Something centred so closely on a small group of people in a restricted space needs very strong characters and spot-on dialogue, neither of which feature here. Also, just wondering, if the prison is deserted, how come the car-park is full?
76 Reviews
Shot well, suffers from poor writing and direction.
terrencepatrix13 September 2017
The camera work and the actual look of everything was well done for a movie with what I assume was a shoestring budget. The premise is fairly simple, bit of 'Breakfast Club' in a prison attempt where the students are all hunted by an unknown assailant. And that's about all there is to the plot.
The problem is everything else. It's hard to criticize the acting because the dialogue and actions they say and do are so...juvenile and stupid that I don't think any actor would have been able to make them work. It's obvious the writers have no idea how modern teens talk or behave. They're supposedly arch-type teenagers but they're archetypes lifted from like a 2005 Nickelodeon sitcom. Nothing that happens ever has any real impact, there's no emotional connection to any of these characters because they're all sort of unbearable and annoying. There's no sense of dread or fear. It's just a group of "teens" making stupid quips as they wander around a prison until one of them supposedly dies.
I say supposedly because you never actually SEE anything that happens. Literally all the violence, if there is any, happens off screen. You never actually see what happens to a character when they're killed off. You see them being approached, a scared face, and then the scene is over and the story has moved on already.
Basically if this is a horror, comedy, and drama genre movie without any actual horror, comedy, or drama in it...then what is it? That's the feeling this movie leaves you with. It's nothing. It's not offensive really, there's just no point to watching it. It's just some fairly well shot unimaginative boring nonsense with a couple funny lines. Can't recommend it.
The problem is everything else. It's hard to criticize the acting because the dialogue and actions they say and do are so...juvenile and stupid that I don't think any actor would have been able to make them work. It's obvious the writers have no idea how modern teens talk or behave. They're supposedly arch-type teenagers but they're archetypes lifted from like a 2005 Nickelodeon sitcom. Nothing that happens ever has any real impact, there's no emotional connection to any of these characters because they're all sort of unbearable and annoying. There's no sense of dread or fear. It's just a group of "teens" making stupid quips as they wander around a prison until one of them supposedly dies.
I say supposedly because you never actually SEE anything that happens. Literally all the violence, if there is any, happens off screen. You never actually see what happens to a character when they're killed off. You see them being approached, a scared face, and then the scene is over and the story has moved on already.
Basically if this is a horror, comedy, and drama genre movie without any actual horror, comedy, or drama in it...then what is it? That's the feeling this movie leaves you with. It's nothing. It's not offensive really, there's just no point to watching it. It's just some fairly well shot unimaginative boring nonsense with a couple funny lines. Can't recommend it.
The most predictable film
nicole_woodhall24 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
You can guess who's going to be behind all of the killings within the first 30 seconds of the film. It gives it away so obviously and that's my biggest gripe is that it doesn't even try to be clever to hide that is the security guide whose daughter committed suicide - the guy has a frickin shrine to her in his school bus that they show at the very start of the film. So blatantly obvious. Not satisfying in any way. Don't get me
wrong it has its funny moments it's just not very well executed and very PG 13 gore. Also pretty obvious what weapon will be used to kill the killer at the end of the film and the fact that you don't see any real 'death' means there's a lot of ambiguity for the writers to go 'oh everyone's alive!'
Hardly Watchable
compugor20 February 2019
Even not watching it straight through (had to take it in doses), its still embarrassing to have seen the entire thing. The very end was kind of campy-cutesie but overall the film takes itself way too seriously for having a cast of grotesque characatures glibly plodding through the cheesy screenplay of the least interesting story ever told.
Coulda Been, Shoulda Been, Wasn't
clintstevens22 February 2019
So let's see, five high school teens have been naughty and go to Saturday detention in an abandoned prison (say what?). There's the conceited hottie, the athletic female jock, the manly skateboarder, the male hottie, and the gay black boy. Put them together with the school principal and some are bound to die, right? Maybe, maybe not.
I guessed who the so-called killer was about 10 minutes in. So why did I bother watching? I was hoping to see some good old fashioned horror scares, some light-hearted comedic banter, and perhaps a little skin thrown in as a bonus...but no such luck.
Is it a worthwhile watch? Nope.
I guessed who the so-called killer was about 10 minutes in. So why did I bother watching? I was hoping to see some good old fashioned horror scares, some light-hearted comedic banter, and perhaps a little skin thrown in as a bonus...but no such luck.
Is it a worthwhile watch? Nope.
No Even Worth Playing It In The Background!
onetyewest1 March 2019
Seriously, I find it very hard to believe that this film was actually made! I'm so disappointment in myself for watching it. I watched it in 30 mins or less. I had to keep my finger on the fast forward button just to get it over and done with - so NetFlix doesn't keeping recommending me to "continue watching". Terrible.
Nope
alastairkay23 February 2019
had the absolute time of my life
prismzeus18 February 2019
I would like to preface this review with: it's so bad!! it's so, so bad!!!
The characters and the way they interact and their dialogue is all completely unsalvageable! But I had so much fun watching this thing!! From just the scene of them getting off the bus you already know what you're in for. This one kid does the sign of the cross and hold up the line and it's really painfully awkward (and is also gay so of course his bible (which he carries everywhere) is bedazzled) and this other character (who's my personal favorite) is obviously played by someone who just barely kind of knows how to skateboard even though it's the characters whole schtick. Like if you really want to laugh just watch them in the background, it's incredible. In the bus scene they like throw down the skateboard and then pounce onto it (seriously, they tuck their legs in and everything), but you can still tell the actor didn't know what to do beyond that so you kind of see them just outside of frame bend down to pick it back up and walk. Only to, once in the hallway, put the skateboard back down by crouching instead of just, you know, dropping it, and then they proceed to skate for about six whole seconds where they get dangerously closer and closer to a wall they obviously don't know how to avoid. This is just the first five minutes.
I genuinely recommend watching this horrible, horrible, horrible movie just to guess how many scenes they had to reshoot because of the skateboarding kid. Loved it.
Terrible
dixsynormous16 February 2019
Watching this made me feel like I was in detention.
Slasher_N_Basher21 February 2019
This movie feels like a punishment for people who like slasher movies. There is no payoff whatsoever! None of the "kills" were shown at all. The characters were bizarre and almost slapstick, yet they were still tied down and restricted to this MTV type of script.
There was potential here, and a decent hand to be played with these actors and location, but those in charge of this 'mistake' of a film seemed to only have an interest in trolling slasher fans.
Don't fall for it.
There was potential here, and a decent hand to be played with these actors and location, but those in charge of this 'mistake' of a film seemed to only have an interest in trolling slasher fans.
Don't fall for it.
Misunderstood
blainereid-1547525 December 2021
If you smoke a joint and view the movie as a comedy instead of a horror you'll be treated to the greatest cinematic experience of all time. Ms. Presley is a legend who doesn't mind taking the liberty of checking a couple pulses. Wife.
An unoriginal, stereotypical slasher
gitrektnubsss16 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This isn't original by any aspects. This isn't a very bad film at the same time. It's enjoyable if you like bad acting and cheesy dialogue. And i understand that all the kids are purposely stereotypes as part of the killers plan, which is revealed at the end, but they just go overboard with the stereotypes. Add that to the cringy dialogue and acting and you've got yourself a poorly made good-for-a-boring-saturday-evening slasher film
Really not even good in the bad kind of way
foxtrotmarie25 February 2019
The acting was terrible but it is questionable if that was from bad acting itself or terrible writing. The cliche characters are about as cartoonish as you can get and yet there is no backstory or answer to why. The one liners and talkback are cringe worthy at best. The plot was bare with no filling and you knew the killer from the beginning. Even knowing who it is, they never explained why and the event that set everything in motion or why these kids were chosen, nothing was explained but you still get the poor me speech at the end. The twists at the end were suppose to be shocking but ended up just as 'what?' All in all the only thing worth noting was the setting was decent.
Terrible.
huntermatters24 March 2019
Bad
devinbrown-1909125 May 2019
Not worth watching
nikkicameron15 March 2019
Just don't
mudvayne-9024520 May 2019
Not worth it. Could be condensed to 28 minutes.
rndhyd12 March 2018
Lame. Boring. Drawn out.
Slow. Only for diehard thriller seekers.
Plays up, a little, HS some HS stereotypes.
I would've stopped watching at 15 minutes, but I have a 2nd screen to occupy time.
I actually watched about 1/3, skipping ahead. The last 10 minutes was an uneventful ending.
I certainly wouldn't have padi for this, but I download for free all the movies I watch.
Slow. Only for diehard thriller seekers.
Plays up, a little, HS some HS stereotypes.
I would've stopped watching at 15 minutes, but I have a 2nd screen to occupy time.
I actually watched about 1/3, skipping ahead. The last 10 minutes was an uneventful ending.
I certainly wouldn't have padi for this, but I download for free all the movies I watch.
Banal is an understatement
mkromarek25 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The teenagers in this movie are hardly memorable and this has to be the least secure prison I've ever seen when it comes to controlling the flow of inmates.
The movie could have been faster and more interesting if the teens had taken an actual interest in fighting for their lives. In one scene, shortly after they all get weapons, the killer is climbing down from an overhead catwalk. He is completely open and unarmed while doing it. What do our newly geared up teens do? Run away, instead of what someone focused on surviving would do, end the person trying to murder you as they are defenseless.
Their instincts for fighting don't improve either.
Overall it was pretty bad. Almost unwatchably bad. There's a few bits of comedy, but they don't make up for the slog of getting through the film.
The movie could have been faster and more interesting if the teens had taken an actual interest in fighting for their lives. In one scene, shortly after they all get weapons, the killer is climbing down from an overhead catwalk. He is completely open and unarmed while doing it. What do our newly geared up teens do? Run away, instead of what someone focused on surviving would do, end the person trying to murder you as they are defenseless.
Their instincts for fighting don't improve either.
Overall it was pretty bad. Almost unwatchably bad. There's a few bits of comedy, but they don't make up for the slog of getting through the film.
Really fun
madelinenaisbitt-798856 August 2019
The Detained: Mediocre script saved by an oddly good cast
Platypuschow17 February 2019
Deadly Detention otherwise known as The Detained is a comedy horror following a spate of detention themed horror movies (Arguably the best being Detention of the Dead (2012) )
It tells the story of 5 students who must serve detention in an abandoned prison while their school is dealing with a rabid opossum infestation. As is the way these things go things go south quickly and it becomes a fight for survival.
The cast are your stereotypical teen characters, you have the rich kid, the bible basher, the weird girl, the jock girl and the popular but promiscuous one. Oddly enough for a bunch of unknowns they do a really quite good job and I'd love to see the majority again especially the actresses who played Lexi and Taylor.
The film is your pretty generic slasher flick with lots of running away and people picked off until the big finale revelation. The trouble is that the kills are dreadful, in fact you have to question whether their really are any since they're all camera cutaways. I really hate that nonsense, then to make it worse the structuring is weird and the movies protagonist isn't who you think it is.
If you like your slashers distinctly PG then this might be one for you. Come for the decent performances, stay for the happy Disney-like atmosphere.
The Good:
Decent cast
The Bad:
Weirdly structured
Awful deaths
It tells the story of 5 students who must serve detention in an abandoned prison while their school is dealing with a rabid opossum infestation. As is the way these things go things go south quickly and it becomes a fight for survival.
The cast are your stereotypical teen characters, you have the rich kid, the bible basher, the weird girl, the jock girl and the popular but promiscuous one. Oddly enough for a bunch of unknowns they do a really quite good job and I'd love to see the majority again especially the actresses who played Lexi and Taylor.
The film is your pretty generic slasher flick with lots of running away and people picked off until the big finale revelation. The trouble is that the kills are dreadful, in fact you have to question whether their really are any since they're all camera cutaways. I really hate that nonsense, then to make it worse the structuring is weird and the movies protagonist isn't who you think it is.
If you like your slashers distinctly PG then this might be one for you. Come for the decent performances, stay for the happy Disney-like atmosphere.
The Good:
Decent cast
The Bad:
Weirdly structured
Awful deaths
Why?
Mike85418 May 2019
Did the makers of this pile of crap know or even care that the people most likely to watch this aren't old enough to remember The Breakfast Club? Just dumb, I dropped about 30 iq points watching this stupidity. Not funny enough to be a comedy , not scary or gory enough to be a horror, not entertaining enough to watch. Good background noise while I was doing laundry.
Surprisingly decent acting, lighting, and camera work.
rsforss6 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I will say I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised to see that the cast has some genuine acting chops. Not to say they don't have a few poor deliveries or need some seriously help with their stunt work, but it's not hard to assume their direction was awful, so don't judge them too harshly for that.
Overall the kids can act, and unlike many low-budget horror movies, this film doesn't suffer from terrible lighting or shaky camera work.
But absolutely nothing can save this movie from a disaster of a script. The stereotypes do have some interesting twists, but it's still terribly written and poorly timed. On top of that, there is so much stupid in this movie. And whenever one or more of the characters does something stupid, it's unrealistically stupid. Like a not-even-the-village-idiot-would-do-that type of stupid.
A few examples of this stupid: 1. Having sex in the cafeteria as soon as you escape the room with the killer in it. Literally. 2. Having a heart-to-heart loudly after reaching a dead end, instead of backtracking to find another way out immediately. 3. Having sex a second time while waiting in the cafeteria knowing a killer is after you. 4. Wandering the halls shouting while trying to hide from a killer. 5. Having an assortment of items to arm yourself with, and choosing only mildly threatening objects.
Really, if you want to know the whole list, you'll have to watch it yourself. If you enjoy bad dialogue and unrealistic human behavior, you might actually enjoy yourself.
Overall the kids can act, and unlike many low-budget horror movies, this film doesn't suffer from terrible lighting or shaky camera work.
But absolutely nothing can save this movie from a disaster of a script. The stereotypes do have some interesting twists, but it's still terribly written and poorly timed. On top of that, there is so much stupid in this movie. And whenever one or more of the characters does something stupid, it's unrealistically stupid. Like a not-even-the-village-idiot-would-do-that type of stupid.
A few examples of this stupid: 1. Having sex in the cafeteria as soon as you escape the room with the killer in it. Literally. 2. Having a heart-to-heart loudly after reaching a dead end, instead of backtracking to find another way out immediately. 3. Having sex a second time while waiting in the cafeteria knowing a killer is after you. 4. Wandering the halls shouting while trying to hide from a killer. 5. Having an assortment of items to arm yourself with, and choosing only mildly threatening objects.
Really, if you want to know the whole list, you'll have to watch it yourself. If you enjoy bad dialogue and unrealistic human behavior, you might actually enjoy yourself.
This movie had potential but its a big FAT NO for me !
vnusford6 March 2019
First off I would like to start off by saying I am not the type of individual to make reviews about a movie and in fact this is my first time. This movie is so horrible that it drove me to make a IMDB account just to rate it. It is really hard to believe that this movie was produced in 2017 although its currently 2019 now. The aspect around the movie has potential but the acting from the actors and actresses needs to be work on this whole script needs to be re written. The fact that this movie was chosen to be on Netflix is absolutely absurd. There are many more movies that deserve to be put on the platform not this garbage of a movie.
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