Sean of The Daily Rotation wrote, "There are some movies where you just can’t know anything about the plot, or all the fun is entirely ruined. Watching the trailer for Detention, you get the idea that it’s a horror-comedy about a group of kids in detention being picked off by a homicidal maniac. What you couldn’t know is that the trailer really only hints at about 5% of the plot of the film. Most reviews will tell you that knowing as little about the plot as possible is the best way to walk into this movie, and they are right."
Detention is a tasteless videogame adaptation that ignores the horrors of Taiwan’s White Terror in favor of its own half-baked creations.
Racked Focus writes:
Kahn is playing by his own rules, and breaking the rules of the traditional cinematic language in the process. It may be silly and nonsensical, but it is also refreshing. The parts are indeed better than the whole, as the film is ultimately a giant mess, but from my perspective it is a ride worth taking, especially if you have a particular fondness for all things 1990s.
CO - I first saw Detention at the 2011 South by Southwest film festival. Over the course of the last year I have managed to see it four times total, and even on the fourth viewing it remains not only a densely packed rewarding film, but also an engaging story. It’s just plain fun.
