2024 has given us some great female-led horror films that I’m going to be watching on repeat. As a fan of slasher movies, I’m always excited to see a female-led thriller, so it’s no surprise that Netflix’s Time Cut checked off all my boxes. Not only is it aslashers and female-led, but it follows the story of two sisters and how far one will go to save the other.
Time Cut centers around Lucy (Madison Bailey), a high school student in 2024 who time travels back to 2003, where she comes face-to-face with Summer (Antonia Gentry), her sister she’s never met since she was murdered by a masked killer. Lucy wants to save Summer, and the two begin to work together to find the masked killer, but most importantly, save Summer and her friends from getting killed. The film has many different twists and turns, but the ending is definitely one thing we *need* to talk about. Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for Netflix’s Time Cut follow.
Throughout the film, we get to know a little bit more about Summer as we see her in 2003 before her death. Summer is popular and is the total opposite of Lucy, who keeps to herself. After Summer is killed, the identity of the killer remains a mystery. After time traveling back to 2003, Lucy tries to stop the killings from happening. Though Lucy isn’t successful in saving two of Summer’s friends, the sisters along with their friend Quinn save Emmy (Summer’s BFF and secret lover). During the final confrontation with the killer, it’s revealed that it’s not someone who goes to Summer’s high school, but rather, the future version of Quinn. Quinn is shocked by this revelation and doesn’t believe that he could be the one who murdered Summer.
It’s also revealed that Future Quinn was in love with Summer, and when she rejected him during a party in 2003, he decided to murder her and her friends out of revenge.
In a split moment to save Summer and 2003 Quinn, Lucy throws him into the time machine with future Quinn and the two end up fighting it out in a parking lot back in 2024. Lucy ends up electrocuting future Quinn and stabs him before he can kill her. After Lucy kills Future Quinn, she returns to Summer and Quinn in 2003. Lucy decides to stay in 2003 with Summer after realizing she could live her life to the fullest with her sister by her side. And since Lucy stopped Summer from getting killed, she alters the future, resulting in their parents never having her.
The film ends with Lucy giving up her past life in 2024 to stay with her sister in 2003.
What happened to Lucy’s life in 2024?
We don’t entirely get to see Lucy’s life in 2003 near the end of the film, but it’s clear that her decision to stay in 2003 with Summer will be a problem for the time loop and for the future. Lucy did go back in time to save her sister, but we don’t know how the ripple effect plays into her staying back in 2003. Even if the ending doesn’t entirely answer all of our questions, it’s still a bittersweet ending as Lucy and Summer get to know each other, while bonding as sisters.