The Shortcut (2009)

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Not your typical teenage horror flick. All around good acting. Good plot. Nice twist in the plot. I've seen thousands of horror movies. Takes a lot for me to give an above average review. It's very bad to compete with movies like the Grudge series, Silence of the Lambs etc. it's sad that there are SO few good American made movies.

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.

In the fall of 1945 youths in a small town are getting ready to head for war in Europe (news apparently doesn't travel fast). One such soldier wants to get it off with his girl and in an attempt to do so takes the shortcut through the woods, where he aims to take advantage of the situation. However his girl ends up being murdered by a young boy. Over 60 years later two brothers move into town: Tobey (Nicholas Elia) and Taylor (Josh Emerson). Unknowing off the ignomy of the short cut, where it is rumoured that many kids and animals have disappeared, Tobey is conned by his friends to take the route...Any decent horror film needs to have at least two of the prerequisites - atmosphere, an intriguing story, a good scare, originality and capable acting. Issues like reasonable believability of script, nice pacing and in some preferences a sufficient gore factor as additional bonuses. "The Shortcut" basically fails on all grounds with flashbacks crucialy disappointing. It reveals too much of the story backbone to create any sense of mystery, while given the standardised movie-making qualities it has nothing close to atmosphere. At the same time it lacks originality either in structure or in story, while the story plods out for the first sixty minutes and then suddenly throws us into the final act unprepared in such a manner, that you can't even believe that we are already heading for the conclusion. Acting is all over the place, albeit the menacing Raymond J. Barry and the captivating Katrina Bowden are standout with what little proper dialogue they have to work on.The worst factor is the believability of the script. Naturally a certain suspension of belief is necessary, but that doesn't mean anything flies. In the case of "The Shortcut" we are led to believe, that a normal child brought up in a loving caring environment can have some sort of uncontrollable craving to murder at a whim. The whole base for the horror wants to takes my common sense and strangle it, but I am unwilling to comply.

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.