Yeah, I know…that’s got me more than a little freaked out, too. I’m supposed to believe a horror movie from Mr. “You ain’t cool unless you pee your pants”?
The plot, of course, is horror movie standard, which makes it all the more unpleasant when you realize that this is rated PG-13. Essentially, we’ve got a shortcut through the woods, connecting the school to local residences. Meanwhile, the shortcut itself has become the topic of local legend, sufficiently so to require that it be locked and gated. It’s said to be home to a shovel-wielding lunatic that doesn’t much like kids…or trespassers.Both is right out.
Anyway, when a group of kids decides to investigate for themselves, what they’ll find will leave them never again the same.
What truly upsets me about The Shortcut is that nothing of any real consequence happens through the first half hour. Nothing worse than a dead dog and some vaguely ominous foreboding. Frankly, as a horror movie, this loses so much effect for just being plain old DULL.
Clearly, Happy Madison is out of its depth.
I will admit, however, that after the first forty minutes things do improve somewhat, and The Shortcut will manage to achieve some solid, if blatantly irrational, results in the last half-hour, but it’s almost a case of too little, too late. They lost so many opportunities in the first half hour there’s no way you can call this good. The best it can achieve is passable.The Screenhead Ten Scale hands this interesting slow-starter a six out of ten for opportunities lost and opportunities capitalized on.
CAST
Andrew Seeley
Cavan Cunningham
Dave Franco
Josh Emerson
Katrina Bowden
Kristy Landers
Lindsey Landers
Nicholas Elia
Rob Roy
Scott Lyster
Shannon Jardine
