Detention

I loved this show. It was really slow to get started. Really, really slow. But around the middle of the series things pick up rapidly and the reality of everything really comes crashing in. The last couple episodes are so cathartic if a bit confusing. I loved the game so getting some karmic vengeance on the horrible people who created this situation was wonderful. And I really enjoyed getting a happy ending.

Also all the nods to the game at the end? Loved it!

This Taiwanese opens in the 1960s as certain teachers and students are arrested for 'anti state' activities at the Greenwood School. The girl accused of informing on them commits suicide by jumping from the school roof. Thirty years later, in 1992, Yunxiang Liu transfers to the school. She immediately comes up against the school's strict regime. One day she explores the now out of bounds old school building where she meets the ghost of Ruixin Fang, the girl who died all those years ago. She also meets another student and befriends him. Over the course of the series more dangers appear, not all supernatural, and the truth about events in the '60s are revealed.

I thought this was a pretty impressive series. It started well with a prologue that got me hooked; as it continued I remained gripped. The threats are a nice mix of supernatural and all too human; to be honest I found the latter to be more disturbing. The school environment is oppressive with discipline being enforced by a retired military officer who still wears his uniform and thinks students should he treated like soldiers. Of course, although Taiwan is now a modern democracy, it was under martial law for a long time and certain oppressive laws were still in place at the time the series was set so this is believable. The cast is solid. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody looking for a somewhat different ghost story.

These comments are based on watching the series in Mandarin with English subtitles.

This series has a good plot and it is slightly different from the movie which is a good thing to me. This is a ghost story but barely a horror one. Well...there are one or two typical scary scenes in the earlier episodes, but that's all about it. If you expect to see an intense horror/thriller or fast-paced series, it is probably not one for you. However, there is a good story and the series is well made (the CG part needs some improvement tho).

"Detention" is a slow-burn series with a great twist. While I don't know much about Chinese history, I can sense that they did a good job incorporating it into the storyline. Additionally, like many Chinese movies, the message is very profound and thought-provoking. It keeps me reflecting on the importance of facing difficulties instead of burying them and how love can be both beautiful and painful. The horror aspect of the series is not overly scary and avoids jump scares or grotesque ghosts, making it more psychologically intriguing than terrifying. Overall, it's a unique blend of horror, history, and emotional depth.

I liked almost everything about this!

The storyline was good, even though sometimes it seemed a bit slow but everything was revealed in a neat way.

The visual effects were great, the actors did a good job, I did feel myself getting more and more connected with each character, even the ones that pissed me off.

I also love how everything came together in the end. Vengeance does bring more pain and that's what this series was trying to tell us. Sometimes just acceptance is enough to bring you peace.

I say go for it if you're into paranormal/psychological shows.

I see people complaining about it not being a horror, I honestly didn't even go into it thinking of it as a horror so my expectations weren't high in that regard. It was still nice regardless.