Detention

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!

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.

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

I went into this knowing very little, on the back of seeing Detention mentioned in a horror movie list and attracted by the promise of a very different kind of horror film.

From the very opening line of dialogue (I'm Taylor Fisher and I'm a B**CH - beauty, intelligence, talent, charisma, hoobastank) the film picks no bones in immediately letting you know what you're in for and the satirical, self referential kind of humour we're dealing with. Unfortunately the film misses the mark on this front far more often than hitting it. I have no issue with this kind of humour (see Josie and the Pussycats or The Cabin in the Woods for stellar examples of it done well) but it feels far too much like an exercise in throwing everything at a wall and hoping something sticks in this case (as does the convoluted plot). Admittedly there are a sprinkling of lines that hit the spot but in order for this kind of humour to succeed it has to be razor sharp and Detention just isn't there. Eventually the relentless culture references become tiresome and I found myself disengaging from the movie.

On the plus side the film is acted perfectly well and the cast is obviously giving it their all (Shanley Caswell carries the movie and is particularly watchable) and to be fair you can't say the filmmakers aren't ambitious and trying to do something different, which has to be commended, but assuredness and ambition unfortunately can't save the movie overall as it descends further and further into ridiculousness and leaves you with the feeling that the movie isn't as smart as it thinks it is.

If you're looking to pass 90 minutes without particularly needing to heavily invest in something then you could do worse than Detention, but otherwise it's a film best left in the annals of relative obscurity.

This is a fast paced comedy/slasher type film. It uses references from different genre's and different movies. For me, this is part of the attraction as it jumps from one genre reference to another all while paying homage to some classic horror films. The story, although for some seeming to be all over the place, all makes more sense towards the end of the movie. I can't go in to the how or why because I will be giving away the plot, but it comes together and travels along quite quickly. It's no 'Shaun Of The Dead' (that will hard to beat), but it is different and also takes the p!ss out of the teens of our generation, and who doesn't like that? So I give this film a 7 out of 10.