Time Lower (2024) Simply Does not Lower It

Time Lower, directed by Hannah Macpherson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Kennedy, sees a younger girl given an opportunity to vary her world. Twenty-one years in the past, the city of Sweetly, Minnesota, was rocked by a string of murders. Lucy Area (Madison Bailey) has grown up within the shadows of these murders, dwelling in a city with mother and father who’ve by no means moved on.

Standing out is vital within the packed media panorama we dwell in. Telling a well-recognized story, even when executed nicely, isn’t sufficient to get individuals’s consideration. One thing distinctive is commonly wanted to ship a memorable expertise. Nevertheless, together with that distinctive twist, there additionally must be high quality. Sadly, Time Lower is sorely missing in that division.

The factor on this story that has probably the most potential is the principle character, Lucy. All of her life main as much as the film’s starting is overshadowed by the murders that rocked her hometown, killing three individuals, together with her older sister. A visit to the previous opens doorways.

Having grown up dwelling with the specter of a sister she by no means met, Lucy’s startling arrival prior to now creates extra alternative for thrilling character exploration than many time journey tales. Her view of her life and her household’s emotions in the direction of her shifts feels compelling however reads sadly underdeveloped. That is because of the story’s worst factor: the killings.

The “Sweetly Slasher” murders every play out with predictable actions that really feel straight out of any highschool movie scholar’s script. Teenagers scramble and cower in worry as a silent killer carrying an inexpensive plastic masks stalks after them and cuts them down. Little pressure is created in these moments to attract the viewer into the upcoming demise.

The digital camera work brings as little creativity to those scenes because the planning for the kills themselves. Stand-off, predictable angles stroll viewers by the sequences with little to catch their curiosity. Lackluster appearing additional harms these moments and Time Lower in its entirety. No single character or second manages to shine all through the movie’s hour-and-a-half runtime. Whereas most of it doesn’t damage, none of it ever helps the movie, both.

Failing equally laborious is Time Lower’s try to discover time journey. Despite the fact that it’s truthful to not count on a slasher flick to have an excessive amount of depth on this narrative assemble, there are a number of moments the place occasions play out with out anybody questioning them, regardless of there being apparent the explanation why they need to. And that’s with a few literal geniuses within the core group. These head-scratching moments solely distract the viewer from the risks that the movie tries to seize them with.

The time-traveling side does present a number of moments of levity inside the movie as Lucy contends with noisy modems and out-of-date fashions. Whereas these transient spots present some giggles, they don’t add a lot to the larger image the movie takes a swing at. It’s little greater than a distraction that additional undermines the movie’s failure to craft any pressure.

The ultimate place the place Time Lower additional stumbles is in its dealing with of Lucy’s long-dead sister, Summer season (Antonia Gentry, Promenade Dates). The movie needs the viewer to see Summer season as this distinctive particular person whose absence would diminish the whole lot round her. However she’s not that nice. Whereas not a nasty particular person, Summer season is a mean excessive schooler. This leaves the viewer disconnected every time Lucy talks about how wonderful her sister is, even as soon as she’s met her.

The one factor Time Lower manages to ship really is the unbelievable early 2000s soundtrack. Songs like “Teenage Dirtbag” and “Difficult” are enjoyable musical alternatives for anybody who fondly remembers these years in pop music. And although I consider an excellent soundtrack can do rather a lot, some enjoyable pop nostalgia isn’t close to sufficient to avoid wasting this trainwreck.

Time Lower finally fails in almost each regard. Regardless of some promising parts, the film by no means finds sufficient time to discover them. As an alternative, it delivers run-of-the-mill slasher kills that may fail to entertain anybody. It’s finest to skip this one, irrespective of how a lot of a die-hard you might be for the style.

Time Lower is streaming now on Netflix.