TIM TRAVERS & THE TIME TRAVELER’S PARADOX (2024)

3 stars

GrimmVision. Digital. 26th January

In a warehouse, scientist Tim Travers (Samuel Dunning) is experimenting with time travel. He has built his machine and is now testing it out. He appears on a podcast called The Rant, hosted by James Bunratty (Joel McHale) and explains the time traveler’s paradox. Using said device, a scientist loops one minute into the past, kills his younger self, and now you have someone who shouldn’t exist but somehow does. A paradox.

Later, Tim is determined to test the theory out and walks into his machine, comes out, and shoots his other self. But what has actually happened? He has theories… he will need to repeat the experiment and continue to shoot his past self!

At a local bar Travers has a drink with Delilah (Felicia Day – Charlie from TVs Supernatural) and he tells her about the Time Machine – which he admits is powered by nuclear material stolen from a terrorist organisation (A BACK TO THE FUTURE reference?). Of course she doesn’t believe him.

Before long there is a trio of Tim’s… and then numerous iterations, as he tries to figure things out. Still no perceivable paradox. Also on the scene is a hitman, sent because of the stolen radioactive matter – who gets rather confused when he kills one Tim and another one pops up later!

Director/writer Stimson Snead is to be applauded for an ambitious low budgeter which doesn’t quite deliver, with often silly humour and a script that is way too talky. Samuel Dunning does well playing the various incarnations and Felicia Day is good in her role. About a hour in Danny Trejo turns up in what amounts to a cameo. The ever growing number of Tim’s is well done from an effects point of view – but there is some dodgy CGI used for flames and blood spurts.

This was originally made as a short – with Dunning also in the lead role – and it should perhaps have stayed in compact form, as it feels overstretched.

Steve Kirkham