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[title]A film with an aching heart, wry wit and some outstandingly vivid ’80s eyeliner, Alice Lowe’s Timestalker is the hopelessly romantic reincarnation sci-fi you didn’t know you needed in your life. Lowe, who also writes and directs, plays Agnes, a self-obsessed woman in 17th-century Scotland who falls in love with a preacher (Aneurin Barnard’s Alex)… and stays in love with him through multiple periods of British history. She’s reincarnated over and over again, undeterred by the fact that the object of her desire remains a hopeless fuckboy. And in century-spanning pursuit is Nick Frost’s rotter of a husband, Jacob Anderson’s mysterious Svengali and Tanya Reynolds’ long-suffering companion.
'There were so many different influences because there are so many different time periods,’ Lowe tells Time Out of the Pinterest board of inspirations and influences she drew on for her filmmaking follow-up to 2017’s Prevenge. ‘The film is like a buffet: everything you might want on one plate. It’s about nostalgia for a place you haven't been.’
1. The bonkers creativity of fringe theatre
Anyone who witnessed Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight and its equally silly, B-movie-spoofing Garth Marenghi's Netherland storm the Edinburgh Fringe back in the early noughts will spot shared DNA in Timestalker. Lowe was a key part of the Marenghi troupe, alongside Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness, and the DIY ethos of those consciously scrappy shows rubbed off. ‘We had cardboard props and the audience would laugh, but we'd be playing it absolutely straight,’ she remembers. ‘A lot of imagination and surrealism came from that kind of comedy.’
2. The punk ethos of ’70s British cinema
The punkiness of Derek Jarman’s Jubilee (1978), Peter Greenaway’s baroque visions of British history and Sally Potter’s fantasias are all Timestalker inspo. ‘I love Peter Greenaway, I love Derek Jarman, Sally Potter… all these theatrical filmmakers who were part of a movement that slightly got forgotten,’ says Lowe. ‘It wasn't to do with having a massive budget but doing stuff imaginatively. That make-and-do sensibility that sets us apart from Hollywood, but we don't lean into it anymore.’ Timestalker is turning the clock back.
3. The self-absorption of 18th century novels
Timestalker is an idiot’s journey, not in the Karl Pilkington sense but in the spirit of an 18th century romantic novel where literary heroes were on a permanent quest for self-fulfilment. ‘Timestalker is a little journey through Romanticism,’ says Lowe. ‘I looked at 18th century novels like “Tom Jones” and “Candide” – it’s when people started having main character syndrome, which Agnes clearly has. I wanted a female character that could be an idiot and didn't have to be perfect.’
4. The madness of British history
From 17th century Scotland to near-future London, via the dawn of time, Victorian England and New Romantic New York, Timestalker is a history lesson on helium. For Lowe, the earliest spark was the discovery in Scotland of a ‘creepy-looking folk horror mask. ‘It triggered the whole thing,’ she says. ‘A preacher wore this mask to preach a forbidden part of the Bible, because you'd be killed if they caught you.’ A version of the mask is worn by Aneurin Barnard’s outlaw preacher but (probably thankfully) another historical discovery didn’t make the film. ‘The Georgians used to have wanking parties, where gentlemen would get together at their posh clubs and wank onto a platter,’ laughs Lowe of her 19th century research. ‘I had whole threads on stuff that was happening in the 18th century.’
5. The purpleness of Prince
The ’80s era in Timestalker is full of New Romantic touchpoints, but there’s another key influence – in the colour palette, as well as the film’s blend of earnestness and silliness. ‘Prince is one of my canon influences,’ says Lowe. ‘He's the perfect combo, isn't he? There's this earnestness, yet you know that none of it's serious.’ His Purpleness’s choice of Pantone colour is up there on the screen, too. ‘I told my production designer that I wanted to use purple. Obviously that's Prince's colour – and it’s a specific early ’80s vibe.’
6. The Technicolor of Powell and Pressburger
Legendary British filmmaking double act Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were another Timestalker touchstone. ‘There's a bit of Colonel Blimp in there, in Agnes’s recurring love interest. Their films punch you in the face with their outrageous beauty and symbolism. If you like a Chappell Roan video, then you'll like The Red Shoes, because the influences are there.’
7. The extra-ness of ’80s music videos
Soundtracked by ex-Unkle band mates Pablo Clements and James Griffith, aka Toy Drum, Timestalker goes full ’80s dance party when Agnes is reborn in 1980s New York. If you’ve ever owned a ‘Now That’s What I Call Music!’ album, this is the time to dust off your crop top and pop socks. ‘Music videos from that era are a massive influence,’ says Lowe. ‘I watched the video for Laura Branigan’s “Self Control” and there's a bit where they've covered stuff in black bin liners and it looks really cool. Every day I'd send the production designer a new music video and be like: this one!’
Timestalker is in UK and Ireland cinemas Fri Oct 11.