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Andrew Seeley, Shannon Woodward, Dave Franco, Katrina Bowden, Raymond J. Barry

The first release from Scary Madison - the genre division of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production house - director Nicholas Goossen's small town frightener serves as a shocking wake-up call to teen... read more read more...age trespassers everywhere. High school senior Derek (Drew Seeley) was adjusting to life in a new town when he discovered an overgrown path leading into the woods. According to his classmates, the local kids used to use it as a shortcut before a malevolent farmer began chasing them away with a shovel. Eventually, a few of the local kids went missing under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it that the old man got them. Now years have passed, and no one dares go near the path. The townspeople have simply accepted the fact that it's off limits. But Derek suspects that the old man is hiding something, and he's determined to find out what it is. Once he uncovers the sinister secret that lies just beyond the trees, however, he may not live to reveal the awful truth. Dave Franco, Katrina Bowden, and Shannon Woodward co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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24% liked it

807 ratings

PG-13, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Nicholaus Goossen

Release Date: February 7, 2009

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DVD Release Date: September 29, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (181)

  • helpahorse
    August 7, 2011
    helpahorse
    This movie was really bad. It was like all cliches. Like the woods, the crazy man in the woods, the psycho children, etc. Seen it alllll before.

    The cliches and underdeveloped actors is what makes this horror film like every other one in the world. It's boring and stupid. The ... read morebiggest thing I had with this film was the editing. It was so sloppily put together. Like they had flashbacks just thrown in random places....I guess to give the audience some background information? But it was really inappropriate for the film. There was a backstory, but they had to use flashbacks in order to tell the story and the flashbacks were all crappily placed in the film. It was really stupid. I didn't like the flashbacks. The whole movie's plot wasn't neat and organized at all. First they were looking for a dog, then it turned into breaking and entering someone's house, then it turned into a "rescue" mission/murder scene. Didn't it occur to the kids just to ask the man in the house if he saw his dog? Or couldn't the kid have called the police to report the dead domesticated dog on the man's property? I mean do these kids think at all or are they just naturally dumbasses? The kids were dumb and in my opinion deserved to die.
  • fb100002023516744
    July 28, 2011
    fb100002023516744
    Well, here it is. Happy Madison's very first horror movie, I never thought i'd see the day. Anyways, it was a descent horror flick. Nothing special here, pretty much an average horror plot about a group of teenagers thinking an old man is responsible for the town's recent murders... read more. The scares were weak, the acting was ok, and the twist was alright. Nothing new here.
  • John2223
    October 1, 2010
    John2223
    The cast and acting are really nice, the story is engaging with a good thrilling moments, the pace was very fluid and entertaining BUT it was a good movie until the end.
  • vbronk
    December 3, 2010
    vbronk
    this movie was rely good and i liked the ending to this movie as well. i hope they dont make a second one tho. then it wont b as good anymore....
  • LexiCleveland1
    October 4, 2010
    LexiCleveland1
    So first thing is the cast of this movie it was great Drew Seeley, Dave Franco, 30 Rock's Katrina Bowden, The Riches Shannon Woodward. Than BAM they give us Josh Emerson known as every high school drama's school Bully that has a soft side hidden.This movie was one has one of the... read more best plots i have seen in years, true suspenseful movie with gore and a few people, lets say they are Saw crazy, its a new type of Crazy. I like how some movies go from present to past a lot, to explain a kind of background story and you don't figure out who exactly the killer or reason is or if there's even is a reason, and that everything could change in 3 seconds.So if you see your self asking should i watch this movie your common sense would tell you Yes watch this movie.
  • blizzpirate
    July 17, 2010
    blizzpirate
    better then what the average person has rated it on here...
    the movie was great but the ending was kind of lame. (pretty big twist)
    i thought the acting was great and the whole mystery of what surrounds the forest which has the "no trespassing sign" is exciting.
    a small boy is da... read morered to go inside by the people at his school and as he goes inside his older brother and these high school friends of his get involved and end up spying on the crazy guy who lives inside.
  • ThaAnswerMD25
    April 30, 2010
    ThaAnswerMD25
    Well, they took a silly plot, with a silly villain(s) and a silly payoff and somehow managed to make it at least a little creepy. With an added twist at the end that did absolutely nothing for the movie. More like a "gotcha! see you didn't have this completely figured out" kind o... read moref deal. I wouldn't have even bothered if it wasn't for Katrina Bowden. I should just stick to 30 Rock.
  • angel0974
    March 11, 2010
    angel0974
    Now this was a pretty good one. I really liked the twist at the end. But I don't want to ruin it. So I would recommend this one. Not the best movie ever but it was ok to see.
  • sk8kkr
    January 29, 2010
    sk8kkr
    I'm not really one to watch slasher flicks like this but I wanted to see it for Drew Seeley and my thoughts are different for three parts. The first part was slow and slightly boring, reminding me of just another teen movie. The middle was my favorite like when they were sneaking... read more around his house. Then the ending... Horrible. Ruined the entire film. Was there any kind of moral to this film?

    ***SPOILERS***
    I would have liked it much better if Derek acted differently and it wasn't the same cycle happing again.
  • dukeakasmudge
    November 5, 2009
    dukeakasmudge
    I was hooked from the start till the 1st ending but the 2nd & final ending screwed up the whole movie for me

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Critic Reviews

Jeffrey M. Anderson
October 4, 2009
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

You won't be scared silly, but for a horror movie to take such a low-key approach, focusing on characters and situations seems like a radical departure. Full Review

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The Shortcut Trivia

  • in the movie RV what is the name of the shortcut robin williams takes to get to the campground?  Answer »
  • In what two films is a shortcut over fences used?  Answer »
  • In the film "Daredevil", the day Matt took a shortcut home, what did he see?   Answer »
  • "Who doesn't want a shortcut to greatness?" The Contender   Answer »
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