, referencing the iconic scene fromBack to the Futurewhere Marty’s actions in the past start erasing his existence from the future. However, despite being critical ofBack to the Future’s portrayal of time travel,Time Cutadopts many of its story devices and comes nowhere close to being as iconic as the 1985 movie.
Therefore, audiences who likedTime Cutwill certainly enjoy revisitingBack to the Futureas it remains one of the most influential films in the time travel genre. While the fate ofTime Cut’s sequels remains unknown,Back to the Futurealso has two sequels that walk through how the consequences of altering the past spiral out of control and force Marty and Doc to travel to the future.
