Warning: Spoilers ahead for Time Cut.
This article mentions attempted suicide.
Although Time Cut is filled with plot holes and time travel inaccuracies, it does include a strange scene that could tease a fascinating plot twist. Netflix’s Time Cut cast carries the story through two time periods, although most of the plot unfolds in 2003. The main storyline revolves around a serial killer known only as the Sweetly Slasher, and the efforts of Madison Bailey’s Lucy Field and her two accomplices to stop Time Cut‘s villain. However, the defeat of the Slasher may not completely dispel the threat.
The identity of Time Cut‘s Sweetly Slasher is eventually revealed to be Griffin Gluck’s Quinn, but a version of him from twenty years in the future who has become increasingly bitter at being romantically rejected by Antonia Gentry’s Summer Field – Lucy’s sister. Although Time Cut‘s nonsensical ending makes it seem like Future Quinn won’t be a problem going forward, the possibility of a second Sweetly Slasher still looms large over a possible sequel.
Time Cut’s Mall Scene Introduces A Second Sweetly Slasher: Theory Explained
The Sweetly Slasher’s rapid movement imply the existence of an accomplice
After deliberating about whether to intervene in the Sweetly Slasher’s killing spree, Lucy eventually opts to try and stop Time Cut‘s bad guy. During the mall scene, Lucy and the Slasher’s first victim leave their pursuer behind in a store, blocking his path a little on the way out. Regardless, the Slasher appears immediately at the bottom of the escalator that the two girls are fleeing down. As far as the movie reveals, Quinn lacks the ability to teleport or any other means of traveling so quickly, so this raises the possibility that there are two Slashers working in tandem.
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The theory only really holds up when it’s looked at from an in-universe point of view, as other explanations could account for the Sweetly Slasher’s rapid movement. In short, another reason for the villain’s apparent abilities is that the movie simply made a continuity error, and the poor edit of this moment simply implies something that was never intended. Alternatively, it may have just been a misguided attempt at a jump scare, playing to Time Cut‘s secondary genre as a teen horror movie. Either way, the in-universe theory of another Slasher is much more compelling.
Could The Second Sweetly Slasher Be Quinn From Another Timeline?
Griffin Gluck’s villainous character implies this possibility
A second Sweetly Slasher wouldn’t necessarily mean there’s a completely separate culprit. Both figures are the same height and build, and are even dressed exactly the same. Therefore, it could just be that the Slashers are versions of Quinn, both of whom are from alternate – albeit similar – futures. If one Quinn experienced the same desire to kill his targets, then it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that another Quinn from a different future also experienced the same outcome, and traveled back to the same point as his counterpart.
Extending this logic to its inevitable conclusion, there could even be more than two Quinns as the Sweetly Slasher(s).
Time Cut‘s time travel rules are nebulous and confusing, and they don’t particularly align with their onscreen explanations. However, the movie does prove that two Quinns can exist alongside each other by having Griffin Gluck play both versions of the character near the end of the movie. Future Quinn even gives the vague explanation of “That’s not how time travel works” when his younger self threatens to kill himself, and by extension, the Sweetly Slasher. Extending this logic to its inevitable conclusion, there could even be more than two Quinns as the Sweetly Slasher(s).
Time Cut has more in common with multiverse movies than it does with time travel stories, as the butterfly effect doesn’t appear to exist. Instead, an entirely new reality seems to be formed with each decision, and they don’t directly influence each other. With this in mind, it could be that each victim was originally killed by a different Sweetly Slasher – all of whom were different Quinns. They could each have come from a different universe where they were rejected by one of the three girls, and then returned home after.
The team-up at the mall could be due to a Quinn being rejected by Lucy herself, which would explain why there were two Slashers there: One for Val, and one for Lucy.
Why Time Cut 2 Focusing On The Other Sweetly Slasher Would Be A Mistake
Time Cut 2 risks losing its sci-fi subgenre
Although Time Cut 2 hasn’t been announced, the movie’s ending does leave many unanswered questions that could lead to a sequel. If a second film ever happens, then Time Cut 2 would struggle to find a good enough storyline to justify its existence. Firstly, focusing on another Sweetly Slasher would make the sequel feel far too much like the original, so it would be pretty pointless just retreading the same ground – especially considering how poor some of the reviews have been.
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Plus, a second movie set in 2003 that focuses on the other Sweetly Slasher’s hunt for the movie’s main trio would likely be void of any time travel. A big part of Time Cut‘s appeal is the cerebral, time-hopping elements of its serial killer. If a sequel is just a cheesy teen slasher that’s just as short on gore as its predecessor, it becomes unclear who that movie would even be for. What would be far more interesting would be to delve into the multiverse concept teased by the presence of two identical Slashers in Time Cut‘s mall scene.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
A teenage girl goes back in time to the early 2000s to save her sister from a dangerous killer.
- Director
- Hannah Macpherson
- Release Date
- October 30, 2024
- Writers
- Michael Kennedy , Hannah Macpherson
- Cast
- Madison Bailey , Megan Best , Michael Shanks , Antonia Gentry , Griffin Gluck
- Character(s)
- Lucy Field , Emmy Golden , Gil