41 reviews
Nothing Special Here..
What can I say? It's a B-slasher flick with a pretty good cast and a weak plot. Really, the movie starts out very very weak. I was afraid it was going Disney horror on me. The script is really cheesy in the parts and the scares are so ridiculously stupid, it's not even worth laughing about. But as the film progresses the mood starts to change and the characters become more and more developed and the suspense starts to build. I really loved the character development here. I especially loved Mark (Dave Franco) who is really a funny, cowardly guy. He has some really funny back and forths with Lisa (Shannon Woodward) who is also very well developed and fun to watch. So overall, I liked the acting and characters. The plot was super weak. I didn't understand why in the world some random teenagers would care that much about going to that man's house. There reasoning was they wanted to know if that man was killing dogs. Well if he was, why wouldn't they just call higher authority to go check it out? Nope, they had to be on the case themselves. Which I suppose I can't fault since our little bleeders need a creepy place to get slashed away anyways. The deaths are all pretty well done, even though none of them are creative or gory in any way. It's very bland so I wouldn't recommend this to gore hounds.
The finale, which comes a bit too soon, is very predictable but it's still a nice little twist for this low-budget slasher. Even if it is a bit outlandish and confusing.
Overall, The Shortcut has it's moments, but overall it's an average B-slasher. Nothing more.
The finale, which comes a bit too soon, is very predictable but it's still a nice little twist for this low-budget slasher. Even if it is a bit outlandish and confusing.
Overall, The Shortcut has it's moments, but overall it's an average B-slasher. Nothing more.
- TheyKallMeDood
- Sep 8, 2009
- Permalink
This movie was disturbing...but not in a good way that horror flicks sometimes are.
- tanjareen-1
- Oct 22, 2009
- Permalink
"I'll get you and your little dog too"
Derek (Andrew Seeley) high school student hears of a legend where students have been unduly dispatched while taking a short cut that is naturally through the woods. He and his intrepid high school buddies decide to prove or disprove the rumor and at the same time stir up the alleged perpetrator or encourage his socially unacceptable hobby.
This is your standard run-of-the-mill slasher movie. While there aren't a lot of scantily clad teenage girls squeaking around in this one. Yet we all know what's going to happen; probably a few shots, a few cuts, some smashing things, spooky music, and whatnot. Yeah, there are the standard twists and turns and the obligatory surprise ending that never surprises anyone. For people that enjoy Gore for gore's sake, this might even be a five-star movie. For people looking at scantily clad female girls, this movie is a dud. For people looking at artistry balance and the structure of the movie itself, you will find it so-so.
Appropriately named movie.
This is your standard run-of-the-mill slasher movie. While there aren't a lot of scantily clad teenage girls squeaking around in this one. Yet we all know what's going to happen; probably a few shots, a few cuts, some smashing things, spooky music, and whatnot. Yeah, there are the standard twists and turns and the obligatory surprise ending that never surprises anyone. For people that enjoy Gore for gore's sake, this might even be a five-star movie. For people looking at scantily clad female girls, this movie is a dud. For people looking at artistry balance and the structure of the movie itself, you will find it so-so.
Appropriately named movie.
- Bernie4444
- Apr 8, 2024
- Permalink
Why does the Shortcut feel so long?
Yikes. Really dumb confusing movie. The title translates to "dont go in the woods cuz there's a killer in there. Or is there? The acting isn't all that bad, but there is no cohesive story.
The plot meanders from the 40s to 50s to present. And then there's a decent surprise ending that is totally ruined by an incomprehensible second surprise ending 10 minutes later.
It is so out of place you'll be wondering what they were thinking -- like a sequel? Come on folks. Are you delusional?
In all, you'll just feel let down and like you wasted 90 minutes.
Too bad.it could have been good with a better script.
The plot meanders from the 40s to 50s to present. And then there's a decent surprise ending that is totally ruined by an incomprehensible second surprise ending 10 minutes later.
It is so out of place you'll be wondering what they were thinking -- like a sequel? Come on folks. Are you delusional?
In all, you'll just feel let down and like you wasted 90 minutes.
Too bad.it could have been good with a better script.
Eat, drink, murder
Your kidding - Right?
Just Take The Long Way...I Beg You.
- thecinemaview
- Oct 11, 2009
- Permalink
Good horror is hard to find....
There are other reviews, this is just a comment. Movie is decent, ignore the haters.
Does have some issues (didn't know Nazi Germany was still fighting in fall of '45), plot meanderings, weak points and not exactly a master thespian cast but has some good horror moments, decent banter and semi-plausible character interactions.
The interesting thing about this movie is its orientation toward not showing the ultraviolence in all its dripping glory. The most visually graphic scene is when one character has his finger broken.
Personally, I am utterly sick of watching 80 minutes of CGI anatomy trying to take the place of a story. This movie has the sense to use the cutaway (ha ha) approach to violence and I respect it.
I would watch this movie 100 times over any of that Saw (post Saw 1, which I thought was pretty good) / Hostel torture voyeurism or Rob Zombie crap remake any day.
Does have some issues (didn't know Nazi Germany was still fighting in fall of '45), plot meanderings, weak points and not exactly a master thespian cast but has some good horror moments, decent banter and semi-plausible character interactions.
The interesting thing about this movie is its orientation toward not showing the ultraviolence in all its dripping glory. The most visually graphic scene is when one character has his finger broken.
Personally, I am utterly sick of watching 80 minutes of CGI anatomy trying to take the place of a story. This movie has the sense to use the cutaway (ha ha) approach to violence and I respect it.
I would watch this movie 100 times over any of that Saw (post Saw 1, which I thought was pretty good) / Hostel torture voyeurism or Rob Zombie crap remake any day.
Don't Waste Your Time
I didn't have very high expectations for this movie, but I was at least hoping for a few good jump scares, and maybe a few robbed hours of sleep that night.
My hopes were shattered when, a minute into the movie, we see two teenagers at a homecoming dance in the fall of 1945, the boy talking about how he ships out in two weeks to fight the Nazis. (All of Nazi Germany had surrendered by May 11, 1945.) The movie went downhill from there. I was giggling two minutes in, and ready to turn it off at the opening credits, which blatantly rip off "Se7en's." But, against my better judgement, I stayed with the sinking ship, and wish I hadn't.
Everything about the movie had been done before, and better, by others. The plot was weak to say the least, and the ending was stupid and implausible, which robbed it of any genuine shock it had the potential to hold. If the movie had at least had some decent character development, I might have been able to forgive it...but five minutes in, I was actually praying for the characters' deaths, and nothing changed. I was groaning out loud at the pathetic "bantering" dialogue, and there were jarring continuity errors as well. When I wasn't giggling, I was nearly falling asleep. As I said, there was no story, no emotion, not even any gore for slasher fans. The shots were bland and boring...I felt like I was watching a middle school's drama production of an adaptation of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" without Freddy.
Feeling like I'd been robbed of eighty-five minutes of my life, I turned on the director's commentary to try to understand his reasoning...only to find that he had none. His opening comments were: "Hi. If you can hear my voice right now, then that means that you're watching the DVD." Fifteen minutes in, I'd discovered that I knew more about directing a film than he did.
I turned off my television and had a good cry, and I'm still trying to erase the whole experience from my mind. I can only implore you all not to waste your time or money on it.
My hopes were shattered when, a minute into the movie, we see two teenagers at a homecoming dance in the fall of 1945, the boy talking about how he ships out in two weeks to fight the Nazis. (All of Nazi Germany had surrendered by May 11, 1945.) The movie went downhill from there. I was giggling two minutes in, and ready to turn it off at the opening credits, which blatantly rip off "Se7en's." But, against my better judgement, I stayed with the sinking ship, and wish I hadn't.
Everything about the movie had been done before, and better, by others. The plot was weak to say the least, and the ending was stupid and implausible, which robbed it of any genuine shock it had the potential to hold. If the movie had at least had some decent character development, I might have been able to forgive it...but five minutes in, I was actually praying for the characters' deaths, and nothing changed. I was groaning out loud at the pathetic "bantering" dialogue, and there were jarring continuity errors as well. When I wasn't giggling, I was nearly falling asleep. As I said, there was no story, no emotion, not even any gore for slasher fans. The shots were bland and boring...I felt like I was watching a middle school's drama production of an adaptation of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" without Freddy.
Feeling like I'd been robbed of eighty-five minutes of my life, I turned on the director's commentary to try to understand his reasoning...only to find that he had none. His opening comments were: "Hi. If you can hear my voice right now, then that means that you're watching the DVD." Fifteen minutes in, I'd discovered that I knew more about directing a film than he did.
I turned off my television and had a good cry, and I'm still trying to erase the whole experience from my mind. I can only implore you all not to waste your time or money on it.
- sudsinthebucket
- Aug 1, 2010
- Permalink
Average film with excellent twists! Worth a shot.
The Shortcut is another shining example of how one can almost never trust IMDb's rating system, or the users responsible for it. Either that, or I seriously don't understand the way it's supposed to be. However, if you do watch The Shortcut expecting a 5.0 rated film - you'll be very pleasantly surprised.
The way I see it, this film is divided into three parts. The first one is the longest and slowest, giving us the exposition and buildup which are quite good - family moves into a new place, the kids in school and their friends, the local urban legend of a place you shouldn't go to, the works! The second part starts about an hour after the beginning, involves a pretty nice twist and is much more fast-paced, with some cat and mouse chases just like in Slasher films. The final part is the ending, which completely blew my head off as I did not see it coming! I thought the film was above average but not by far, and then the ending really got it some more points.
The acting is good, especially by Shannon Woodward as Lisa. The flashes from earlier years were also well used, and the cinematography wasn't anything special but wasn't bad.
All in all, I really enjoyed this film, as I'm a sucker for good plot twists, especially towards the ending. The Shortcut, while not a masterpiece, is definitely recommended!
The way I see it, this film is divided into three parts. The first one is the longest and slowest, giving us the exposition and buildup which are quite good - family moves into a new place, the kids in school and their friends, the local urban legend of a place you shouldn't go to, the works! The second part starts about an hour after the beginning, involves a pretty nice twist and is much more fast-paced, with some cat and mouse chases just like in Slasher films. The final part is the ending, which completely blew my head off as I did not see it coming! I thought the film was above average but not by far, and then the ending really got it some more points.
The acting is good, especially by Shannon Woodward as Lisa. The flashes from earlier years were also well used, and the cinematography wasn't anything special but wasn't bad.
All in all, I really enjoyed this film, as I'm a sucker for good plot twists, especially towards the ending. The Shortcut, while not a masterpiece, is definitely recommended!
- nitzanhavoc
- Jan 17, 2013
- Permalink
Soo boring and predictable
Pretty disappointing, this movie is sooooo boring and predictable. You will know on what is going on even before it really starts. It has been already seen a million times in much better and more serious production. If you are a real horror movie gore and you don't have anything else but this film to fill up your already boring evening, then maybe yes - you go ahead and see it. Otherwise, as a sincere horror lover I do not recommend you the film. Teenage horror films can be a lot of fun, but not this one. For the reason of the good camera as well as few tense scenes, I will give this film two out of ten, but then that is pretty generous.
Decent
A nice little thriller with a twist, even if the ending is somewhat disappointing
- devils_neighbor_667
- Feb 8, 2020
- Permalink
Good movie until the end
Fairly average teenage slasher movie
This movie was, well truth be told, fairly average.
The storyline was pretty much like taken from a mold of how to make a teenage slasher movie, nothing new or super surprising to the story actually. You have your newly arrived family to a town, a crazy old man in the woods, and a bunch of teenagers with their noses in places they don't belong. And with that recipe, "The Shortcut" is set off to an otherwise alright ride.
The movie moves ahead at a good pace actually, never becoming stale or boring. There is a good turn of events throughout the movie, and some nice character build as well. This is some of the stronger elements that work for the movie.
As for the cast, well I think they actually put together an alright group of people here for the movie. Raymond J. Barry in the role of the 'old man' was actually good, he did come off the screen sort of aloof, but I wouldn't say he was creepy, as the teens in the movie described him. As for the young cast, well they did good jobs with their characters as well, but for me it was Raymond J. Barry who carried the movie.
Now, for a slasher movie, there isn't a whole lot of blood and gore, but that is alright, because the movie didn't' really need it. It was more thriving on building up suspense and atmosphere. However, I must say that you have the storyline figured out fairly quickly into the movie, but still, the movie is worth watching. And the ending, had a rather unusual twist to it. Whether you like that particular twist or not is a matter of opinion. I, personally, found the ending to be over the top, it just didn't seem like a wholesome way to round up the movie. But of course, this is a matter of taste.
One of the better scenes in the movie was the hammer scene. Without giving anything away, you will know what I am talking about when you see it. That scene was so good, and the aftermath was working out nice as well.
And what was really working for "The Shortcut" was the atmosphere of the setting and scenery. There was a whole seedy, dormant feel to the town in which it took place. And the old man's house, though described as creepy and disturbing by the teenagers, wasn't what they said it was. But, I will say that the old man's house was interesting, and it had a very gloomy feel to it, with some fairly interesting items to be seen here and there.
As movies go, do not expect the next Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger to be born from this movie. It is a fairly average movie, and it is one that fails to stand out in the slasher genre. Sad to say, but you watch this movie and then it will fade into oblivion, because nothing really makes it extraordinary or standing out in any way.
I found the movie to prove adequate entertainment for its one and a half hour (approximately) duration, though it is not a movie that I will be returning to for a second time around.
The storyline was pretty much like taken from a mold of how to make a teenage slasher movie, nothing new or super surprising to the story actually. You have your newly arrived family to a town, a crazy old man in the woods, and a bunch of teenagers with their noses in places they don't belong. And with that recipe, "The Shortcut" is set off to an otherwise alright ride.
The movie moves ahead at a good pace actually, never becoming stale or boring. There is a good turn of events throughout the movie, and some nice character build as well. This is some of the stronger elements that work for the movie.
As for the cast, well I think they actually put together an alright group of people here for the movie. Raymond J. Barry in the role of the 'old man' was actually good, he did come off the screen sort of aloof, but I wouldn't say he was creepy, as the teens in the movie described him. As for the young cast, well they did good jobs with their characters as well, but for me it was Raymond J. Barry who carried the movie.
Now, for a slasher movie, there isn't a whole lot of blood and gore, but that is alright, because the movie didn't' really need it. It was more thriving on building up suspense and atmosphere. However, I must say that you have the storyline figured out fairly quickly into the movie, but still, the movie is worth watching. And the ending, had a rather unusual twist to it. Whether you like that particular twist or not is a matter of opinion. I, personally, found the ending to be over the top, it just didn't seem like a wholesome way to round up the movie. But of course, this is a matter of taste.
One of the better scenes in the movie was the hammer scene. Without giving anything away, you will know what I am talking about when you see it. That scene was so good, and the aftermath was working out nice as well.
And what was really working for "The Shortcut" was the atmosphere of the setting and scenery. There was a whole seedy, dormant feel to the town in which it took place. And the old man's house, though described as creepy and disturbing by the teenagers, wasn't what they said it was. But, I will say that the old man's house was interesting, and it had a very gloomy feel to it, with some fairly interesting items to be seen here and there.
As movies go, do not expect the next Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger to be born from this movie. It is a fairly average movie, and it is one that fails to stand out in the slasher genre. Sad to say, but you watch this movie and then it will fade into oblivion, because nothing really makes it extraordinary or standing out in any way.
I found the movie to prove adequate entertainment for its one and a half hour (approximately) duration, though it is not a movie that I will be returning to for a second time around.
- paul_haakonsen
- Jan 18, 2011
- Permalink
Short on Storyline and Short on Thrills...
After starting this movie, I found myself constantly checking to see how far into the film I was.
At the 30 minute mark, the movie was still was not doing anything for me. Yes, they give you a little bit of background (a few minutes ), and the rest is spent attempting to shape some characters - but alas, nothing interesting. I actually started to nod off.
45 minutes in - they finally have one good scene. Then, it's back to the teeny-bopper, high school setting.
Not sure how they can classify this as "horror" or even suspense, with just a handful of tense scenes. I am not a fan of gore, and don't need blood to enjoy a movie - but I do like to be taken by surprise, or startled. A thrill or two is great. You simply won't find anything here.
At the 30 minute mark, the movie was still was not doing anything for me. Yes, they give you a little bit of background (a few minutes ), and the rest is spent attempting to shape some characters - but alas, nothing interesting. I actually started to nod off.
45 minutes in - they finally have one good scene. Then, it's back to the teeny-bopper, high school setting.
Not sure how they can classify this as "horror" or even suspense, with just a handful of tense scenes. I am not a fan of gore, and don't need blood to enjoy a movie - but I do like to be taken by surprise, or startled. A thrill or two is great. You simply won't find anything here.
- blondehrtbreakr
- Sep 24, 2011
- Permalink
It was ok
Had I known beforehand it was a PG-13 horror, I might have passed it up. I wound up enjoying it even though it could've used more gore or at least showed more of the kills. I was wondering why they all happened off camera until I saw it was PG-13 after I finished it.
The twist ending in the final 2 minutes made absolutely no sense when you look back on the film. I won't give the twist away, but it was completely illogical when you look back on the interactions the lead boy had with his mother earlier in the film.
Without that absurd twist, I would've bumped this up to 7 stars. Still watchable though...until the unbelievable twist comes that will leave you scratching your head in disbelief.
- LaverneandShirleysucks
- Dec 27, 2020
- Permalink
the act of predicting
Not too bad
This may not be a big budget blockbuster but I enjoyed it, and if you are expecting that then move alone
Yes it's predictable in places but aren't they all, I found the acting good, the story wasn't bad.
Give it a go it might surprise you
- maddie-57552
- Jul 1, 2019
- Permalink
Familiar premise but very good up until the ending.
THE SHORTCUT pretty much has a familiar formula but what sets it apart from the other films of it type is that it has a more fleshed out storyline that develops the main characters and the villains as well, its also never really in a hurry to get to the hacking and slashing parts its actually very plot driven and not even too concerned about showcasing a bunch of gore, it even generates a decent amount of suspense and manages to establish an unsettling mood exactly when it needs to.
The acting is very good, I don't know any of the cast members or I might not have seen them before and it has fairly likable characters which is something you barely see in these types of films, normally you get a bunch of teens that annoy the living hell out of you you just want to smash your DVD player in two because the killer is taking to long to kill them.
Overall, out of many of the recent horror fair I've seen THE SHORTCUT probably has the lowest body count and is the least gore driven but at the same time its also one of the better horror films I've seen, it has an ending that sucks but that's normal for most better than average horror films.
The acting is very good, I don't know any of the cast members or I might not have seen them before and it has fairly likable characters which is something you barely see in these types of films, normally you get a bunch of teens that annoy the living hell out of you you just want to smash your DVD player in two because the killer is taking to long to kill them.
Overall, out of many of the recent horror fair I've seen THE SHORTCUT probably has the lowest body count and is the least gore driven but at the same time its also one of the better horror films I've seen, it has an ending that sucks but that's normal for most better than average horror films.
- jhpstrydom
- Feb 19, 2011
- Permalink
I want my 1 hour and 25 minutes BACK!
The plot of the movie was very silly, eventually, the movie was very silly too. The storyline was terribly written. The characters were so uninteresting, that I didn't even care who would survive. The location of the movie was awful, nothing creepy at all. Also, the flashbacks of the movie were so useless, that they only made the movie more worse and difficult to understand. The kills were lame, actually, I didn't expected something better, because it was rated PG-13. The acting and the casting weren't nice. The plot twist was so stupid. Anyway, the whole movie is just a big NO NO NO.
- funnycommentor
- Feb 20, 2022
- Permalink
But where's Tammy?!?
So not particularly scary. Pretty predictable. Stumbling about in the woods. I thought the very end might be a fun twist but the foreshadowing was pretty thick. Some decent acting so that's fun. Was okay for a "nothing else to do" kind of night. Franco was fun and kinda cute back in the day. Big question "what happened to Tammy?"
- jcrawfor-665-882456
- Jul 24, 2019
- Permalink
Made for tv garbage
Despite having some recognizable actors, this movie felt entire like a lifetime movie, right down to having every little plot point spoon feed the viewer like they were mentally deficient.
Not bad for a teenage horror
Pleasantly surprised! It really was better than I thought it would be. I have no flowery words or descriptions like other reviewers. I just wanted to say that I tuck this one up there on my list of horror shows.
Quite enjoyable for what it is
After a series of strange incidents, a teen and his friends decide to investigate the supposedly-haunted shortcut through the woods that is the base of an urban legend around town, and find that someone is intent on proving the legend true.
This was an enjoyable if slightly flawed effort that could've been even better. One of the better elements within this one is that it manages to be pretty creepy and suspenseful despite being pretty tame and soft. There's some really enjoyable and creepy moments in here which get this one going rather nicely, from the first time the kids wander through the house to the big confrontation in the woods where the darkness of the surrounding sand the two different encounters with the chained-up farmer makes for a couple of enjoyable entertaining scenes that work well without betraying the incredible tame feeling throughout this. Other big set-pieces include a second house-investigation sequence which features the spectacular sequence of the kids in the classroom which is illuminated only by their flashlights and shows row after row of mannequins set-up as if they're students and then stumbling upon all the writing on the wall which makes for a wholly impressive sequence, mixing together rather impressive suspense alongside the frantic action set-up which is highly enjoyable while keeping this one still quite kid-friendly. This is a rather big feature within the film here as none of these scenes and confrontations really highlights that issue and it's only upon reflection that it's really noticeable. This one does have a few small problems with it, the first being the really lame motivation for the killer. There's very little about it that would appear too logical and realistic as for why they would feel this way. That holds it down as well as the film's rather dull mid-section which doesn't offer much of anything interesting. This comes off as a lame teen-drama which isn't all too interesting and makes for a rather dull time as the family struggles and burgeoning romance aren't in the slightest bit exciting and really take away from the exploration of the easily as this tends to get glossed over easily. Lastly, while this one does manages to get in some good here with the tameness being quite nice, at times this one can be quite apparent of its roots and really highlight the tamer aspect especially in the beginning. It's all enough to bring this down slightly.
Rated PG-13: Violence, Mild Language and children-in-jeopardy.
This was an enjoyable if slightly flawed effort that could've been even better. One of the better elements within this one is that it manages to be pretty creepy and suspenseful despite being pretty tame and soft. There's some really enjoyable and creepy moments in here which get this one going rather nicely, from the first time the kids wander through the house to the big confrontation in the woods where the darkness of the surrounding sand the two different encounters with the chained-up farmer makes for a couple of enjoyable entertaining scenes that work well without betraying the incredible tame feeling throughout this. Other big set-pieces include a second house-investigation sequence which features the spectacular sequence of the kids in the classroom which is illuminated only by their flashlights and shows row after row of mannequins set-up as if they're students and then stumbling upon all the writing on the wall which makes for a wholly impressive sequence, mixing together rather impressive suspense alongside the frantic action set-up which is highly enjoyable while keeping this one still quite kid-friendly. This is a rather big feature within the film here as none of these scenes and confrontations really highlights that issue and it's only upon reflection that it's really noticeable. This one does have a few small problems with it, the first being the really lame motivation for the killer. There's very little about it that would appear too logical and realistic as for why they would feel this way. That holds it down as well as the film's rather dull mid-section which doesn't offer much of anything interesting. This comes off as a lame teen-drama which isn't all too interesting and makes for a rather dull time as the family struggles and burgeoning romance aren't in the slightest bit exciting and really take away from the exploration of the easily as this tends to get glossed over easily. Lastly, while this one does manages to get in some good here with the tameness being quite nice, at times this one can be quite apparent of its roots and really highlight the tamer aspect especially in the beginning. It's all enough to bring this down slightly.
Rated PG-13: Violence, Mild Language and children-in-jeopardy.
- kannibalcorpsegrinder
- Apr 3, 2015
- Permalink
SCOOPIE DOO
- nogodnomasters
- May 31, 2019
- Permalink