Detention

Name: Detention
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Released: April 13, 2012
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 45
Cast: Dane Cook, Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Spencer Locke

2012

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Ratings

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6.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Ratings

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Detention

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Movie Details & Credits

Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: April 13, 2012 | R

Starring: Dane Cook, Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Spencer Locke

Summary: A downtrodden 17-year-old girl is sent to detention where she must survive a slasher film killer and save the world in time for prom. (Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions)

Director: Joseph Kahn

Genre(s): Horror, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

Justine Elias

Apr 8, 2012

High school students (the jocks, the brains, the princesses, the criminals, the basket cases), long the favored prey of serial killers, somehow manage to fight back from the brink yet again in Detention, a bright, witty new genre mash-up. Read full review

John DeFore

Apr 10, 2012

Moves at an absurd pace and dares anyone above 25 to keep up, yet the stream of genre-hopping jokes and sight gags makes the movie an entertaining ride. Read full review

Bilge Ebiri

Apr 14, 2012

You admire the movie for refusing to ever, ever slow down, but you also wonder what might have happened had Kahn dared to settle, even just a bit. Instead, what we get is a mad kaleidoscope of genre, with occasional glimpses into the mysteries of the exploding teenage heart. Read full review

Andrew Barker

Apr 1, 2012

What starts as a bracing rush quickly devolves into a deadening assault of stimuli. Read full review

Nicolas Rapold

Apr 12, 2012

Horror fans will probably grow impatient with the unevenly executed "Scream"-style self-awareness, and Mr. Kahn ultimately loses control of his referential plate-spinning, in what might be another illustration that catering to short attention spans leads only to mutually assured distraction. Read full review

Connie Ogle

Apr 12, 2012

Detention has a frenetic visual style that's fun and appealing in a lot of ways, but there are way too many elements fighting for attention. Read full review

Nick Pinkerton

Apr 10, 2012

It's one of the most obnoxious movies ever made. Read full review

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User Reviews

eliotwalnut

Apr 19, 2012

This movie is attempting to be a lot of things all at once, and has the attention span of an ADHD child in a chinashop. It's sloppy and most of the ideas, gags, characters, whims, plots don't go anywhere; but what is endearing and why I am in love with this movie is the chaotic energy putThis movie is attempting to be a lot of things all at once, and has the attention span of an ADHD child in a chinashop. It's sloppy and most of the ideas, gags, characters, whims, plots don't go anywhere; but what is endearing and why I am in love with this movie is the chaotic energy put forth in the effort. At its heart it is most like HEATHERS. The pace is consistently frantic, the performances are charming, and the script is maddening-genius. You'll know in the first five-minutes if this film is for you.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Hgdivergentprin

May 8, 2015

This movie is a funny,sweet with a mix of scary.This mix is a happy does of Realistic fiction,horror,and just a hint of adultity.Nothing I could'nt handle.This is a great movie.Besides the swearing my bae is in it.It made me VERY happy that day.I love it!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MegWhiteley

Apr 13, 2012

This is a good movie, have some interesting moments, the cast is good, Josh Hutcherson wow, great young actor, and Spencer Locke amazing girl, this movie is really interesting and in some moemtns scare.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

wiggipop

Mar 25, 2013

This is an odd sugar-rush of a film. Whip smart, and well made... to a point. There are strange parts, this is a film where time travel and switching brains is no big deal and a guy can have part fly DNA. It's almost as if a 11 year old pitched the story, I mean, the time travel machine isThis is an odd sugar-rush of a film. Whip smart, and well made... to a point. There are strange parts, this is a film where time travel and switching brains is no big deal and a guy can have part fly DNA. It's almost as if a 11 year old pitched the story, I mean, the time travel machine is inside a bear. Of course, why not? I guess it sort of works in the end, but it takes some odd routes getting there. Enjoyable, if slightly off-putting… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

tipar

Jul 10, 2018

Or how to slowly waste a good and funny idea from the half of the movie onwards.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

awesomefastguy

Jul 18, 2014

The main problem with 'Detention' is that the plot is completely mixed up. It starts off as a really good slasher film (which I really liked), then (with a third of the film left) they get put in Detention, and then it become this weird and badly made sci-fi adventure. If it had just stuckThe main problem with 'Detention' is that the plot is completely mixed up. It starts off as a really good slasher film (which I really liked), then (with a third of the film left) they get put in Detention, and then it become this weird and badly made sci-fi adventure. If it had just stuck to the slasher part of the film, it could have been brilliant. It was witty, well-acted and the reveal of the murderer was entertaining, it's just the plotless plot that ruins it.

Good if you want to pass the time and discuss it with a friend, but it's not really that good (unfortunately.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tss5078

Jan 11, 2015

In 1996, Wes Craven came up with an new and innovative concept in horror. He combined a great slasher film, within a murder mystery, while having teenagers mock horror films at the same time. That film was called Scream and it was way ahead of it's time. In 2011, Detention tried to modernizeIn 1996, Wes Craven came up with an new and innovative concept in horror. He combined a great slasher film, within a murder mystery, while having teenagers mock horror films at the same time. That film was called Scream and it was way ahead of it's time. In 2011, Detention tried to modernize this type of film and fails miserably. Detention is set at Grizzly Lake High School, a school which encompasses everything that is wrong with teenage life today. With a new hit horror film at the top of the box office, one person, who has had enough of the hip/trendy high school life, decides to make the film come to life at Grizzly Lake. This film mocks every modern teenage trend to the point of being offense. The film mocks everything from teens use of social media and cell phones to goths, cutters, emos, bullying, and even teen suicide. The killer on the loose is almost an afterthought in a film that is just in really bad taste. Josh Hutcherson stars as the most popular kid in school, and it is completely unbelievable that the most wanted boy at school is played by a short, hairy kid, with a bad attitude, who happens to be in his twenties. I usually like the roles Hutch decides to play, as they usually suit him to a tee, but Clapton Davis was never meant to be played by someone like him and it's painfully obvious. Hutch is paired with newcomer, Shanley Caswell, an unlucky teenager who often tries and fails to kill herself. She's a super emo outcast, who no one believe would ever be the target of a killer. Overall, Detention is a very mediocre slasher film under the veil of an even lazier comedy. Much like one of it's stars, Dane Cook, Detention tries much too hard to be funny. Comedy should be a natural thing, resulting from unusual events. The writers of this film put so many different types of people into such ridiculous circumstances, that what's supposed to be funny, comes across as stupid, impossible, and downright offensive. Despite the way it looks, Detention isn't even close to being as good as Scream and is most definitely a film you should avoid.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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