Shortcut

Normally i avoid horror movies with teen leads. This film has solidified my aversion. Its actually worse than a lot of teen horror films. Characters go from scared s&!tless to goofing around whithout a care in minutes. Besides the absolute idiot choices that have no basic reality even for dumb teens.

The kids acting wasn't bad, but differently not realistic for situation. Story tried so hard to be a coming of age story it missed opportunities to do that. Strange flash backs. Unrealistic choices made by characters.

I liked the actors. The British teen-agers seem more like real people, than the often smarmy, precocious teens often portrayed in US movies. I found the first half of the movie interesting and well photographed. When the monster showed up, it seemed like a different movie, which didn't seem congruous and was poorly thought out. I found the second half of the movie poorly conceived and very weird, but not in a good way.

There are quite a few good things about this movie. The acting from the young cast is good; the creature they are dealing with looks suitably frightening and there are even a few parts, especially at the beginning, which are quite creepy. The trouble is there are too many aspects of this movie that don't make sense. Actually what the creature is, where it came from; and what its motives might be are never explained satisfactorily. Who the teens are and their back story is never revealed even though there are one or two odd flashback scenes. Then there are a couple of plot lines which seem totally out of place and don't do anywhere anyway. Chief among them is the prison escapee who takes the kids hostage at the start of the movie. I actually thought this was going to be the plot of the movie, but no. That particular plot line is soon dispensed with and makes you wonder what the point of it was. In fact the whole movie is like that. I can't help feeling that a lot of this movie ended up on the cutting room floor for some reason, that the story was meant to be much more than what we see here. I certainly get the impression that the people who made this film thought they had produced something significant in the horror genre. They certainly haven't done that. It looks like they left things open for a sequel too. I can't see that happening.

Bottom line: this movie is certainly watchable; it's not long enough to really out stay its welcome. Just don't set your expectations too high.

I'm at a loss to understand the negative reviews of "Shortcut'. Its not a horror masterpiece but its by no means a poor movie, either.

Personally, I'd characterise this one as a "functional horror". Its has all the right scare components, in all the right places, to offer the viewer a mildly chilling experience.

Its "Famous Five" vibe is interesting too, akin to film adaptations like "IT". The group dynamic works well and is backed by strong acting, from the predominantly youthful cast.

So in summary, watchable, a little scary, not overly original but competently done nonetheless.

6/10.