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Detention

Play trailer 1:10 Poster for Detention 2021 1h 42m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 43 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
We're in 1962 Taiwan, during the time of the White Terror, with martial law in full force on the island. In this time of extreme repression, all ideas considered to be dissident are banned, and the culprits are tortured or executed. Tsuihua Secondary School is not an exception from this oppression. Despite close surveillance by the military police, Professor Chang (Fu Meng-Po) runs an underground literary club where he and his students learn about banned books and dream of freedom. One of his club members, Fang (Gingle Wang) is madly in love with him. The usually shy teenage girl from an abusive home manages to open up like a book in his presence. Then Chang disappears... One night, Fang wakes up at her desk, but the school has changed. As she wanders through the sinister corridors and other dilapidated rooms in search of her teacher, she meets Wei (Tse Jing-Hua). Together, they must confront the ghosts and deformed monsters that have taken over their alma mater, to find out what happened there.
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Detention

Detention

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Critics Consensus

Politically charged horror that's as viscerally effective as it is intellectually stimulating, Detention's got class.

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Critics Reviews

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Isaac Feldberg RogerEbert.com 10/15/2021
2/4
For all the game's attention to the ways fear can become rooted in personal and collective psyches, this adaptation feels curiously depersonalized. Go to Full Review Noel Murray Los Angeles Times 10/13/2021
In gaming terms, this movie's characters find themselves on a screen where every move leads to a bottomless pit. The nightmare they're in is as existential as it is visceral. Go to Full Review Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle 10/23/2020
Forgiveness and remembrance are intertwined in this powerful story. An apt heir to [Guillermo] del Toro at his most analytical, it's a stirring political fable dressed in the ghoulish weaves of a creepy monster flick. Go to Full Review Reuben Baron CBR 08/10/2023
Detention isn't exactly a great movie, but it's the only video game adaptation to set its sights on greatness. Go to Full Review Paul Lê Nightmare on Film Street 07/20/2023
9/10
For the movie relays the important message of how we cannot afford to forget mankind's worst moments because they make us uncomfortable. Doing so only causes history to repeat itself. Go to Full Review Beth Accomando KPBS.org 12/17/2021
The film mixes elements of monsters and haunted house scares with a political thriller to engage audiences. There are some odd narrative shifts and tonal changes but if you stick through to the end it all makes sense and is actually quite clever. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jane S @RT81956578 08/15/2024 Excellent! This film sheds light on Taiwan's dark history. See more Nicolas T @RT99733889 03/03/2024 Nice movie but unnecessarily complex. See more Courtney K @c0urtn3y 03/21/2022 interesting. totally gave me Silent Hill vibes, which maybe makes a little sense as i think this is based on a horror video game too. i wasn't fully paying attention to the whole thing so there were parts that lost me, story-wise, but to be honest i wasn't really watching it for the story anyway; i just liked the creatures/spooky things. i'd maybe watch it again. See more brad p @Bradster69 10/08/2021 ‘Detention' is a Largely Successful Film Adaptation of Red Candle's Taiwanese Horror Game See more Read all reviews
Detention

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Cast & Crew

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John Hsu

Director

Gingle Wang

Fang Ray-Shin

Meng-Po Fu

Chang Ming-Hui

Jing-hua Tseng

Wei Chong-Ting

Cecilia Choi

Yin Cui-Han

Yue-Ti Liu

Mr. Kao

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Detention

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Detention

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Movie Info

Synopsis We're in 1962 Taiwan, during the time of the White Terror, with martial law in full force on the island. In this time of extreme repression, all ideas considered to be dissident are banned, and the culprits are tortured or executed. Tsuihua Secondary School is not an exception from this oppression. Despite close surveillance by the military police, Professor Chang (Fu Meng-Po) runs an underground literary club where he and his students learn about banned books and dream of freedom. One of his club members, Fang (Gingle Wang) is madly in love with him. The usually shy teenage girl from an abusive home manages to open up like a book in his presence. Then Chang disappears... One night, Fang wakes up at her desk, but the school has changed. As she wanders through the sinister corridors and other dilapidated rooms in search of her teacher, she meets Wei (Tse Jing-Hua). Together, they must confront the ghosts and deformed monsters that have taken over their alma mater, to find out what happened there.
Director
John Hsu
Screenwriter
John Hsu
Distributor
Dekanalog
Production Co
Filmagic Pictures Co., Kaohsiung Film Fund, Taichung Film Development Foundation, Yi Tiao Long Hu Bao International Entertainment Company, 1 Production Film Company, Truffe Holdings, Warner Bros. Pictures, Lots Home Entertainment, Gamania Digital Entertainment Company
Genre
Horror
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 8, 2021, Limited
Runtime
1h 42m