*Warning, this article contains major spoilers for Time Cut and Totally Killer.*
Netflix's new film, Time Cut, features a student travelling back in time to prevent her sister's murder. Despite the unique premise, it isn't the first film of its kind.
Time Cut is a genre blend, combining elements of horror slasher with sci-fi time travel.
The film has just arrived on the streaming platform in time for Halloween, but an earlier release shares a similar premise, albeit with some key differences.
Totally Killer was released in September 2023. Like Netflix's latest offering, it follows a teenager accidentally sent back in time to solve a series of murders, reports the Mirror.
The film stars Sabrina's Kiernan Shipka as 17-year-old Jamie, who confronts her mother's killer after they resurface 35 years after their original crimes.
She ends up travelling 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 the films share and how they differ - warning, the following contains major spoilers for both Time Cut and Totally Killer.
While both films are slashers with a time travel twist, they differ in their choice of decade for the time jump.
Time Cut opts for the year 2003, while its Prime counterpart travels further back to 1987.
Both films, Totally Killer and Time Cut, utilise fashion and music to reflect their respective time periods. Totally Killer is more conscious of the time difference, with numerous references throughout.
While the antagonist in Time Cut is known as the Sweetly Slasher and Totally's villain is dubbed the Sweet Sixteen Killer, both share similar motives and targets.
Each killer focuses on a specific group of girlfriends, picking them off one by one, all of whom are closely connected to the main character's relative.
In the Netflix film, the protagonist is trying to save her sister, while the Prime movie centres around the character's mother.
A common feature is that the killers in both films dress entirely in black, complete with a chilling mask featuring black holes where the eyes should be.
There are minor differences in the choice of mask, with Totally Killer's also sporting an earring, slicked-back hair, and visible teeth.
The Sweet Sixteen Killer is notably more brutal in his methods, stabbing each victim exactly 16 times. The film has a darker, more graphic tone, albeit with more humour.
Another shared element is that both killers also time travel, albeit in very different 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. One is Doug, seeking vengeance following his girlfriend's death in a drink-driving accident.
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 time-travels to prevent the original crimes.
Unlike Time Cut, Totally Killer takes a moment to ponder on the consequences if the protagonist alters the past so much that her parents wouldn't meet in the same way.
Instead of simply vanishing, she's 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.
