SHORTCUT Review – Stranded Teens Battle a Tunnel-Dwelling Creature
Starring Jack Kane, Zak Sutcliffe, Andrei Claude, Sophie Jane Oliver, Terence Anderson
Written by Daniele Cosci
Directed by Alessio Liguori
The 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s It found huge success by telling the story of a group of teens who bond while battling an ancient shapeshifting entity. Over the years, several other films have tried to recreate the success of movies like It, with stories about teenagers battling monsters. The new film Shortcut makes an entertaining attempt to tell a similar story about five teens trapped on a bus in the countryside, who come into contact with an unusual creature lurking in the dark. Written by Daniele Cosci and directed by Alessio Liguori, Shortcut will be released on VOD on December 22nd by Gravitas Ventures.
Shortcut tells the story of five teens on a bus, presumably on their way home, when they suddenly encounter fallen trees blocking the road. The bus driver, Joseph (Terence Anderson), decides to take a shortcut which takes them to a tunnel. The group is comprised of familiar, but likable, characters including the leather jacket-clad rebel, Reggie (Zak Sutcliffe), the bookworm, Queenie (Molly Dew), the detective’s son Karl (Zander Emlano), and potential couple Nolan (Jack Kane), and Bess (Sophie Jane Oliver). The story in Shortcut makes several starts and stops, leaving questions about some of the decisions made along the way. One of those questions revolves around the fact that an escaped prisoner with a gun tries to take everyone hostage, after blocking the road. The hostage situation is short-lived because once they are forced to take a detour, the bus breaks down, and they realize there is something large, cloaked in black, on the road in front of them.
Soon the five teens are on their own, running from some kind of creature, and making their way through underground tunnels. The first glimpse of the creature leaves a lot to the imagination, which assists in building a feeling of dread and uncertainty. As the teenagers are running away from the creature, their flashlight shines in its face and they realize it is repelled by light. While navigating their way through the tunnels, the teens make a few attempts at bonding by sharing stories about their lives with each other. Each run-in with the creature reveals more of its anatomy, which, unfortunately, lacks any sort of natural movement, causing it to resemble a person in a cloak wearing an oversized mask.
Shortcut features a talented group of actors, who are all believable and enjoyable to watch, but it feels like there are missed opportunities for deeper bonding between the characters. Nolan and Bess team up to find a control room so they can turn on all the lights in the tunnels and keep the creature away. Meanwhile, Reggie, Queenie, and Karl have a confrontation with the creature, where they learn that it feeds on blood and body fluids. Throughout the film, the lighting and cinematography are effective and add an uncomfortable atmosphere as the teens are being hunted by the creature. When they discover a room with papers indicating someone was down there and trying to kill the monster, they realize they might be able to defeat the creature and escape.
I really enjoy creature features, but the creature design in Shortcut almost takes away from the great performances by the young cast. The more we see of the creature, the more difficult it is to achieve suspension of disbelief. Any time a film leaves the specifics of a monster up to the imagination of the viewer, the movie becomes a whole lot scarier. In this case, showing less of the poor creature design could have benefited the film. Despite featuring an interesting cast of characters, a little bit of blood, and an intense plot, ultimately Shortcut’s creature is its biggest shortcoming.
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Shortcut
Summary
While there are great performances, intense moments, and a little bit of blood, Shortcut is a creature feature whose creature comes up short.
