The Shortcut (2009)

Two brothers come upon a rarely used shortcut in their new town

Director:

Nicholaus Goossen

Writers:

Dan Hannon, Scott Sandler

Stars:

Kent Allen, Wendy Anderson, Raymond J. Barry

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kent Allen	...	Mr. Hartley
Wendy Anderson	...	Derek's Mom
Raymond J. Barry	...	Old Man / Ivor Hartley (as Raymond Barry)
Jeremy Bastian	...	Benjamin Hartley (1940s)
Katrina Bowden	...	Christy
Cavan Cunningham	...	School Administrator
William B. Davis	...	Benjamin Hartley
Benjamin DeWalt	...	Benjamin Hartley (1950s)
Nicholas Elia	...	Tobey
Josh Emerson	...	Taylor
Dave Franco	...	Mark
Jonelle Gunderson	...	Sally (1950s)
Shannon Jardine	...	Ms. Milan
Scott Lyster	...	Dougie
Christine MacInnis	...	Mrs. Hartley

Storyline

Two brothers come upon a rarely used shortcut in their new town

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Plot Keywords:

shortcut | climbing through a window | strangulation | double barreled shotgun | dragging a body | 

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and terror, language, sexual material, thematic elements and brief teen drinking

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dark Legends - Neugier kann tödlich sein

Filming Locations:

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Happy Madison Productions, Minds Eye Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 100 min (European Film Market)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

It is announced at the beginning of the film that the year is 1945, and there is a prominent banner for Hartley High School's Homecoming. A young man entering the Marines says he's going to be stationed in Germany, which is important because he has to "Stop the Nazis." Homecoming dances at USA high schools are in October or November, which means the dialogue takes place in October or November of 1945. Hitler committed suicide in April of 1945, and the Nazi party quickly dissolved. World War II was over by the time this conversation took place.

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Connections

References Halo 3 (2007)

User Reviews

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.