Shuttle

Now available on DVD

Cast:



Peyton List as Mel



Cameron Goodman as Jules



Tony Curran as Driver



Cullen Douglas as Andy



James Snyder as Seth



Dave Power as Matt

Directed by Edward Anderson

Review:

The thing that I enjoyed most about Shuttle is that it is in a word different. Not the whole aspect of good looking people – both men and women – getting kidnapped and taken on a dangerous and deadly journey but that the end result is off the charts different and how all the pieces fall into place nicely.

For gore hounds this won’t be the horror film for you as there are very few moments of either as this is more psychological in the way the horror is approached rather than just splashing a few gallons of water and food coloring around.

But more importantly, Shuttle is intelligent. A cavalcade of strange errands and odd happenings that occur throughout the night that seem to be on the surface just a measure in testing ones will or getting a rise out of someone all come together to form one neat package by the time the credits roll.

Mel (Peyton List) and Jules (Cameron Goodman) on their way back from spring back in Mexico are delayed at the airport waiting for their luggage that was lost. Now late into the night, the girls must take the lone airport shuttle remaining along with a pair of men also returning from a vacation.

But this is no ordinary shuttle as they soon find out once a detour and a flat tire forces them off the beaten path and alone in one of the shadier neighborhoods of the city. After an “accident” cripples one of the guys – chopping off his fingers in probably the bloodiest moment of the film – things deteriorate quickly as the Driver (Tony Curran, probably best known for his work as one of the warriors in The 13th Warrior), as he is only known by, pulls a gun on them and begins a slow process of robbing and humiliating them.

But wait, this isn’t Last House On The Left on a bus, because from there he forces them to pull out all of their money via an ATM, where the girls begin to suspect something just isn’t right, this isn’t an ordinary robbery or theft. Something else is up.

A suspicion that is confirmed after Mel is sent on an errand at a grocery store – to get two gallons of water, a number of food stuffs, kitty litter, pads, blankets and misc other items – and one of the guys makes a break for it. His mistake as he’s hit by the shuttle and run over repeatedly. It is also here where we get one of a number of twists that Shuttle delivers.

After dispatching of the fingerless other dude, the Driver takes the now terrified girls to an abandoned building where he forces them to put on a pair of white high-heeled shoes and white lingerie and then parades them against the wall under the bright lights.

Unknown to them, another party is behind the lights examining them along with the Driver with a purpose yet unknown. I won’t ruin the excellent ending but let’s just say that the 2 gallons of water, kitty litter, food stuffs and more come back into play in a big way in an original ending that is less than happy.

The one thing I definitely will take away from Shuttle is that if I ever ride on an airport shuttle again to pick my driver very carefully. Because I don’t want to die, or get stuck running a bunch of odd errands in the armpit of the city. Hell, maybe I should just take a taxi.

Extras:

The casting specials is an interesting look at all of the actors running through their lines before production in a very informal session. This is a nice little extra as we see their reactions prior to the final product. A little pull behind the curtain you don’t often get to see. Curran is especially good in his early delivery.

The deleted scenes that are included really don’t offer a lot to the party or any major revelation that we don’t see in the original cut. A little fill-in info in some parts including the pre-ATM scene but that’s about it.

Finally, the behind-the-scenes isn’t really what you’d expect instead it is more of a promo piece for the film itself, however, there are some interesting looks at some of the stunts and the overall message of the film. Clocking in at under 5 minutes, you can’t really get too in-depth with how the production was filmed as you barely have any time to even set the stage for any of the scenes. That’s too bad because the film is very interesting and it would be great to see just what some of the ideas came from.