Shortcut movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: Shortcut

Currently in theaters. Out on video-on-demand in December 2020.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: D for dumb

IN A NUTSHELL:

This disappointing horror film is directed by Alessio Liguori and written by Daniele Cosci. If you’re dying (pun intended) for a Halloween movie, this feels more like a comedy based on an old-school jump-scare flick. It’s the kind of movie teens play on a TV for the laughable moments during a more interesting party. Sadly, it’s unmemorable in 3…2…1….yep, I already forgot about this movie.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Even though the movie is not very good, it will still scare kids.
Some profanity, including a ton of F-bombs.
Blood and gore
Some sexualized jokes
Some people die while others are in peril.

THEMES:

Courage
“What counts is us and our friendship.” – Nolan (Jack Kane)
“Every journey has its road. And ever road, sooner or later, comes to a crossing.” – Nolan (Jack Kane)

THINGS I LIKED:

Well, at least you get to see the bat-like monster. It’s convenient for the teens that it moves so slowly so they have time to run away. The bad news is that it looks like a fake animatronic. There’s also another monster earlier on…
American audiences won’t recognize any of the young actors in the movie: Zak Sutcliffe, Molly Dew, Jack Kane, Sophie Jane Oliver, and Zander Emlano. A lot of stars get their start doing horror movies, so best wishes to them.
The loveable bus driver played by Terence Anderson tells the teens a riddle while they’re driving because he knows they like them so much. As an audience, we learn the answer at the end of the movie, if you hadn’t already figured it out by then.
The story tried to include folklore to give depth to the monster’s background.
I like the look of the movie poster! Well, at least that’s something! I always feel terrible trashing a movie and want to look for something good about it!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some camera shots simply last way too long.
The music by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell is very heavy-handed and tells you how you’re supposed to be feeling at every moment. Many times it’s too loud and overly dramatic for what the camera is showing on the screen.
The opening credits feature views of the red school bus driving sooo slowly through the forested road.
Like many horror movies, the dialogue and scenarios are ridiculous.
Why is it that cliched characters in horror movies always make really dumb decisions? When will they learn that standing around screaming doesn’t help? They had plenty of time to run away, but they make other choices instead.
Most of the scenes are dark, which will make watching the movie difficult on a small device once it goes to streaming.
The ending narrative tries to make it sound like the teens really grew during their profound experience, but they mostly just ran around screaming.
It feels very amateurish.
The love story goes nowhere.
We don’t get to learn that much about each of the teenagers.