The new indie thriller “Shuttle” offers a pretty tame setting for terror – the minibus that sends airport passengers back home.
Or it it?
Maybe it’s the execution, or perhaps we’ll blames the latest case of casting over plotting. But the little seen “Shuttle,” coming to DVD April 7, is a slickly engineered thrill ride.
Mel (Peyton List) and Jules (Cameron Goodman) are two galpals traveling back home after a romp through Mexico. They meet a pair of handsome boys who aggressively flirt with them, and two manage to snag a ride aboard the girls’ airport shuttle.
It’s late. They’re all tired, and they just want to go home, so the boys’ flirtations seem harmless enough.
They would have been better off paying more attention to the driver (Tony Curran), who has no intention of delivering them home safe and sound.
“Shuttle” ratchets up the tension early, and delivers a splash of gore to keep the horror hounds at bay. But it’s just as much a mystery as it is a straight-up thriller. Just what does the driver want, and why is he making all these curious pit stops?
Part of the puzzle can be solved with a glance at the DVD jacket, which is a shame since most viewers wouldn’t guess what’s going on otherwise. But it’s still a taut trip, one engineered primarily thanks to Curran’s chilling performance.
He’s not your typical monster. He’s smart, steady and oh, so creepy.
Writer/director Edward Anderson (who wrote last year’s satisfying “Flawless”) stumbles at times with the dialogue, but he’s created a quartet of lively characters without falling back on any horror handbook.
“Shuttle” does grow weary midway through, as our ability to withstand the passengers’ extended ordeal wanes. But the final scenes recharge the story, one that ends on a note that won’t please many crowds.
“Shuttle” is sharp, unconventional and occasionally thrilling. So guess how much it made during its theatrical release? If you said under $2,000, you win a prize.
That underlines the sorry state of movie distribution today. But that shouldn’t prevent you from thumbing a ride aboard this “Shuttle.”
(Photo: Peyton List and Cameron Goodman wait for a ride home in the new thriller “Shuttle.”)
Related posts:
on 
on 
