Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
As a killer named Cinderhella stalks the student body at the high school in Grizzly Lake, a group of co-eds band together to survive while they're all serving detention.
Detention is a gloriously chaotic, self-aware genre mashup that throws slasher horror, time travel, body-swapping, 90s nostalgia, and rapid-fire pop culture deconstruction into a blender. Its Novelty is genuinely exceptional — Joseph Kahn's film is a one-of-a-kind experience with a frenetic, maximalist visual style and an utterly singular voice that feels like nothing else in the horror-comedy space. The Plot is admirably ambitious in its layered absurdity, though it occasionally collapses under its own density. Cinematography is energetic and inventive with dynamic editing and bold stylistic choices that suit the material. Acting is uneven — the cast commits to the madness but performances vary wildly in quality. The Ending struggles to land satisfyingly given the accumulated chaos, leaving the film feeling more exhausting than triumphant by its conclusion.