*Warning, this article contains significant spoilers for Time Cut and Totally Killer.*
Netflix’s latest film, Time Cut, features a student travelling back in time to prevent her sister’s murder. Despite its unique premise, it isn’t the first film of its kind.
Time Cut is a genre-blending film, combining elements of horror slasher with the sci-fi concept of time travel.
Although the film has just arrived on the streaming platform in time for Halloween, an earlier release shares a similar premise but with some notable differences.
Totally Killer, released in September 2023, also revolves around a teenager who accidentally travels back in time to solve a series of murders.
The film stars Kiernan Shipka known as the star of Netflix series Sabrina, as 17-year-old Jamie, who confronts her mother’s killer after they reappear 35 years after their original crimes, reports the Mirror.
Some fans have accused the new Netflix release of copying from Totally Killer, albeit in a ‘looking at someone’s homework and making slight changes’ way.
Shipka’s character finds herself transported back in time and teams up with her teenage mother to solve the crimes. One review hailed it as ‘one of the best films of the year’ upon its release.
Here’s a rundown of what these films share and how they differ – be warned, major spoilers for both Time Cut and Totally Killer follow.
While both films are slashers with a time travel twist, they differ in their choice of decade for the time travel.
Time Cut takes us back to the year 2003, while its Prime counterpart, Totally Killer, transports us further back to 1987.
Both films, Totally Killer and Time Cut, utilise fashion and music to reflect their respective time periods, with Totally Killer being more conscious of the temporal difference.
While the antagonist in Time Cut is known as the Sweetly Slasher and Totally’s villain is dubbed the Sweet Sixteen Killer, they share similar motives and victims.
Each killer targets a specific group of girlfriends, picking them off one by one, all of whom are closely connected to a relative of the main character.
In the Netflix film, the protagonist is trying to save his sister, whereas in the Prime movie, the focus is on the character’s mother.
A common feature is that both killers don all-black attire and a sinister mask, with black voids where the eyes should be.
There are slight variations in the choice of mask, with Totally Killer’s also featuring an earring, slicked-back hair, and visible teeth.
The Sweet Sixteen Killer is portrayed as ruthless, stabbing each victim exactly 16 times, giving the film a darker, more graphic tone, albeit peppered with humour.
Another shared element is that both killers time travel, albeit in distinct ways.
In Time Cut, it is revealed that a version of Quinn, who has been assisting the main character throughout the film, has travelled back in time to become the Sweetly Slasher.
In Totally Killer, the plot thickens with two culprits. The first is Doug, who seeks revenge following his girlfriend’s death in a drink-driving incident.
The second culprit is a true crime podcaster who, in a twist of events, murders Jamie’s mother at the start as a copycat killer but then travels back in time to ensure the original crimes go ahead.
Unlike Time Cut, Totally Killer takes a moment to ponder on the consequences if the protagonist alters the past significantly enough to affect her parents’ union.
Instead of simply vanishing, she is informed that she would be left without a home to return to, as no one would recognise her.
Interestingly, while Time Cut leaves viewers with several unanswered questions, Totally Killer provides resolutions for its characters.
In the final scene, the mother of Jamie’s best friend, whose younger self assists her in returning home, hands her a notebook titled ‘Everything that has changed’.
It reveals that she now has a brother, her name has changed, and it discloses the fate of the second killer in the new timeline.
Time Cut is streaming now on Netflix and Totally Killer is streaming now on Amazon Prime.