Dark British Rom-Com 'Timestalker' Will Arrive In U.S. Theaters This February
Aneurin Barnard as a highwayman and Alice Lowe as Agnes in the 1600s timeline in 'Timestalker'
Popcorn Films/Hanway Films
One of the buzziest British films of last year is finally making its way to America: The dark romantic comedy Timestalker, which aims to "encapsulate the female romantic predicament in multiple eras" by following the story of a woman forced to reincarnate every time she falls in love with the wrong man.
The film, which played several stops on the festival circuit last year before being released in the U.K., opened to strong reviews, many of which praised its ambition and subversive sense of humor. Now, American audiences will get the chance to decide for themselves when the indie flick arrives in U.S. theaters and on-demand streaming this February.
The second feature from actress-turned-director Alice Lowe (Lockwood & Co), this film has a very different vibe from her debut effort, the 2016 comedy slasher movie Prevenge. Coated in pastel colors and boasting a more overtly romance-themed plot, Timestalker follows the story of Agnes (Lowe), a Scottish Reformation-era peasant who falls for a heretic preacher, only to find herself accidentally killed and reincarnated a century later in 1730s England. The pattern continues into the modern day, as Agnes keeps falling for various versions of the same man, dying a gruesome death, and reincarnation to start the process all over again a hundred years later. Her only hope of breaking the cycle is to realize that she deserves better than the man she's spent centuries chasing.
Here’s the official synopsis.
Agnes, a hapless heroine, falls for a mysterious man, promptly meets her bloody demise, and then is reincarnated a century later. When she meets her love again, the cycle begins anew. As Agnes traverses through time, she repeats all the messy thrills and spills that come with daring to follow one’s heart. How can she ever hope to break the cycle when she’s destined to be a fool for love?
Alongside Lowe, Timestalker also stars Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones), Aneurin Barnard (Doctor Who), Tanya Reynolds (The Decameron), and Nick Frost (The Nevers).
“Seven years ago. It was a slow percolation,” Lowe told the BFI about her inspiration for the film. “It started off as a sketch that had a [expletive]-up Doctor Who thing – what if there was a woman traveling through time and was obsessive about an ex? Just when you think you’ve got rid of someone, they pop up again because you’ve reincarnated.”
The film is written and directed by Lowe. The film is produced by Vaugh Sivell (Rare Beasts), Tom Wood (Death of a Gentleman), Mark Hopkins (The World’s End), and Natan Stoessel (In the Flow).
Timestalker will debut in U.S. theaters and on digital on-demand streaming on Friday, February 14, 2025.
