Ignore the critics!!!

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2004)

I just sat through the DVD of THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT and have to say that the critics can kiss my beige ass. I know that those f**kheads jumped all over Ashton Kutcher's performance - and to be fair, I ragged on him without having seen the film - , and while he's no Olivier that ain't the point. The story is what reigns here, and it comes off as an R-rated "Twilight Zone" story. I don't love the film, but I do really like it a lot, and I urge you to give it a chance.
Yeah, there's the whole skewed time travel angle of the story in which the protagonist attempts to correct some very dark crap that happened in his past (and, more importantly, the past of a couple of his friends), but what really grabbed me was the utter horror of the childhood experiences that scarred the hero and his friends; growing up in the suburbs is a frightening experience for some kids, and for a locale that parents bring children to for potential family safety they really have no clue as to what kinds of adventures their kids can have, either at home, at friend's houses or through mischief of their own device. The events that shape the pre-altered realities of the main characters are balls-out awful and I don't recommend the film to all audiences, but at least the worst bits are mostly strongly implied rather than explicitly shown; trust me, when kids are involved that's a good thing, because the crap really is that bad.
So the bottom line is that you should check it out, and after you see it flip the DVD and watch the director's cut with commentary from the writer and director. If you come away from the theatrical release a little cold, the director's cut/commentary version will majorly sway you like it did me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.