Shortcut

A boy dressed in a yellow jacket is seen fleeing through the woods. Injured and in despair, he eventually collapses from exhaustion, hinting at the terrifying events to come.

Five teenagers—Nolan, Bess, Reggie, Queenie, and Karl—set off on a field trip with their bus driver, Joseph. The ride is filled with playful banter, revealing their relationships and dynamics within the group.

To entertain the teens during the bus ride, Joseph poses a riddle about a seven-letter virtue. The atmosphere is lighthearted until their journey is interrupted by an unexpected obstacle.

A fallen tree blocks their path, leading Joseph to step out and clear an obstruction. He is suddenly confronted at gunpoint by an escaped convict, Pedro Minghella, who takes control of the bus.

Pedro hijacks the bus, ordering the teens to discard their phones to prevent them from calling for help. As night falls, their situation deteriorates when the bus breaks down inside a dark tunnel.

In the darkness of the tunnel, a terrifying shape emerges, becoming a monstrous creature that fatally attacks Joseph. The remaining teens watch in horror as the chaos unfolds around them.

Pedro selects Karl to retrieve Joseph's keys, but Nolan bravely insists on going instead. In a surprising twist, Bess takes matters into her own hands and succeeds in returning with the keys.

Under duress, Pedro forces Reggie to try starting the bus, but it fails to start. Panicking, Pedro steps outside, only to become the creature's next victim.

The remaining teens make a desperate escape from the bus, realizing they need to revive the tunnel lights to fend off the creature. Nolan and Bess head out to locate the generator while the others stay together.

While searching for a safe spot, Queenie and Reggie face a horrifying encounter when the creature captures Queenie. Reggie and Karl battle the beast, but Queenie is left severely injured in the skirmish.

Just as the creature targets Reggie, Nolan and Bess manage to turn the lights back on, forcing the creature to retreat. The group reunites, shaken but relieved as they regroup to assess their situation.

Upon examining the evidence they discovered, the teens find a link to Giulio Sarpi, a man who lost his sister, Isabella, to the creature in 1971. This revelation sparks the determination to confront the lurking danger.

Bess and Queenie ingeniously bait the creature toward the exit, where the boys await with their torches. In a climactic showdown, the creature is engulfed in flames and lets out a horrifying scream before collapsing.

The teens finally escape the tunnel, feeling closer than ever after their harrowing ordeal. They reflect on their journey, realizing they have unlocked the answer to Joseph's riddle—courage.

As investigators arrive in the tunnel to piece together the events, an ominous detective enters with a flashlight. The light flickers when eerie sounds resonate from within the tunnel, leaving an unsettling conclusion to their nightmare.