SYNOPSICS
The Shortcut (2009) is a English movie. Nicholaus Goossen has directed this movie. Katrina Bowden,Jeremy Bastian,Cavan Cunningham,William B. Davis are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2009. The Shortcut (2009) is considered one of the best Horror,Mystery,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
High school senior Derek was adjusting to life in a new town when he discovered an overgrown path leading into the woods. According to his classmates, the local kids used to use it as a shortcut before a malevolent farmer began chasing them away with a shovel. Eventually, a few of the local kids went missing under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it that the old man got them. Now years have passed, and no one dares go near the path. The townspeople have simply accepted the fact that it's off limits. But Derek suspects that the old man is hiding something, and he's determined to find out what it is. Once he uncovers the sinister secret that lies just beyond the trees, however, he may not live to reveal the awful truth.
The Shortcut (2009) Trailers
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The Shortcut (2009) Reviews
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.
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.
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!
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.
Eat, drink, murder
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.