By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Thanks to the Marvel movies, everyone and their brother now knows about the theory of the multiverse. However, those films are generally optimistic and present the idea of different dimensions as a simple way of seeing our favorite heroes and villains in weird new costumes. However, one bizarre sci-fi thriller from more than two decades ago showed us the much darker side of this idea by showing in bleak detail just how much attempts to change the past can ruin your life. That movie is The Butterfly Effect, and it’s now streaming on Netflix for those who want to take their own stroll down sci-fi’s dark side.
The Butterfly Effect Plot
The Butterfly Effect centers on a young man whose childhood memories are basically Swiss cheese thanks to a series of blackouts and subsequent memory loss. Eventually, his present-day self realizes he can travel into his past body during those blackouts, and he immediately begins making changes to the past in an attempt to improve his life. Unfortunately, he keeps making things worse, and it soon becomes clear that his attempts to tug at the fabric of reality may unravel the lives of himself and his friends in increasingly horrific ways.
The cast of The Butterfly Effect helps the movie sell its wild premise, including Ashton Kutcher as the young man who keeps hopping into his own past and effectively ruining his future. The movie also stars Elden Henson, the Mighty Ducks veteran who MCU fans will recognize as Foggy Nelson, Daredevil’s partner in law (and, occasionally, crime). Rounding out the cast of bigger names are Eric Stoltz (the man who was nearly Marty McFly) and Ethan Suplee (whose Mallrats role cemented him as the guy who couldn’t see the hidden 3D sail boat).
Surprising Reactions
Compared to its budget, The Butterfly Effect was insanely profitable. Against a budget of only $13 million, this movie earned an impressive $96.8 million. This was enough to warrant two direct-to-video sequels, but they have almost nothing to do with the first film and are (if we’re being completely honest) generally not worth watching.
Interestingly, The Butterfly Effect is one of those movies that really divided critics and audiences: on Rotten Tomatoes, for example, the film has a critical rating of 34 percent, with critics generally griping that the movie is overly scripted and premised on scenes as tasteless as they are shocking. Via the Popcornmeter, though, those who watched (over a quarter of a million people!) gave this film a much healthier 81 percent.
As you have likely surmised, I am one of the enthusiastic fans who enjoyed The Butterfly Effect way more than critics did. One of the reasons for my enjoyment is Ashton Kutcher’s performance as the lead. Admittedly, the star has come under fire in recent years for his associations with disgraced celebrities such as Danny Masterson and Diddy. But if you can look past his more troubling professional associations, you’ll discover that he effectively sells the conflicting emotions of a character haunted by his past and willing to take any risk to save the future, both for himself and his friends.
Additionally, The Butterfly Effect really tickles my inner Star Trek fan (the one who’s never far from the surface) because of its heady messages about the dangers of changing history. The truth is that most people would change countless things about their own timeline if given half the chance, from trying to kill wee baby Hitler to trying to keep their parents together. Changing the past is a common fantasy for those who think the present could be better, and Kutcher’s film is a powerful reminder that these good intentions could nonetheless ruin life for countless people in ways we could never anticipate.
The Director’s Cut
The one downside of watching The Butterfly Effect on Netflix is that you’ll see the theatrical version. It’s still a great movie, but the Director’s Cut gets full points for giving us the bleakest possible ending. And it’s an ending I still regularly think about 20 years after watching it, which is a testament to the film’s creativity and innovative storytelling.
Will you gush about The Butterfly Effect as much as me, or will you want to change your own past so you never saw this film? You won’t know until you stream it on Netflix. Afterward, you may never be able to look at your favorite time-travel films the same way ever again.
