In what is a familiar scenario, a group of mismatched teens are on a trip in an old school bus with their fatherly driver looking after them as best he can. When the road is blocked by fallen trees, the driver decides to take a shortcut through the woods while the teens bicker and flirt with each other. During the detour, they come across a dead deer in the middle of road and the driver moves it into the woods. Unfortunately, an armed vagrant – who may or may not have a penchant for human tongues – wants to commandeer the bus to take him somewhere. The bus breaking down wasn’t in anybody’s plans, though, and something much bigger and nastier is waiting for them.

Chock-full of clichés, Shortcut is entertaining enough fare, with a twist mid-way that takes it in the territory of films like The Descent with the action moving to a labyrinthine underground shelter. It’s here that the teens break from their two-dimensional form and – dare we say it – actually become a little more likeable. The movie is not overly gory, the intended audience being younger and likely less genre savvy. There are a few decent scares though and a teen audience should lap it up.

In the end, what we have is The Breakfast Club with a bloodthirsty monster replacing the teacher. It’s fun, but seasoned horror viewers will feel the beats coming a mile off.

Release Date: March 29th