MovieChat Forums > Detention (2012) Discussion > Intelligent film masquerading as trash

Intelligent film masquerading as trash

posted 12 years ago by answermehere
40 replies | jump to latest

I'm surprised by how many people on here failed to understand this film.
This is not a movie for your typical slasher fan - this is a movie for true cinema nerds who've seen lots and lots of films in many styles. It plays with genre in a way that few other films do - the closest thing I'd compare it to is Donnie Darko, but it's much more irreverent and "meta" than that film, or maybe "Cabin in the Woods" but it's much funnier and creative than that film.

What may be confusing people is that it acts as if it's a teen movie, when it's actually a commentary on teen movies. It looks sloppy and ADD, and that's intentional. Joseph Kahn the director has made some awesome films, and he's an opinionated student of film. Listen to him discuss this film on one of the podcasts he's taken part in, and you're likely to re-evaluate this movie.

[–] hug_an_emeu 10 years ago

I liked it, but something about it is off. I think it's the dialogue. Sometimes it seems like the characters are having two different conversations. For example, when Riley calls the police after her second attack. The officer says something about "keeping it inthe fridge" or something about a fridge, and she says "why should i listen to a fan boy?" (Sorry, I'm just repeating this out of memory). That whole conversation makes no sense to me. There are a few other occasions where the conversations just dont seem to fit together. I rewatched it today to see if the conversations made more sense, and they didnt. Overall, I thought it was very inventive and pleasant to watch.

[–] malkav76 10 years ago

He said "Nuke the fridge" which is a reference to the last Indiana Jones movie. His dialogue was meant to make him sound like an annoying fanboy. All the conversations make sense if you know what's being referenced. I don't think the movie is intelligent, just clever.

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[–] LemonTastic 9 years ago

I'm surprised by how many people on here failed to understand this film.

This is a line I have seen many times on these types of films. Most people hate it but you get someone who likes and has to defend by saying things like this.

[–] pmpodhorzer 8 years ago

Not in this case. Is not perfect, but "Detention" is one of the only American movies I can recommend from the last five or ten years. The last American masterpiece was "A.I." way back in 2001 and since then Hollywood is a sad march of slow children movies (Marvel), trash disguised as intelligence (Nolan) and hipsters doing *beep* with cinema´s history (La La Land; proto-hipster Tarantino, etc).

"Detention" is special. It will be rediscovered. Kahn is a minor Orson Welles, I am not kidding.

[–] aios-dum 9 years ago

Please point the awesome films that Joseph Kahn directed.
He only directed 1 other movie, Torque.