Shuttle - Endstation Alptraum!

This is a pretty unknown thriller that was actually good. The writer/director managed some tense sequences and the actors are above the usual C-grade for a small movie and they managed sympathetic performances that led me to care about their welfare. The story isn't above flaws but the characters, who've been kidnapped and are being transported to an unknown location via shuttle bus, are proactive and not daft, and so I contentedly went along with it. In fact, there was a surprising twist that I quite enjoyed too.

Oh hello, I guess this movie wasn't that small if Roger Ebert reviewed it. Now that I've checked out his one-star review, I remember glancing at it sometime back and deciding not to watch this movie. Good thing I'd forgotten about that; this is one of the rarer instances where we disagree.

Once again this was a DVD that was at sale for a few euro's immediately. The reason I bought it was the fact that it was recommended by some creepy freak. So I did and now I'm left with a feeling don't knowing what I should think of it, is it horror or is it a thriller. Guess that's the problem why it is already so cheap. Is it bad, not at all, it clocks in at 102 minutes but it never bored me. And that's already good news. Is it gory, no it never is scary or bloody but luckily it contains a few changes in the storyline. for example, when the shuttle stops at the terminal some one is already on board. Does I need to say more? You can see it coming who he is. But indeed, when you guessed it there are things happening you couldn't suspect. Some people will put it under the torture porn titles, but it isn't gory enough to have that label. But still, it's watchable for everybody. There isn't any nudity in it so i would label it rated 15.

On the surface, 'Shuttle' looks like it's going to be one of those slightly laughable high-concept movies like 'P2' - kids get on the wrong airport shuttle bus and all hell breaks loose. You'd be forgiven for expecting little more than incompetently handled third-rate genre clichés. This is one of those rare instances when you'd be wrong. Defying all the odds, writer/director Edward Anderson manages to craft a tightly structured thriller with a genuine sense of mounting dread and performances well above the norm for straight-to-DVD fodder. He's able to create some sequences of real tension and displays more talent and understanding of the mechanics of suspense than many more experienced directors. I, for one, found the story involving, the protagonists likable, and enough unexpected reveals to keep me guessing 'till the very end as to the true nature of the crime being perpetrated. All in all, 'Shuttle' is a solid horror-thriller that chooses suspense over violence, and does so admirably well for such an inexperienced director. I've no idea what Anderson's been doing in the three years since making this movie, but I hope his evident talents won't go ignored much longer.

I've just finished watching this movie and as always I refuse to give too much away on the plot and characters so here is my simple review.

The good points - Original plot, very acceptable acting by mostly unknown actors and OK direction by first time director Edward Anderson on a low budget. The bad points - Not enough time spent getting to know the characters i feel the movie could have spent the first 20 - 30 minutes getting to know about the characters, very poor colour and lighting in this movie everything seemed to have a pale complexion, its got your usual don't do that, why did he/she do that scenarios for thriller/horrors.

All in all could have been better maybe seemed a little too long based on the fact that there was no character development at all.

Average

Try and enjoy if you do watch it though.

On the whole, SHUTTLE is a perverse and mean-spirited motion picture, yet the powerful final moments of the film are truly sensational but diabolical none the less. The movie begins with two weary young women who have just ended their Mexican vacation, and need a ride back to town. They board the airport shuttle bus, and are taken hostage along with the other passengers. How will this divergent group free themselves from their psychotic abductor? The plot is straight-forward to the point of banality, yet here is where the story begins to lose plausibility. The fiendish driver takes them on a late night journey that seems endless and lasts most of the night. It really stretches credulity that no one would notice this out-of-control bus, and it would seem that they would have encountered more traffic if the airport had been located in the wilderness of Alaska. Their malevolent driver is menacing to the extreme, and a maximum of physical and psychological torture is dispatched. It is only in the final few minutes that the true motive for the kidnapping is revealed, and this electrifying final impression of abject loss makes the suspension of believe just about worth it.