My hands are still shaking. Seriously. Just finished Shortcut and I think I might need to sleep with the lights on tonight. And I'm 28, for god's sake. I shouldn't be this creeped out by a movie.
So I rented it on Amazon Prime tonight because I was bored and the poster looked vaguely interesting. Big mistake. Huge. I should've just rewatched The Office for the hundredth time. But no, I had to go for the horror movie about a school bus and some kids taking a "shortcut." Classic horror setup, right? Nothing could've prepared me.
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There's this scene. This one scene that's burned into my retinas. The bus driver (who looks like a nice guy at first, typical horror movie misdirection) stops to help what looks like a stranded driver. And the camera angle is from inside the bus, through the windshield, watching him approach this car. The way it's framed - the darkness of the forest surrounding them, the way the headlights cut through the fog - it's claustrophobic even though they're outdoors. I literally leaned forward on my couch, mouth slightly open, without even realizing it. And then when the reveal happens... I jumped so hard my cat shot off my lap like he'd been electrocuted. Haven't seen him since. He probably hates me now.
This reminds me of when I was like 12 and my older brother dared me to take a shortcut through the woods behind our house after dark. It was supposed to be a five-minute walk home but it felt like hours. Every snapping twig was a monster. Every shadow was reaching for me. I made it home eventually, of course, ran the last stretch with tears streaming down my face. My brother laughed for days. But honestly? That experience was less terrifying than watching this damn movie. At least in the woods I could run. These kids are trapped on a bus with...
No spoilers. But I have to question something. I thought the monster design was brilliant at first, but now that I'm typing this... was it actually kind of ridiculous? Maybe I was just caught up in the moment because the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. But thinking back, some of the CGI looked a bit... off. Like, video game cutscene from 2010 off. I don't know. Maybe that's part of the charm? Or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself it wasn't that scary so I can sleep tonight.
The whole viewing experience was just... intense. My apartment was dead silent except for the movie sounds echoing off the walls. Every creak of my building, every car passing outside, made me jump. I kept pausing to check if my front door was locked. THREE TIMES. Who am I right now? This isn't me. I'm the person who laughs during horror movies. Usually.
And the kids in the movie - surprisingly decent acting for a low-budget horror. Especially the main girl. There's this moment where she's trying to be brave for the younger kids, but you can see the terror in her eyes. That subtle twitch in her jaw. God, that got to me. It reminded me of when I had to pretend I wasn't scared shitless during that job interview last year. Same facial expression, probably.
But honestly? The ending... I thought I loved it when it happened. The twist, the final confrontation. I was like "YES! That's how you do it!" But now that I'm thinking about it more... was it earned? Did the movie set it up properly? Or did it just come out of nowhere? I don't know. I'm probably overthinking it. My heart was pounding so hard during the last 15 minutes, I could barely breathe. That's got to count for something, right?
The sound design was something else, though. The way they used silence. Those moments where everything goes quiet, and you're just waiting... WAITING for something to jump out. And when it finally does, it's not just the visual that gets you, it's the sound. That screeching noise. I literally covered my ears at one point. Who covers their ears during a movie? Apparently I do now.
I think I need to watch something happy before bed. Maybe an episode of Bob's Burgers. Or a documentary about puppies. Anything to get that final image out of my head. You know the one. With the... yeah. That one.
Anyway, I'm rambling. My brain is still processing. It's not a perfect movie. Not by a long shot. But it got under my skin in a way few horror movies have lately. Sometimes that's all you want, right? To feel something? Even if that something is pure, unadulterated terror?
7.5/10 - decent
- alex