Shuttle

Directed by: Edward Anderson

Starring: Tony Curran, Peyton List, Cameron Goodman, Cullen Douglas, Dave Power, James Snyder

Synopsis:

After a wild weekend in Mexico, best friends Mel (List) and Jules (Goodman), find themselves stuck at the airport at 2am. Meeting up with two fellow passengers, Seth and Matt, they accept a ride from a shuttle bus. However, when the bus pulls off the interstate for a detour, the group find themselves in the midst of a nightmare.



Review:

I have to admit that this one snuck under the radar just a tad, and even when the review disc arrived I was pretty sceptical. After the first ten minutes though I was absolutely hooked. The initial scenes are unfortunately a little limp, providing us with the back-story of the two sets of tourists. Matt has spent the weekend having to watch his mate Seth try to seduce anything in a skirt, while Mel has been debating whether to break off her engagement to her fiancé after discovering his infidelity.

Things pick up though once they all board the shuttle bus. Shuttle does a good job of keeping the audience guessing where the threat is going to come from until it is necessary to reveal it. From then on, it is a battle of wits between the tourists and their captor. Time and again they try to escape but end up either succumbing to the needs of the group or being killed outright.

It’s good to see Tony Curran in a more prominent role. Tony has popped up in a number of decent action movies, including Gladiator (as the assassin who tells Maximus to kneel), 13th Warrior (one of the few to survive!) and Blade 2 (ends up with half his head missing!). Here he manages to be very menacing while keeping his agenda very close to his chest. The four main tourists are all tv veterans already and handle the material very well – especially Peyton List who comes to the fore as the most pro-active hostage.

Shuttle isn’t exactly a horror movie, more of a psychological thriller with horror over-tones. The story has a definite “this could happen to you!” feel. Its also a nice counterpoint to a number of horror movies which have preyed upon American’s fears of Other Countries (such as Hostel, The Ruins, Touristas – don’t go to other countries folks, or bad things will happen to you!). Once you’re back in the US, in your own home town, surely you’re safe, right? Edward Anderson has taken the mundane experience of the late-night bus home and turned it into a nightmare.

The badguy in Shuttle makes a number of moves which many will initially find puzzling and seems to go out of his way to make things difficult for himself. However, most of this is tied up in a very scary finish when it’s finally revealed what his motives actually are. Its one of those endings which gets stuck in your head, and you find yourself thinking about long into the night. Kudos, Mr Anderson, kudos.

Verdict:

Slow to start, Shuttle develops into a taut battle of wits and wills within the confines of the bus and then gives a real gut-punch ending.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)