Detention

Over here in the dark regions of hell Detention is being sold as a horror flick. Naturally being hyped in the states I thought that this was going to be a hell of a flick. Sadly it failed on the part of horror but on the other hand I can understand that youngsters will love this for a few reasons.

Let one reason be the face of Josh Hutcherson, I can understand that girlies in their teens and even twenties will love him. he's also one of the main leads of the over-hyped Hunger Games (2012). So on that part it will be a big success. The second reason is that it do take place on a high school and that it does fit in on the needs and deeds of youngsters nowadays. You get the feeling. If you are above thirty then forget it. There's not that much to see. Okay, it can be compared with Donnie Darko (2001), another weird story. But here it's not really the story but the editing and effects used that makes it a great flick for youth. It's a fast movie with recognizable situations. I liked the effects and even the way the first victim was killed. That's a must see even for horror buffs. But to file it under horror, no can do. It even picks up the story as been told in Scream, you know, the person headlining coming out of that flick and really starts to kill people, or isn't it?

There is even a real boob to see and even some fake porn (Brooke Haven) tits to see. I guess that flicks like The Hunger Games, Twilight and Project X will be the next thing for youth but for an old victim like me raised in full slasher era this wasn't my cup of tea.

Don't get me wrong, I still can dig new horrors but Detention sadly not.

Gore 2/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 1/5

Yes this is a convoluted, over the top, cinematically offensive mess of a film but it's also one of the coolest films I've seen in quite some time. Embracing every tired cliché and exploiting the hell out of them Detention is a hard movie to even sum up. If in fact you can even call it one. I'm sure as many people will hate it as love it. The bizarre social subtext and plastic infusion of stereotypes flipped on their sides while on acid lends itself to an always surprising and creative vibe that works more than not. Sure the film feels a little long in it's three ring circus finale trying to make insane sense of the events that proceeded it but the film works best when just making clever stabs at modern teen thinking and astute observations on the trendiness of trends. Joseph Kahn redeems himself of the cinematic stink from his previous eye popping but soulless feature Torque even adding in a few jokes at his expense.A music video director magnet of Britney Spears fame he unleashes Detention with a visual pizazz and over the top cinematic foray into smart thinking for 90s bad cinema buffs. Being a child of that era I couldn't help but appreciate all the references and the way it all added up, seeing the blatant irony in the films entirety it's hard for me not too overly praise the films bombastic effect but a second more in tuned watch I feel would expose the films faults and maybe a sense of brilliance I may have created. but at this point Detention is just really cool!

Actually you might feel this tries so hard to be cool, that it never quite achieves that goal. But is that a criticism? And if you think that the same man who directed this took a hiatus after his last movie (Torque), just because he wanted to find himself and his own style rather than just do one studio movie after the other. The director himself will be the first to tell you how much he despises the movie itself (though I do think he is a bit too hard on himself on "Torque"). Still it's refreshing to see a director not being full of himself. Kudos for that and the movie he made here.

Detention is worth watching a second time. Just to see if you got everything right the first time around. And because of the dialogue. If you want to criticize something, I guess you can say, that every character is fast with a witty response, making them all seem alike. Characters could have been developed a bit better. Still good throughout, with a rather complicated story.

I'm an old fart that still loved this comedic teen scream. The acting was very good, not Oscar material, but fun and talented. And hey the kids are still young, who's to say there's not one in their future? Shanley Caswell and Spencer Locke were great and cute as buttons.

Josh Hutcherson made a likable leading man.

The movie itself was eclectic, space ships and time travel to ax welding prom queens. A little bit Scream, Animal House, and Back to the Future.

Cinematography was great as was a wonderful soundtrack.

Note: Yes brief nudity, and the other stuff you have to consider if young kids watch. However, the gore was limited and comedic. Your kids, but about 12-14 years old would be my cut-off.

I have been waiting for this movie to go into wide release since being in the audience at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival when the director brought this film to town. The entire theater was packed and I don't know of a single person who was not having a blast. The film grabs you from the beginning and you're hanging on to the arms of your chair until the end. I'm not talking about horror...I'm talking about the sheer PACE of the movie.

The film is VERY fast-paced. So fast that when the audience was cracking up from a line or a scene, the next scene had already started and we missed the first several lines. It took me about 15 minutes to adjust to the pace, kind of like when you watch an Irish film it takes the same amount of time to figure out What ppl are saying and then once your brain gets into the groove, you're off.

I would describe this film as a mash up of Heathers, Donnie Darko, and The Breakfast Club on acid, with a Red Bull soda chaser. Super fun, destined to be a classic.

I wonder if they've waited for a release so that Josh Hutcherson can become a super mega star via The Hunger Games, in order to boost revenue. Not. A. Bad. Plan.

Go see this movie. You're welcome.