“TIME NOW” (2021) WILL TAKE YOU ON AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER TO FIND THE TRUTH

Family is always important. This is an obvious statement of course and has been drilled into our minds by Vin Diesel’s character Dom from the 9 “Fast and the Furious” movies. Family is also at times an important element in some horror, mystery, and thriller movies. Whether it is the main element or a surprise family member that our main characters were unaware of (I am looking at your final plot of “Scream 3”) family and plot tend to revolve around each other. There have been so many movies in the past that have used this to drive the plot of their stories or even remind us of what the overall agenda could be. 

With these movies and the great families that follow the franchises they reside in (The Hewitt family from “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” has always been a personal favorite of mine), we often wonder what type of films will either follow the path of the ones before them or branch out into something completely new. As horror fans, we have seen it all these days, especially with a large number of streaming options we have available like Shudder, Netflix, and HBO Max. Even though we are quite desensitized by the years of gore, plot twists, and demonic possessions, we still want a bit of an “element of surprise and shock”. We hope for the unexpected, the strange, or even some inventive death scenes. Sure there have been some great death scenes in the last 10 years like from the “Saw” franchise or “Final Destination” franchise. Those movies are all about death in the most inventive ways. That’s one of the reasons why I tend to say “go into a movie with an open mind”. Never expect something, just sit back and enjoy.

Recently I had the chance to watch the newest addition to mystery thrillers movies via “Time Now” by Dark Star Pictures. This movie stars Eleanor Lambert, Claudia Black, Xxavier Polk, Paige Kendrick, Sebastian Beacon, Jeannine Thompson, Peter Knox, Ashley Sheri, and Aaron Matthew Atkisson. The movie follows Jenny (Elenor Lambert), a young mother who returns to her hometown of Detroit after her brother Victor’s (Sebastian Beacon) recent death. While dealing with this she starts to investigate the people in his life to unearth the truth of how he died. 

The opening title sequence to this movie was quite interesting. It starts with a dream sequence to give us some context into Jenny’s past with her brothers, as well as the mysterious story that may unfold for us. As she arrives at her mother’s house with her young son Andrew, we are introduced to her aunt Joan (Claudia Black) who tends to be the logical voice in this whole movie and the only person who is fully there for Jenny. We are also introduced to the dysfunctional family dynamic between her and her hateful mother. Her mother scoffs at her shortly after she is introduced on the screen to say how much she hates how Jenny named her son Andrew, after Jenny’s brother who died many years ago. 

While Jenny always introduces herself to people as “Victor’s twin”, we find out later in the film that she, Andrew, and Victor were triplets. We can also see how the death of Andrew and now Victor has clearly pushed their family apart as her father (Peter Knox) is introduced when Jenny walks outside to greet him on the back porch. It is clear that her father and mother are no longer together and may have split up after Andrew’s tragic death. 

Courtesy of SlashFilm

One of the few people in Jenny’s life that is actually there for her is her Aunt Joan (Claudia Black) who seems to offer Jenny advice, guidance, and really anything she needs. The dynamic between Jenny and her Aunt Joan is night and day compared to the relationship she has with her cold, distant mother. In a way, Joan seems to be more of a mother to Jenny than her actual mother. There are a few small things that happen here and there, one involving Jenny finding a photo of her brother with a mystery woman and an address on the back of the photo.

Seeing this as a chance to get more information on what happened to her brother, she ends up at a coffee house where she meets Tanja (Paige Kendrick). There is quite a bit of back and forth between Jenny and Tanja at this point, one main part of the conversation has Tanja telling Jenny how much Victor wanted to see her all the time and hoped she would come back home one day. She also states how sad it was that because Jenny never came home, Victor never got a chance to meet his nephew. Again there is a bit more back and forth until Tanja goes outside for a moment to cry. We are shown in flashbacks that Tanja and Victor were more than just friends and there may have actually been love there. 

When Tanja comes back in, she notices that Jenny is admiring the art and saying how it all looks like Victor’s. Tanja lets her know it all is but Victor went by “Gonzo” as his street artist name. There is no explanation why that is. This particular scene I feel has some of the best dialogue of the movie. The back and forth between the characters felt heated but also mournful at the same time. We all know how death can affect us so this is a pretty relatable conversation. A bit after this moment we are quickly introduced to Kash (Xxavier Polk) a local rapper recording his newest record as he is about to make it big. This particular scene was quick but it tries to hint at Kash being a suspicious character in this plot. 

Courtesy of IMDB

One thing I wondered the whole time is where Jenny’s husband was (after she mentioned she had one of course) to support her while this all was going on. We have that question answered for us as Jenny returns home to find her husband Mark (Aaron Matthew Atkisson) with another woman. This came out of the left field. I am not sure why this sub-plot of a “terrible and cheating” husband was added. They get into a fight which leads Jenny to yell at him she takes care of everything only for Mark to provide her with something she would find instantly insulting by saying she is just like her mother. As quickly as that all happens it is over pretty fast. We never see Mark returning again or trying to rectify this bad situation. Part of me kind of felt that it was pointless to have him there at all, but this incident does provide a reason for Jenny to go back to her hometown. 

The final act of this film goes a bit all over the place in a roller coaster ride cranked to 11. Jenny finds a gun her brother has, uses it to confront the person who causes her brother’s death, and uses it. It turns into a very quick revenge plot when to me sounds like the person responsible was very sorry for the accident they caused and missed Victor as much as anyone. It all happens so fast and then the ending of her laughing as the police come for the crime she just committed made me feel like I was watching the end of a “Batman Animated Series” episode from the ’90s. 

While I didn’t fully enjoy this movie or quite understand some of the written choices that were made for this film, I did enjoy that the cast did their best with what they had. Eleanor Lambert does an amazing job with the range that she has and helped push the story along as the main character. This makes sense, as she is the daughter of famous actress Diane Lane. The rest of the cast was phenomenal and I very much enjoyed the whole dynamic between Jenny, Kash, and Tanja. Paige Kendrick, Xxavier Polk, and Claudia Black stood out with their supporting roles in this film and honestly were my favorites of the film. They all are very talented and much like Eleanor Lambert have a bright future in films ahead of them. Even though this thriller and mystery didn’t have me on the edge of my seat, I would still suggest everyone check it out to form their own opinion of it. If you enjoy a good “who done it” then you may enjoy this movie. 

“Time Now” from Dark Star Pictures releases in theaters and on VOD October 26th.