Reviewed by Geno McGahee
A couple of women returning from a trip to Mexico hitch a ride home with an airport shuttle, but things begin to go wrong. Mel (Peyton List) just recently broke up with her fiancé and is trying to get her head together. Her best friend Jules (Cameron Goodman) is there for support and also has a secret that she wants to tell Mel.
At the airport, two young men notice the women and begin to push up on them. Matt (Dave Power) and Seth (James Snyder) have plans to get home but the girls change those plans. Seth is girl crazy and wants to get some loving and Jules is certainly willing. That leaves Matt to try to get the rebounding Mel in bed. Mel wants nothing to do with the two men but Jules allows them to tag along. The foursome hails an airport shuttle to pick them up. The driver (Tony Curran) seems very friendly at first, although he has no initial interest in picking up the boys. They convince him. So now we have the two girls, the two boys, and Andy (Cullen Douglas), an anxious accountant, eager to get home to his wife. He is very nervous and doesn’t talk much. He is a business man for a Specialty Merchandise Corporation scam and is very mysterious as he sits there.
The shuttle keeps moving but things get strange. They are driving through deserted and run down parts of the city, and the driver becomes more and more suspicious. Out of nowhere a car nearly drives them off the road. They end up with a flat tire. When Matt helps the driver change it, the shuttle slams down and he loses his fingers. Matt is now in serious shape, but when the people aboard demand that the driver goes to a hospital, he won’t. He pulls a gun on the passengers and says that nobody will get hurt as long as they all listen and do exactly what he says.
The drive continues and the group secretly plans to overthrow the driver but nothing seems to work. He nearly kills Jules when she makes an attempt to save herself and the others, and then (spoiler) kills Seth when he attempts an escape. Mel is a fighter and despite the carnage that she witnessed, she still is seeking a way out and after a big surprise, her and Jules get their chance, but the driver isn’t ready to give up.
The terrible motive behind this crime is revealed and although you can probably figure it out before they show their hand, it’s still rather neat and the big surprise wasn’t that surprising, but I still enjoyed it. Peyton List was very convincing in the role and you can’t help but to root for her. This is a great movie and shows the sleaze that is out there and just what could happen when you trust a stranger to drive you around.
SHUTTLE is definitely worth a watch. It is a tense and fun ride from beginning to end, and although I hated the ending, I can’t blame them for wrapping it up that way. Not everything ends with the good guys winning. I highly recommend this one.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10. She had a ticket to ride.
