Ticking Clock

Ticking Clock

Year: 2011

Runtime: 101 mins

Language: English

Director: Ernie Barbarash

ThrillerActionCrime

A reporter discovers a killer’s journal detailing plans to target particular girls. He launches his own investigation, following clues that repeatedly point to a nine‑year‑old orphan residing in a group home, uncovering a chilling connection. With time running out, he races to stop the murderer before the next attack.

Tense
Bittersweet ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Fast pacing
Complex story

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Ticking Clock (2011)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Ticking Clock (2011). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

The story unfolds across urban settings, including homes, bars, and a crime lab where evidence is analyzed. These everyday locations provide a tense backdrop for a thriller centered on investigation, danger, and personal turmoil.

🏙️ Modern city

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:29

Main Characters – Ticking Clock (2011)

Meet the key characters of Ticking Clock (2011), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

James (Austin Abrams)

James is a troubled young boy who believes he can travel back in time to fix his life. He forms a crucial connection to Keech’s plan and roams between fear and longing for a different outcome. His actions culminate in a fatal confrontation that shakes Louis’s pursuit of the truth.

👦 Child ⏳ Time traveler 🧭 Courage

Keech

Keech is a calculating killer who crafts a scheme to escape a painful past by manipulating events. He aims to frame Lewis Hicks for the crimes and to orchestrate James’s intervention so Louis can be seen as a hero. His eventual downfall hinges on a brutal clash that leaves him missing.

🗡️ Serial killer 🧠 Manipulator

Lewis Hicks

Lewis Hicks is a figure Keech tries to pin the murder on, making him a central red herring in the investigation. His presence in the narrative drives the tension between truth and perception as investigators weigh impossible motives and timelines.

🕵️‍♂️ Suspect ⚖️ Legal puzzle

Gina Hicks

Gina Hicks is Louis's wife, navigating a rocky marriage while the investigative turmoil strains their relationship. She anchors Louis emotionally even as his career and trust unravel under Keech’s shadow.

💑 Spouse 🔎 Emotional anchor

Felicia Carson

Felicia Carson is the district attorney who ends her relationship with Louis, setting off a chain of deadly events. She becomes a primary victim of Keech and the catalyst for Louis’s escalating pursuit of the truth.

⚖️ Prosecutor 💔 Relationship

Vicki Ihrling

Vicki is a schoolteacher with a troubling past she once reported, who becomes another target for Keech. Her murder illustrates the killer’s pattern and the danger Louis faces as he follows the killer’s trail.

👩‍🏫 Teacher 🩸 Victim

Detective Maddox

Detective Maddox is part of the police effort to solve Keech’s serial murders, providing procedural counterpoints to Louis’s investigation and Keech’s manipulation.

🕵️‍♂️ Detective 🧩 Investigator

Mona

Mona is a figure connected to Polly's circle who shows kindness within Keech’s shadowy world. She represents a fragile kindness that characters cling to in a world where past trauma and present danger collide.

👩‍🦳 Ally 🌟 Kindness

Polly

Polly is the director of the boys' home who remains a target in Keech’s plans. While not heavily explored in the summary, her role frames the killer’s manipulation of events.

🗺️ Caregiver 🧭 Target

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:29

Major Themes – Ticking Clock (2011)

Explore the central themes of Ticking Clock (2011), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🌀 Time Loop

A looping narrative threads the idea that victims persist in alternate timelines, challenging Louis to discern truth from manipulation. James’s involvement and Keech’s plan bend causality as characters confront a past that seems capable of rewriting the present. The ending hints at cycles that may never fully break, leaving consequences lingering.

💔 Trauma & Memory

Past abuse and emotional wounds shape the characters’ choices and distrust, driving the pursuit of truth into danger. James carries deep scars that distort his sense of time and family, while Keech exploits memory to justify his acts. The narrative uses trauma as a catalyst for fear, longing, and fragile alliances.

🎭 Manipulation & Deception

Keech’s scheme hinges on shaping events to escape a painful past and to cast others as scapegoats. The journal and a torn coat become tools to mislead investigators, while Keech aims to orchestrate James’s intervention to frame Louis as a hero. The plot reveals how appearances can mask brutal motives and how truth can be a constructed narrative.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:29

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Race-against-time thrillers like Ticking Clock

Thrillers where detectives face a relentless countdown to stop a killer.If you liked the relentless urgency of Ticking Clock, explore more movies where investigators face a ticking clock. These similar crime stories and mysteries share a fast-paced, high-stakes feel, perfect for viewers seeking tense thrillers driven by deadlines and desperate chases.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow a protagonist—often an investigator or journalist—who discovers a imminent threat, such as a serial killer's schedule. The plot unfolds through a rapid sequence of clues and confrontations, with the ever-present pressure of the countdown forcing risky decisions and creating a frantic, high-energy narrative.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here based on their shared fast pacing, high-intensity stakes, and the central motif of a literal or figurative deadline. They create a cohesive experience of anxiety and suspense, appealing to viewers who enjoy the visceral thrill of a desperate, last-minute investigation.

Complex psychological thrillers with dark twists like Ticking Clock

Mysteries where the investigation reveals a shocking, conceptually dark truth.Fans of the shocking twist and psychological depth in Ticking Clock will find more movies like it here. These similar complex thrillers explore dark themes like fate, trauma, and identity, often ending on a bittersweet or morally ambiguous note that lingers long after the credits.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern begins with a conventional mystery—a crime to be solved—but the protagonist's investigation gradually uncovers a truth that undermines the very nature of the case. This often involves a temporal paradox, a twist of identity, or a cyclical pattern of violence, transforming a simple whodunit into a tragic exploration of inescapable fate or psychological damage.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared narrative structure of a reality-shattering reveal and their heavy, often bleak, emotional weight. They prioritize a complex, mind-bending conclusion over neat resolution, creating a cohesive vibe of intellectual unease and melancholic suspense.

Unlock the Full Story of Ticking Clock

Don't stop at just watching — explore Ticking Clock in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Ticking Clock is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Ticking Clock Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Ticking Clock, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Ticking Clock Summary

Ticking Clock Timeline

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Ticking Clock Timeline

Ticking Clock Spoiler-Free Summary

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Ticking Clock Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Ticking Clock

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Ticking Clock (2011) Plot Summary & Movie Recap

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