Cinderhella?!

Hey guys,
       Over the summer, I watched a lot of interesting movies, ranging from fantastic to terrible. Admittedly, I enjoy watching low budget films to critique the style of the director, or lack of, and to laugh at some bad acting. My mother brought home a movie that she found at a local Redbox; it was called "Detention." My mother assumed it was a horror film, and I had assumed it would be terrible.

    Fortunately for us, it wasn't unbearable. "Detention" is a comedic horror film that tells the story of high school co-eds who are being stalked by their favorite horror film character, Cinderhella. They are forced to battle a time warp of the 90's, a crazed killer, and build a time machine out of the school's mascot, all while serving Saturday detention. Josh Hutcherson stars as Clapton Davis, the under-appreciated heartthrob who battles with his high school principal, played by Dane Cook. "Detention," directed by commercial director Joseph Kahn, surprised me with a decent production level and creative story.

           Between the fast paced music in the opening credits and the development of quirky and angst-filled characters, this movie immediately interested me. I expected to find a horrible mess of bad acting and terrible production quality. Instead, I was surprised to find witty dialogue and a variety of complex characters.  Like any co-ed movie, you have a jock, a rich girl, a confused and sexually frustrated teen, and, of course, the girl who is in love with her best friend.

 I'll admit that the characters are a bit cliché, but the story requires your full attention. One of my favorite parts of the film was the director's use of flashbacks to tell the backstories of the characters. There are several points throughout the film that are confusing but the plot comes together in the end. Kahn does an excellent job of tying multiple story lines together to form a solid conclusion once the movie is over.
         Overall, I was surprised by this movie and would recommend it to any film student. Even though it is not at the highest level of production and lacks A-list celebrities, it was a decent film. The creative dialogue in combination with an interesting mix of characters kept me interested. Kahn made this film watchable with unusual camera shots and tons of graphics. With that being said, here's the trailer. Enjoy.

Peace,
Brie