Timetrap

A progressively bonkers thriller, Timetrap follows a group of friends as they embark on a rescue mission after a professor goes missing during a cave expedition. Filmmakers Mark Dennis and Ben Foster admittedly take their time in wholeheartedly capturing the viewer’s interest, as Timetrap opens with a somewhat generic first act that doesn’t seem to hold a lot of promise – with the less-than-engrossing vibe compounded by Dennis and Foster’s rough-around-the-edges approach (ie Timetrap was clearly shot on a shoestring budget). There’s little doubt, then, that Timetrap slowly-but-surely improves as it’s central conceit is revealed, with the hard sci-fi bent of the narrative certainly ensuring that the movie grows more and more interesting as it progresses. (It’s hard to deny the effectiveness, for example, of a sequence in which the gang views the video footage shot by a fallen comrade.) And while there are a few lulls here and there, Timetrap closes with an absolutely insane third act that’s just packed with one surprise after another – with the swinging-for-the-fences vibe certainly confirming the picture’s place as a hidden gem worth seeking out.

*** out of ****