detention

Joseph Khan’s (Torque) scattergun film, Detention, is as enjoyable as it is annoying. Like Awkward on crack, Detention hits as much as it misses, which is a shame because in amongst all the crazy, frenetic and movie homage moments, there is a really great movie in there somewhere.

Trying to sum up the plot will make the film seem like a straight line but here goes: After a classmate is murdered by a fictional horror movie killer, the killer tries to off more students from Grizzly Lake High. This is the main storyline, but there are literally ten or so other subplots or mini stories wedged in. There is just so much going on in this film that to write it all down would make it seem like a mess. Which it is… and which it isn’t.

Khan’s style is manic. This helps some of the jokes payoff, yet it also tends to gloss over the more important points. Sure, you don’t know they are important at the time, but when the film enters the third act, your powers of recall (after being hit with so much information) will be tested. With some of the fastest dialogue since The Gilmore Girls and some of the fastest editing cuts since the Event Horizon finale, little tidbits of information eek out and then pour out through on-screen text and eventually, yes, they do make sense. Unfortunately, it gets tough to stick with it all. However, Khan makes the film visually fun to watch. In fact, the first five minutes have so much great stuff in it that it would almost be enough to stick around and see what other tricks Khan has in store. The writing, a combined effort by Khan and Mark Palmero, is aimed squarely at the current teenage generation, which doesn’t mean that anyone else won’t ‘get it’, but it would probably help. detention1

The cast is pitch perfect. Rapid fire lines, not even pausing to let what they said sink in, and darting in & out pop culture references (Mostly from the 90s. Another thing that makes sense if you stick with the film.) without barely batting an eyelid. Shanley Caswell (The Conjuring) who plays Riley and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games)  who plays Clapton Davis are on point throughout the whole film.  Especially Caswell. She gives Riley the right attitude and gives the film a great point to center on despite the craziness.

The film gets better as it goes along. Its ideas get a little clearer and veer away from the unnecessary slasher portion of the film, leaving the audience with a Donnie Darko-esque kind of sweet, but kind of not, ending. A film that is in turns funny, smug, annoying, sweet and satirical, Detention will either capture you within the first five minutes or not at all. Some would call this an interesting failure. Others a success. It is a very polarizing film, but definitely one that tries to give you everything. ZOMGs, LOLs, BRBs are all included!

 

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