What a waste of my time!!!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This movie revolves around a mysterious road that works as a shortcut in the middle of a typical US housing suburb. Those who take that route end up disappearing and, as there is a school nearby, there is some local care so that the children don't go there. Being a teen-oriented movie it has a few teenagers in the spotlight but it doesn't have bloody carnage filled with tomato juice, as the vast majority of teen horror movies. This will probably keep away the gore fans, without general public feel any lack of them, or gore itself. The movie tries to build some suspense around the shortcut and what goes on there, and succeeds in that. It doesn't waste time where it shouldn't nor runs over story to get where it wants. The cast isn't particularly sounding but it does what we could expect, though without ever giving us anything else. Nonetheless, the absence of great actors and a more elaborate and and psychological plot make this film something that only serves to spend an hour or two. It's not a bad movie, it's even better than a lot of teen crap! It's pure entertainment... but it's not more than that.

Despite its modest budget, this film proves to be a very welcome addition to the horror genre. As its title suggests, AVOID THE SHORTCUT avoids being a dull rehash of tired clichés and instead plays with these loved horror conventions to create an exciting and very well made horror film. If you want to take a break from the constant flurry of torture porn flicks, then take a look at this creepy chiller. A great story, interesting characters and a very twisted villain make this a surprisingly fun and enjoyable movie!7/10

After starting this movie, I found myself constantly checking to see how far into the film I was.At the 30 minute mark, the movie was still was not doing anything for me. Yes, they give you a little bit of background (a few minutes ), and the rest is spent attempting to shape some characters - but alas, nothing interesting. I actually started to nod off.45 minutes in - they finally have one good scene. Then, it's back to the teeny-bopper, high school setting.Not sure how they can classify this as "horror" or even suspense, with just a handful of tense scenes. I am not a fan of gore, and don't need blood to enjoy a movie - but I do like to be taken by surprise, or startled. A thrill or two is great. You simply won't find anything here.

I can only say that I called it from the start. However, to the movie's benefit (maybe) there was a twist at the end. Not that it was interpretable, unless you stretch a lot of information that seemed to be extremely compressed throughout the movie. First of all, if you are looking for gore, this is not your movie. Blood, yes. Death, yes. A lot? No. In fact, the movie seems to focus away from that type of action. Second, if you are looking for cheap thrills, this is not your movie. No shock value, no popping-up-behind-the-hero-value... nothing. There is a chase scene, but not much of one.In fact, this movie seems to try to be more of a psychological thriller. Why family sticks together, perhaps. A brother stands up for his brother, but only to a certain extent. In the end, when the main character sees first hand what happens to families that hide a hideous secret, he still chooses to follow that same path. There is no resolve to this story. No morale. No message. For those hoping for a happy ending: better luck next movie. For those wishing for gore and bloodshed: better luck next movie. For those wishing for a psychological drama: this was a mediocre attempt.