The Shortcut (2009)

24% of users liked it
(809 ratings)

The first release from Scary Madison - the genre division of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production house - director Nicholas Goossen's small town frightener serves as a shocking wake-up call to teenage trespassers everywhere. High school senior Derek (Drew Seeley) was adjusting to life in a new… More The first release from Scary Madison - the genre division of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production house - director Nicholas Goossen's small town frightener serves as a shocking wake-up call to teenage trespassers everywhere. High school senior Derek (Drew Seeley) was adjusting to life in a new town when he discovered an overgrown path leading into the woods. According to his classmates, the local kids used to use it as a shortcut before a malevolent farmer began chasing them away with a shovel. Eventually, a few of the local kids went missing under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it that the old man got them. Now years have passed, and no one dares go near the path. The townspeople have simply accepted the fact that it's off limits. But Derek suspects that the old man is hiding something, and he's determined to find out what it is. Once he uncovers the sinister secret that lies just beyond the trees, however, he may not live to reveal the awful truth. Dave Franco, Katrina Bowden, and Shannon Woodward co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Nicholaus Goossen
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Horror

In Theaters: Feb 7, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Sep 29, 2009
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
You won't be scared silly, but for a horror movie to take such a low-key approach, focusing on characters and situations seems like a radical departure.

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Featured Audience Ratings

J P

This movie was really bad. It was like all cliches. Like the woods, the crazy man in the woods, the psycho children, etc. Seen it alllll before. The cliches and underdeveloped actors is what makes this horror film like every other one in the world. It's boring and stupid. The… More
This movie was really bad. It was like all cliches. Like the woods, the crazy man in the woods, the psycho children, etc. Seen it alllll before. The cliches and underdeveloped actors is what makes this horror film like every other one in the world. It's boring and stupid. The biggest thing I had with this film was the editing. It was so sloppily put together. Like they had flashbacks just thrown in random places....I guess to give the audience some background information? But it was really inappropriate for the film. There was a backstory, but they had to use flashbacks in order to tell the story and the flashbacks were all crappily placed in the film. It was really stupid. I didn't like the flashbacks. The whole movie's plot wasn't neat and organized at all. First they were looking for a dog, then it turned into breaking and entering someone's house, then it turned into a "rescue" mission/murder scene. Didn't it occur to the kids just to ask the man in the house if he saw his dog? Or couldn't the kid have called the police to report the dead domesticated dog on the man's property? I mean do these kids think at all or are they just naturally dumbasses? The kids were dumb and in my opinion deserved to die.
Jacob P

Well, here it is. Happy Madison's very first horror movie, I never thought i'd see the day. Anyways, it was a descent horror flick. Nothing special here, pretty much an average horror plot about a group of teenagers thinking an old man is responsible for the town's… More
Well, here it is. Happy Madison's very first horror movie, I never thought i'd see the day. Anyways, it was a descent horror flick. Nothing special here, pretty much an average horror plot about a group of teenagers thinking an old man is responsible for the town's recent murders. The scares were weak, the acting was ok, and the twist was alright. Nothing new here.
John M

The cast and acting are really nice, the story is engaging with a good thrilling moments, the pace was very fluid and entertaining BUT it was a good movie until the end.