{{Short description|2024 British film by Alice Lowe}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox film | name = Timestalker | image = File:Timestalker (2024) quad poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Alice Lowe | producer = {{plainlist| * Alice Lowe * Mark Hopkins * Tom Wood * Vaughan Sivell * Natan Stoessel}} | writer = Alice Lowe | based_on = | starring = {{plainlist| * Alice Lowe * Jacob Anderson * Nick Frost * Aneurin Barnard * Tanya Reynolds * Mike Wozniak * Kate Dickie * Dan Skinner}} | music = Toydrum{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} | cinematography = Ryan Eddleston | editing = {{plainlist| * Matyas Fekete * Chris Dickens}} | studio = {{plainlist| * BFI * Head Gear Films * Ffilm Cymru Wales * Western Edge Pictures * Popcorn Group}} | distributor = Vertigo Releasing | released = {{Film date|2024|3|8|SXSW|2024|10|11|United Kingdom and Ireland|df=y}} | runtime = 90 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 89:42--><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 September 2024 |title=''Timestalker'' (15) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/timestalker-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdiznjqy |access-date=2 December 2025 |website=British Board of Film Classification |language=en}}</ref> | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = }}
'''''Timestalker''''' is a 2024 British historical science fiction romantic comedy film written, directed by, and starring Alice Lowe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wise |first=Damon |date=15 May 2024 |title=''Timestalker'' Director Alice Lowe on Women and the Horror Genre: "I Like Outraging an Audience" |url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/alice-lowe-interview-women-horror-directors-1235907163/ |access-date=15 May 2024 |website=Deadline Hollywood |archive-date=15 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515160933/https://deadline.com/2024/05/alice-lowe-interview-women-horror-directors-1235907163/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Plot== In 1688, the priest of an unorthodox congregation in western Scotland is arrested for heresy. Agnes, a witness to his execution, becomes enamoured by him and tries to save him. Agnes is inadvertently struck by an axe, and the priest, Alex, takes the opportunity to escape. Scipio, an onlooker, draws the scene. As she dies, Agnes promises she will see Alex again.
In 1793, Agnes has been reborn and lives in the English countryside. She confides to her handmaiden Meg about her dissatisfaction with her life, constantly under the heel of her domineering husband George. One day, she finds Alex, now a highwayman. Despite seemingly striking a romance with him, Alex steals Agnes' necklace, an heirloom from George's family, prompting George to threaten to hang him. Scipio, now a servant to the couple, encourages Agnes to stand against George, who burns her books in retaliation. At a masquerade, Agnes meets Alex amongst the guests, but he insists privately that he cannot take her to France with him. George catches them and furiously drags Agnes back to his house. Agnes declares that she will return, to which George threatens he will hunt Agnes "until the end of time" and swiftly beheads her.
In 1847, Agnes, now a schoolteacher, is passed by a man she recognises as Alex. Following him, she narrowly saves him from an oncoming carriage, but is again beheaded.
In 1940, George and Agnes are a magician and his assistant during the Blitz. During a performance, Agnes notices that Alex is a soldier in the audience. When George recognises Alex, he again attacks her after Alex responds to a raid siren.
In 1980, Agnes has come to Manhattan to find Alex, now a pop star, to Meg's chagrin. She regularly receives counsel from a shrink, who tells her that she has reincarnated because of something she is lacking. Meeting with Scipio, Alex's manager, Agnes denies her obsession with him, while Scipio expresses his anger at Alex for using his songs without credit. When the shrink suggests that she should "turn the tables", Agnes confronts Alex after a concert, only for him to insist that she is his stalker. Scipio, rather than saving Alex, asks if she will be a "revolutionary". Agnes relents, saying she is only a fan, and leaves.
Receiving proper psychological support, Agnes is told that her obsession was a delusion. Falling back on George, who has himself observed her, Agnes nearly marries George, but when George remembers Alex from forty years earlier, he stabs her in the chest. Agnes pleads that George let her go and that she wants him to be who he wants himself. Given his experiences in his current life, George has a change of heart and relents. Hallucinating meeting Scipio, who shows her his drawing and claims that she has died for the final time, Agnes releases her fixation on Alex and recognises that Meg has shown her love the entire time. Returning to life, Agnes arrives at Alex's failing concert, telling him she will set themselves free, and embraces him before shooting him and herself in the head.
In a dystopian 2117, Agnes and Meg are a couple and with Scipio and George are part of a resistance movement against an unspecified power. As the rebels charge at a group of paramilitary officers, Agnes pauses when one officer unmasks himself as Alex. He tells her that he loves her, compelling Agnes to retreat.
==Cast== * Alice Lowe as Agnes * Jacob Anderson as Scipio * Nick Frost as George * Tanya Reynolds as Meg * Aneurin Barnard as Alex * Kate Dickie as Marion * Dan Renton Skinner as Officer/Priest * Mike Wozniak as Dan Chovy
==Production== In February 2021, it was announced that Lowe's new project was called ''Timestalker'' and was a romantic comedy about one woman's unrequited love across centuries from 1680s western Scotland through to an apocalyptic 22nd century. It had Sam Riley, Jacob Anderson and Natasia Demetriou attached to it with Lowe also acting. Vaughan Sivell was announced as producing for Western Edge Pictures and HanWay handling international sales.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Grater|first=Tom|url=https://deadline.com/2021/02/sam-riley-natasia-demetriou-hanway-sales-efm-1234697008/|title=Sam Riley, Natasia Demetriou & Jacob Anderson Join Rom-Com ''Timestalker'' From ''Prevenge'' Director Alice Lowe; HanWay Boards Sales|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=19 February 2021|access-date=5 December 2024|archive-date=19 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219152245/https://deadline.com/2021/02/sam-riley-natasia-demetriou-hanway-sales-efm-1234697008/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Brew|first=Simon|url=https://www.filmstories.co.uk/news/timestalker-alice-lowes-new-movie-lands-backers/|title=''Timestalker'': Alice Lowe's new movie lands backers|website=filmstories.co.uk|date=22 February 2021|access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=White|first=James|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/sam-riley-natasia-demetriou-and-jacob-anderson-on-for-alice-lowe-timestalker/|title=Sam Riley, Natasia Demetriou And Jacob Anderson On For Alice Lowe's ''Timestalker''|magazine=Empire|date=21 February 2021|access-date=5 December 2024|archive-date=20 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720042245/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/sam-riley-natasia-demetriou-and-jacob-anderson-on-for-alice-lowe-timestalker/|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2022, it was announced that filming had commenced with Nick Frost, Tanya Reynolds, Aneurin Barnard, Kate Dickie, Dan Skinner, and Mike Wozniak in the cast and Riley and Demetriou no longer involved. Popcorn Group were on board as co-producers with funding coming from the BFI, Head Gear Films, and Ffilm Cymru Wales with funding from the National Lottery and the Welsh Government via Creative Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ntim|first=Zac |url=https://deadline.com/2022/10/alice-lowe-romcom-timestalker-stars-shooting-with-kate-dickie-dan-skinner-and-mike-wozniak-joining-cast-1235149167/|title=Alice Lowe Romcom ''Timestalker'' Starts Shooting With Nick Frost, Tanya Reynolds, and Aneurin Barnard Joining Cast|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=19 October 2022|access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Tabbara|first=Mona|date=19 October 2022|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/aneurin-barnard-tanya-reynolds-nick-frost-join-alice-lowes-timestalker/5175603.article|title=Aneurin Barnard, Tanya Reynolds, Nick Frost join Alice Lowe's ''Timestalker''|website=Screen Daily|access-date=5 December 2024|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929092619/https://www.screendaily.com/news/aneurin-barnard-tanya-reynolds-nick-frost-join-alice-lowes-timestalker/5175603.article|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bullock|first=Dan|url=https://www.criticalpopcorn.com/2022/10/25/cast-announced-for-alice-lowes-timestalker-and-filming-is-underway/|title=Cast announced for Alice Lowe's Timestalker and filming is underway|website=Criticalpopcorn.com|date=25 October 2022|access-date=5 December 2024|archive-date=25 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325164314/https://criticalpopcorn.com/2022/10/25/cast-announced-for-alice-lowes-timestalker-and-filming-is-underway/|url-status=live}}</ref> HanWay Films released first look images of Frost and Lowe in historical costume in February 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tabbara|first=Mona|date=17 February 2023|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/hanway-reveals-first-look-at-alice-lowes-timestalker-exclusive/5179270.article|title=HanWay reveals first look at Alice Lowe's ''Timestalker'' (exclusive)|website=Screen Daily|access-date=5 December 2024|archive-date=19 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719121128/https://www.screendaily.com/news/hanway-reveals-first-look-at-alice-lowes-timestalker-exclusive/5179270.article|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Release== ''Timestalker'' had its world premiere at South by Southwest on 8 March 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/sxsw-2024-lineup-additions-sydney-sweeney-nicolas-cage-monkey-man-1235817961/|title=SXSW 2024 Second Wave Includes Pics With Sydney Sweeney, Nicolas Cage, Camila Mendes & 'Monkey Man'|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|date=7 February 2024|access-date=7 February 2024|archive-date=7 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207200930/https://deadline.com/2024/02/sxsw-2024-lineup-additions-sydney-sweeney-nicolas-cage-monkey-man-1235817961/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Travis|first=Ben|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/alice-lowe-timestalker-comedic-fantasy-romance-reincarnation-dario-argento-exclusive/|title=Alice Lowe's ''Timestalker'' Is A Comedic Fantasy Romance About Reincarnation, With Nods To Dario Argento – Exclusive Image|magazine=Empire|date=16 January 2024|access-date=5 December 2024|archive-date=26 November 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126165345/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/alice-lowe-timestalker-comedic-fantasy-romance-reincarnation-dario-argento-exclusive/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film had its Canadian premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival on 31 July 2024.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fantasiafestival.com/en/news/fantasia-2024-third-wave |title=Fantasia's 28th Edition Awards Filmmaker Mike Flanagan, Closes with the World Premiere of Andr�� Forcier's Ababouiné |website=Fantasia International Film Festival |access-date=3 July 2024 |archive-date=5 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705063903/https://fantasiafestival.com/en/news/fantasia-2024-third-wave |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2024, Vertigo Releasing acquired distribution rights to the film for the United Kingdom and Ireland from HanWay Films.<ref>{{cite web|title=SXSW reincarnation romp ''Timestalker'' picked up for UK-Ireland|website=Screen International|first=Mona|last=Tabbara|date=13 June 2024|access-date=14 June 2024|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/sxsw-reincarnation-romp-timestalker-picked-up-for-uk-ireland-exclusive/5194519.article}}</ref>
The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 11 October 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/oct/10/timestalker-review-alice-lowes-anti-romcom-is-a-darkly-hilarious-spin-through-history|title=Timestalker review – Alice Lowe's anti-romcom is a darkly hilarious spin through history|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Bradshaw|date=10 October 2024|work=The Guardian|access-date=15 December 2024}}</ref> It was released digitally on video-on-demand (VOD) platforms the following month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a62850284/watch-timestalker-digital-release/|title=One of 2024's best British movies is now available to watch at home|last=Sandwell|first=Ian|date=November 11, 2024|website=Digital Spy|access-date=15 December 2024}}</ref>
==Reception== {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|87|6.9|47|Leveraging fantasy to explore how bad life choices are evergreen, ''Timestalker'' is a clever and imaginative sophomore feature from director and star Alice Lowe.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/timestalker|title=Timestalker|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=14 February 2025}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|72|14}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/timestalker/|title=Timestalker|website=Metacritic|access-date=8 February 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|7340766}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timestalker}} Category:2024 films Category:2024 English-language films Category:2020s romantic fantasy films Category:British Film Institute films Category:British films set in New York City Category:British romantic comedy films Category:British romantic fantasy films Category:British science fiction films Category:British post-apocalyptic films Category:Films about reincarnation Category:Films about stalking Category:Films directed by Alice Lowe Category:Films set in Edinburgh Category:Films set in England Category:Films set in the 1680s Category:Films set in 1793 Category:Films set in 1847 Category:Films set in 1940 Category:Films set in 1980 Category:Films set in the 2110s Category:Films shot in Wales Category:Films with screenplays by Alice Lowe Category:English-language romantic fantasy films Category:English-language romantic comedy films