In this brisk six-minute thriller from director Everett Salter, a routine commute takes a dark turn when a group of friends finds themselves stranded on a desolate back road after their vehicle suffers a mysterious breakdown. Jackson Holmer leads the ensemble as a pragmatic driver trying to keep everyone calm, while Nicc Spinball plays the anxious passenger whose instincts scream that something is terribly wrong. As Brandon Moore and Connor McKenney’s characters bicker over what to do next, the group soon realizes they are not alone—an unseen presence watches from the surrounding woods, turning their simple detour into a fight for survival. Salter crafts a taut, atmospheric horror that relies on mounting dread and sharp character dynamics rather than cheap scares, packing genuine tension into its compact runtime. With no cell service and the nearest town miles away, the friends must confront both the external threat and their own fractured relationships before the sun sets. Sidetracked is a lean, effective short that proves a compelling premise needs only a few minutes to leave a lasting impression.