Detention

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Detention

Released Oct 8, 2021

1h 42m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

89%

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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Critics Consensus

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

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Isaac Feldberg

RogerEbert.com

For all the game's attention to the ways fear can become rooted in personal and collective psyches, this adaptation feels curiously depersonalized.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 15, 2021

Full Review

Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

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.

Oct 13, 2021

Full Review

Richard Whittaker

Austin Chronicle

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.

Oct 23, 2020

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Reuben Baron

CBR

Detention isn't exactly a great movie, but it's the only video game adaptation to set its sights on greatness.

Aug 10, 2023

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Paul Lê

Nightmare on Film Street

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.

Rated: 9/10

Jul 20, 2023

Full Review

Beth Accomando

KPBS.org

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.

Dec 17, 2021

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Jane S

Excellent! This film sheds light on Taiwan's dark history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/12/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Nice movie but unnecessarily complex.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

brad p

‘Detention' is a Largely Successful Film Adaptation of Red Candle's Taiwanese Horror Game

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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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: Trailer 1

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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: Taichung Film Development Foundation, Gamania Digital Entertainment Company, Truffe Holdings, Yi Tiao Long Hu Bao International Entertainment Company, Filmagic Pictures Co., Warner Bros. Pictures, 1 Production Film Company, Kaohsiung Film Fund, Lots Home Entertainment
Genre: Horror
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 8, 2021, Limited
Runtime: 1h 42m

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