Detention

Cast & Crew

Josh Hutcherson

Clapton Davis

Shanley Caswell

Riley Jones

Dane Cook

Principal Verge

Spencer Locke

Ione

Aaron David Johnson

Sander Sanderson

Jan Anderson

Ms. Macintire

Parker Bagley

Billy Nolan

Will Wallace

Doug Jones

Joseph Kahn

Director

Joseph Kahn

Screenwriter

Mark Palermo

Screenwriter

Robert Abramoff

Executive Producer

Josh Hutcherson

Executive Producer

David Kang

Executive Producer

Clayton Reaser

Executive Producer

Vernon Reaser

Executive Producer

Christopher Probst

Cinematographer

David Blackburn

Film Editing

Brain and Melissa

Original Music

Marcell Gravel

Production Design

David Jon Hoffmann

Art Director

Brett Hess

Set Decoration

Judy Cook

Casting

Mary Ann Tanedo

Producer

Richard Weager

Producer

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Critic Reviews for Detention

Audience Reviews for Detention

• Sep 06, 2014

  *Sighs*...where do I even begin with this movie? First things first, this movie doesn't get the rating it did for lack of effort. If there is one thing I can say about it is that it certainly isn't lazy, which is a trap that a lot of horror movies fall into as there's simply not enough originality and creativity making its way into the mainstream horror picture. The irony of it is that I've seen lazy films that are better than this, a film with far more creativity and inventiveness, as far as style and wackiness. There is a bit of a problem, however. There's so much schtick and pop culture references in this movie that I, minutes after having FINISHED the movie, no joke, couldn't remember about 90% of it. That is a huge problem, in my opinion. There are lazy films that are forgettable because they don't really offer anything fresh, but this movie is forgettable because there's simply so much shit in it that it would be absolutely impossible to remember it all. If you've watched a Family Guy, or Robot Chicken, episode then you know what I am talking about. Family Guy, in particular, goes overboard with the pop culture references and cutaways. This is like the horror version of that. And like later Family Guy episodes, the first three seasons are genius, there are far more misses than hits. I have to commend the film for doing absolutely everything that was humanly possible in order to get a laugh out of you, but, for the most part, this film is incredibly unfunny. There's a couple of zingers here and there. My favorite one would have to be when Riley has her tit exposed at the party, she's called into the principal's office to be chastised by the principal and some teachers. She asked if the video was uploaded to YouTube and the coach immediately retorts back with 'National Zoology.' That one got a very hearty laugh out of me. There were others, but most of those were modest chuckles instead of a laugh-out-loud moment. The coolest scene would have to be Elliot's scene and how flashes back through all the different years and what each trend was during those particular years. There's like 3 movies' worth of content in here, so you can imagine how crammed it feels. Even if all this material was spread out throughout 3 films, it wouldn't be good because it's just not that good. The only thing that would help is the fact that you could take each individual script and improve upon it rather than trying to cram everything, when it doesn't fit, into one package. I also hated the structure, the narrative is absolutely terrible, just terrible. That's not to say there was meant to be one, but they certainly tried to make it all fit together in as poorly-constructed way as is possible. The film is, basically, a random and senseless series of skits. Imagine if a third-tier Monty Python ripoff made a horror movie and this is what you'd get. I realize that comes across as an insult, and it probably is when you think about it, but like I said, I have to commend the film for at least trying something wacky and nuts. The fact that almost every joke misses rather than hits is just a consequence of not really having good quality control. The film is all over the place stylistically and tonally, so that's a problem as well. It's a sci-fi, time travel, horror, comedy, romance, surrealist movie. And I think that only scratches the surface of what the movie tries to be. The fact that it's all over the place might endear it to some people, and that's fine, I don't begrudge anyone for finding something to like about this movie, but boy, it sure took the life out of the film. For me at least. This isn't the worst horror film I've ever seen, because the worst horror films usually don't have this much effort put into them. The problem, as mentioned, is the fact that there's simply too much schtick, and pop culture references, to remember by the end of the film and the fact that there's 5 bad jokes to every good one. Because of that, the film gets the rating it did. I'd definitely recommend it since it is something different in the genre, and we need creativity in horror, and I think this is a film that will definitely cause a reaction out of people. But, for my money, I definitely did not like it at all, give me Cabin in the Woods any day of the week.
  

  jesse o Super Reviewer
• Jan 11, 2014

  Started off promisingly, with a vein of fun and playing like Scream meets The Breakfast Club via Scott Pilgrim. However descends into mix mash of a mess that leaves you with an unfulfilled feeling - shame.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Aug 11, 2013

  In "Detention" Taylor Fisher(Alison Woods) might be a B.I.T.C.H., but that doesn't mean she deserves to be brutally killed like she was in a slasher movie. Otherwise, Sander(Aaron David Johnson) has the hots for Riley(Shanley Caswell) who has the hots for Clapton(Josh Hutcherson) who has a thing going with Ione(Spencer Locke) which is why Nolan(Parker Bagley) intends to beat up Clapton after school. All Mr. Kendall(Yves Bright) is interested in is somebody building him a time machine before class is over. While "Detention" might be a mess, it is a glorious one that makes a sort of weird sense, even after it takes a good while to get started, succeeding as much as it does on pure chutzpah. What it basically involves is a lot of teenage movie tropes from the 80's being taken kicking and screaming to the present day with a stop in 1992 which everybody seems strangely obsessed with. What remains timeless are all the indignities that we all suffered through in high school, especially the part involving being forced to wear a bear costume.
  

  walter m Super Reviewer
• Mar 02, 2013

  This movie is an absolute mess - it's ALL OVER THE PLACE. The makers are obviously striving hard (a little too hard) for cult status. Along with the central serial killer story, there's the guy with the puss infested angry hand, a time-travelling alien-abducted bear, a cross-decades mind swap and a ballet-hip-hop dance to Backstreet Boys. There's also a self-parody, self-aware, post-ironic streak that gradually gets more and more absurd and tonnes of very funny dialogue. There are also some great riffs on the Scream series (especially Scream 4), Saw, Freaky Friday and Donnie Darko. About a third of the film works but when it does it's excellent, and even when it's being massively excessive it's still enjoyable. A bizarre film to be sure.
  

  Super Reviewer