WRITERS and film-makers have always been interested in the notion of time travel. But as Marty McFly discovered again and again in Back To The Future, the fabric of time is incredibly fragile. Tear it at your peril.

Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) is a deeply troubled young man. All of his life, he has suffered from stress-induced blackouts, which prevent him remembering crucial moments in his life.

His friends Kayleigh (Amy Smart), Lenny (Eldon Henson) and Tommy (William Lee Scott) have helped Evan come to terms with his rare condition and to piece together fractured memories of his childhood.

During his sophomore year at college, Evan re-reads his journals and begins to recall a freak tragedy from his formative years, which altered the course of his entire life.

He also stumbles upon a method whereby he can transport himself back inside the body of his 13-year-old self (John Patrick Amedori) and subtly affect the past.

Evan feels sure that if he can make amends for his youthful misdeeds by preventing them taking place, he will be able to mould a better version of the world for his family and friends.

However, with each journey back in time, Evan returns to find himself in a radically different incarnation of the present.

As his new existence spirals out of control, Evan faces the terrifying repercussions of his actions.

Written and directed by J Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, who penned Final Destination 2, The Butterfly Effect is an elaborate psychological thriller about the destructive nature of time.

Evan ricochets between past, present and future so frequently that there is no emotional constant for us to hold onto, accentuated by Kutcher's one note performance.

I suppose we should be grateful the film only runs for 113 minutes.

Rating: 5/10