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Detention

Play trailer Poster for Detention R 2012 1h 29m Horror Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
44% Tomatometer 45 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A teenage outcast (Shanley Caswell), her friend (Josh Hutcherson), a nerd (Aaron David Johnson), and other students face terror from a serial killer who targets high-school students.
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Detention

Detention

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Critics Consensus

Director Joseph Kahn's relentlessly kinetic style gives Detention a rebellious kick, but the overload of ideas keeps this genre mashup from ever cohering into a satisfying whole.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Howell Toronto Star Apr 26, 2012
2/4
Neither good enough to impress as a meta mashup of horror and comedy, nor bad enough to hoot and throw popcorn at, it slides into a gray area of unfocused ideas and unrealized potential. Go to Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com Apr 14, 2012
2.5/4
It breaks the mold and burns the roadmap, fearlessly pushing boundaries and going into nonsensical corners most films and filmmakers wouldn't even dare of traipsing through. Go to Full Review Peter Hartlaub San Francisco Chronicle Apr 13, 2012
2/4
There will be young moviegoers who proclaim this genius, and more stodgy audience members who find it torturous. If you're not tweeting and texting a combined 50 times or more per day, you're probably in the latter camp. Go to Full Review Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh Sep 22, 2023
3/5
Somehow manages to be both obnoxious and abrasive, yet in an endearing way that feels like we're being introduced to an entirely new generation of filmmaker, thanks to its frenzied and frenetic execution. Go to Full Review Joe Lipsett Horror Queers Podcast Apr 26, 2022
4/5
Kahn exploits his music video expertise in this overwhelming, joke-a-minute genre explosion. Featuring cute as a button Josh Hutcherson, the editing alone guarantees this unconventional horror comedy won't be for everyone. If it is, though, it's A+ Go to Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast Apr 13, 2022
5/5
If a movie was able to do several lines of cocaine before you hit play, Joseph Kahn's Detention would be that movie. It's wild, kinetic and all over the place in the best possible way. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jagdpanzer T @RT44446946 Sep 20, 2026 I have a very high tolerance for schlock, but "Detention" is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It was released a year after Scott Pilgrim vs the World and uses a ratcheted up version of the same painfully unfunny hyper self-aware satire and pop culture meta-humor as that movie. It uses the same rapid fire cuts and transitions with graphics and text pop-ups all over the screen half the time. Regular characters all of a sudden know martial arts or have special abilities for no reason other than to drive the plot using video game logic and pretend it's clever. You'll always get pretentious types claiming others "don't get it" and it's easy to just lazily reply that there's nothing to get, but that's not the case. They're trying plenty of things here. Too much in fact. I get all of it. It just doesn't land 99% of the time. It all comes off as very try-hard, and none of it is funny or compelling. See more Kerstin T @tintin210 Aug 24, 2026 Too bad you guys don't get it See more Landon J @Minxsykitty Aug 19, 2026 Really the kinda movie that brings you back in time. Really captures the feeling of the emerging early 2010's meta that was the basis for the post irony style of humor that came to dominate internet culture. Gets points for being really clever, loses points for losing the plot a lot of the time. Enjoyable and unique, probably not a classic though. See more owen G @metalkillerismyfav Jun 5, 2026 it was... interesting. a little bit funnier than expected, but it only got like 2 giggles from me. i dont get why people hate this. i feel like the movie is kind of self-aware of itself. i just wish we had a little more time with taylor as the main character... See more Darius H @Darius.Horror Mar 7, 2026 This film is a mix of horror and comedy that works really well, a meta-cinematic parody that combines slasher movie clichés and pop culture and parodies famous horror films such as Scream, Prom Night, teen movies, and even Back to the Future. A super fun film that had me laughing a lot while watching it, it was like being on a roller coaster, and Cinderhella is well exploited as a slasher character. Highly recommended. See more vincent f @VincentLuxpo Aug 27, 2025 Breakfast fast Club, no? See more Read all reviews
Detention

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph Kahn

Director

Josh Hutcherson

Clapton Davis

Shanley Caswell

Riley Jones

Dane Cook

Principal Verge

Spencer Locke

Ione

Aaron David Johnson

Sander Sanderson

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Detention

Dane Cook as Principal Verge in "Detention." A scene from "Detention." A scene from "Detention." Dane Cook as Principal Verge in "Detention." Shanley Caswell as Riley Jones in "Detention." Josh Hutcherson as Clapton Davis in "Detention." Spencer Locke as Ione in "Detention." Spencer Locke as Ione and Josh Hutcherson as Clapton Davis in "Detention." Dane Cook as Principal Verge in "Detention." A scene from "Detention." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A teenage outcast (Shanley Caswell), her friend (Josh Hutcherson), a nerd (Aaron David Johnson), and other students face terror from a serial killer who targets high-school students.
Director
Joseph Kahn
Producer
Mary Ann Tanedo, Richard Weager
Screenwriter
Joseph Kahn, Mark Palermo
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co
Detention Films
Rating
R (Crude and Sexual Content|Bloody Violence|Some Teen Drinking|Drug Use|Language|Nudity)
Genre
Horror, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 13, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 31, 2012
Runtime
1h 29m
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