#time-loop

#time-loop

Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo made his feature debut in 2007 with the independent film that provided the template for all his work to come. Timecrimes - newly released in a 4K UHD restoration by Vinegar Syndrome - is a low-budget exploration of an exceptionally bizarre time loop problem, deploying essentially no visual effects while telling an increasingly complex tale of a man trapped in a temporal paradox who keeps creating new versions of himself.

Their twosome ruptures when Tara, who has travelled to Paris for an auction, wakes up on what should be the morning of November 19th to shimmers of déjà vu: the headlines in the newspaper look familiar; at breakfast, the same hotel guest drops the same slice of bread. A horrified Tara soon realizes that she is living in a repeating November 18th, while Thomas and the rest of the world go on without her.

The second Zelda title released for the Nintendo 64 and the follow-up to the universally acclaimed Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask retained much of its predecessor's mechanics and assets, but it reframed them with a recurring three-day structure that proved to be controversial among fans at the time. But while this unconventional time loop contributed to the game's divisive reputation, it also gives it a unique identity among the series, and is the reason the game remains so moving more than two decades later.

Based on the 2015 video game of the same name, Until Dawn follows a group of friends staying at a secluded cabin (classic!) who are trapped in a time loop and are forced to try and survive until morning every day. Dying resets the loop, which only increases the danger with each new trial. The film was helmed by Annabelle: Creation (2017) director David F. Sandberg, who just signed on to direct two more horror films for Netflix in the near future.

The Cabin in the Woods meets Groundhog Day, a parade of horrors where each fresh night brings something new and terrible. Sandberg remains an excellent director of horror.