Fantasia: Detention

Directed by Joseph Kahn
Written by Joseph Kahn, Mark Palermo
Cast Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook, Jesse Heiman
Produced by Ricahrd Weager, Mary Ann Tanedo, Bob Abramoff

Detention is a fast-paced action flick with a lot of high school humour that is sure to get you feeling nostalgic. It will definitetly get more than a few laughs out of you. Our main character is Riley Jones, an outcast and misunderstood girl who just wants to fit in and live a normal life; sound familiar? She quickly learns that there is a vicious Scream-like killer on the loose in her town and all the pretty little people around her are being repeatedly stabbed and murdered.

The film has elements of sci-fi and horror classics; it is a postmodern teen slasher comedy, and Joseph Kahn pulls it off brilliantly. There are so many different characters that are very entertaining to watch and try to relate to. There is even a silly Canadian exchange student that ends up being quite important. The film also includes your stereotypical teen characters running around who receive a few laughs here and there.

The film is super fast paced and never ever slows down; it is never boring and even has time travel cleverly added to the plot, and you know what? It all works. It might seems like there a lot going on in the film, and believe me there is (aliens, murderers, prom, teenage angst, rebellion), but Kahn makes everything flow evenly and successfully. Dane cook even made me chuckle which is a very rare thing. I guess it’s because he isn’t using his own material. The kids eventually end up in detention which is where we learn the true identity of certain imposters and it’s fun seeing all the different characters all in one place trying to figure out who the killer is.

Detention is clever and I would definitely see it many more times; it’s the kind of film that the more times you view it, the more details you are most likely to pick up. It is well written with witty and funny one liners that leave you wanting more. It might be a little to fluffy because of all the teenage drama, but adding a unknown blood thirsty killer in the mix makes for a good flick.

3 out of 5 stars

-Andrea Boulet