Ticking Clock

After killing a woman and cutting her open, Keech calms her crying baby boy.

Investigative reporter Lewis has a rocky marriage to Gina, a girlfriend named Felecia, and a slumping career. District Attorney Felecia tells Lewis she is ending the relationship. Later that day Keech murders Felecia in her home. Lewis fights Keech who drops a book and escapes. The book is Keech's journal. Lewis sees two more murders scheduled in the next three days. He writes the two names down, but Keech steals back the journal and the note.

Lewis tries to tell the police but instead he becomes a suspect in Felecia's murder. Lewis tracks down a scheduled murder victim, school teacher Vicki. He asks her out, but she goes to a bar. There, Keech talks with her about a boy she reported for abusing a cat. Vicki leaves for the restroom but Keech follows and murders her. Lewis traces Vicki to the bar but finds her murdered.

The police still doubt his story. Lewis's only evidence is a torn piece of Keech's coat, and a bloody fingerprint on a newspaper clipping. He sends both to a friend at a local crime lab. She tells him the blood matched an 11-year-old orphan living in a boys' home. The unfamiliar fabric of the coat reacts strangely to heat.

Boy's home Director Polly tells Lewis the boy, James, has behavioral problems. James describes his wish to travel back in time to fix his life. James shows Lewis a box with small animals that are dead and cut open. Lewis is shocked and James starts yelling, sending Lewis away.

Tracing the evidence, Lewis realizes that Polly is the next woman on the list. Lewis deduces that Keech is James, having traveled back from the future to "fix his life." The police do not believe this and jail Lewis. Keech pretends to be Lewis' lawyer, and reveals to Lewis that he is James from the year 2032 coming back to fix his life, using a wristwatch time machine. James transports Lewis and himself to the boys' home. Polly is tied up on the roof.

Keech threatens to kill Polly and forces Lewis to bring James. Lewis hides James in a restroom. Keech says he killed his mother, his teacher, his prosecutor, and now he must kill Polly. James follows Lewis, and asks Keech if he is his father. Keech says he is his future self. James is upset that Keech plans to hurt Polly, stating she has been nice to him, but Keech says she will send him to a mental hospital.

Keech drops a futuristic knife and James grabs it, slashing Keech's leg. Keech accidentally knocks James off of the roof. Keech disappears as James dies from the fall.

Lewis drives home. Since James died at age 11 he never became Keech, the serial killer. Each victim is shown alive including James living with a foster family.

• Cuba Gooding Jr. as Lewis Hicks
• Neal McDonough as Keech
• Nicki Aycox as Polly
• Austin Abrams as James
• Yancey Arias as Detective Ed Beker
• Dane Rhodes as Detective Gordon
• Danielle Nicolet as Gina Hicks
• Adrianne Frost as Vicki Ihrling
• Edrick Browne as Detective Maddox
• Veronica Berry as Felicia Carson
• Shanna Forrestall as Kayla Pierce
• James DuMont as Zoo Guard
• Angelena Swords Brocato as Shelly
• Ross Britz as Rookie Cop
• Michael Dardant as Magician

It is set and filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on February 7 and April 1, 2010.

Ticking Clock has received mixed reviews from critics. News Blaze positively reviewed the movie, stating "though this plot has enough holes to qualify as a golf course, small screen director Ernie Barbarash (Meteor) manages to sustain sufficient suspension of disbelief, via a heavy dose of heady suspense throughout."[3] Dread Central panned the film, saying that it was a "fairly iffy serial killer thriller with a few decent moments and an intriguing but otherwise underdeveloped conceit behind its killer's modus operandi; the insulting ending left me wishing I could have turned the clock back and gotten those 100 minutes back."[4] DVD Talk also negatively reviewed the film, writing "Once you have accepted that you can predict exactly where the film is going, the proceedings are still watchable but far less exciting."[5]

DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on January 4, 2011, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2011, it was distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

• Ticking Clock at IMDb
• Ticking Clock at Rotten Tomatoes