Detention - rewatch and spoilers

If you're looking for something less spoiler filled, please jump out of here and over to my original review of the film found here: http://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2014/10/detention-2011.html 


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I recently re-watched 2011s wild and wacky gem DETENTION Directed by Joseph Kahn and I still love the film to death. I was trying to sort out why and I believe the reason is obvious on my second viewing - it's the movie I would have loved to make. Horror, comedy, strange goings on, trippy meta plot twists. It's the Malcolm movie that was never made.


Kahn and Mark Palermo wrote the film and I bet they had a blast doing so. Packing comedy, horror, science fiction, and so many references to books, music, and decades of style and fashion into one film makes this a kinetic and ultra-fast paced wonderland of...stuff. However, maybe that's what turns people away from it?



Let the spoiling begin!

I love how the film starts out with a basic concept that we've seen time and time again - most recently in films like MOST LIKELY TO DIE. A strange looking killer dressed in ((insert kitschy costume here)) starts killing off people in interesting ways. We've seen it. Over and over. However even that execution is unique in Detention. Sweet camera moves, zippy writing, and interesting graphics whip through the movie scape like mad. The roller coaster ride concludes with an ultra-violent attack and a big finish that catapults us up and out to meet our main character, then zooming along to the credit sequence - a thing of beauty that makes me so happy. :)






The IMDB blurb for the film is incredibly boring and does NOT do justice to the plot:
As a copycat killer named after movie villain Cinderhella stalks the student body at Grizzly Lake High School, a group of co-eds band together to survive while serving detention.



Sure, that's in the film, but it leaves out UFO sightings, human test subjects, body and mind swapping, time travel, and more. I said in my original review for the film that this was a film for "smart people", but I didn't mean it in a swarmy or pretentious way. Not at all.

I was merely saying that there are folks who want the film described by IMDB. They want people to be shoved into a situation and killed off in creative ways as they watch on, eat their popcorn, and cheer on the violence. And, those films have their place for sure. People love them - that's why we have...what? 47 SAW films right now? They even stopped trying to craft a story with them now. They just drop people into a space and start strapping iron masks and four power strips worth of gadgets onto them before slipping them into something that compresses them after shooting fire into their butts....or whatever.

Detention has some of this basic, killer on the loose for sure. There are some comical killings in here that are really...out there. But, the addition of all the other elements makes this - again - more along the lines of REPO MAN from back in the day. A film cherished and viewed over...and over...and over again by my friends and I. Strangeness pours from Repo Man like water from a fountain and Detention has the same, wondrous sense of play and fun.

Time machine? Sure!
Mind swapping through time to win a talent show? YES!

The film presents a playground for the viewer to wander through. A place where anything can and will happen. I loved that.

The actors make the witty writing and shotgun deliveries work.

Shanley Caswell is gold, working the misunderstood, angry Riley lead role wonderfully as she clumps through her life on her bum leg - at odds with everyone and everything. She went on to be in the Conjuring in 2013.





Josh Hutcherson's cool, beloved Clapton Davis character only works because he seems to be that guy. The cool, good looking guy that everyone knows and likes. It seems his acting and good looks paid off - I see he's in all three of the HUNGER GAMES movies.






And Dane Cook is a fantastic "secret sauce" as he manages to rope it back a bit as the school Principal tossing angry, fruck my life quips at students here and there until the films titular detention wrap up.



Every character in the film - from the strange, outspoken Canadian GORD to the "Hipster Thief" - rocks their screen time no matter how long or short it is.

And lastly, the fucking style of the film makes me insanely jealous of the filmmaker's craft. It's just amazing. The cuts and camera angles are grand. The overall pace keeps rolling and rolling along and we only pause long enough for the occasional title card introducing another bizarre aspect of the story and it's characters.


Big props to Christopher Probst, the director of photography, as well. Fantastic work!



I was surprised to see....well...it TOTALLY makes sense, but....Joseph Kahn Directed the Taylor Swift BAD BLOOD video! HA!




It looks like he has another film due out in 2017 as well. A film called BODIED that IMDB has down as:  a progressive graduate student finds success and sparks outrage when his interest in battle rap as a thesis subject becomes a competitive obsession.

Sure!



The reviews for this make me sad, really. It's METACRITIC score is a mere 45 and IMDB has it at 5.8 out of 10. I'd easily give this a 9 out of 10 stars. No question.

Did you like HEATHERS,  REPO MAN, DEAD ALIVE (BRAINDEAD), TUCKER AND DALE v EVIL,  or JOHN DIES AT THE END? Then you need to track down DETENTION at once. It's currently on SHUDDER (US) and is also available on Amazon for streaming as well.

Seen it? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! 

The Witch Who Came from the Sea

The Witch Who Came from the Sea is one of those interesting films that gets a sort of pass for some of it's shortcomings due to the fact that it's such a time capsule of the time it was created in - in this case, 1976.

Millie Perkins plays (Aunt) Molly, a somewhat sad waitress at a bar who is struggling through working, drinking too much, and memories of a very shattered past. Her boss, Long John (Lonny Chapman) helps her out when he can as does her sister and two nephews, but things start to unravel and spiral down a very dark path when Molly turns into a kind of siren - luring men in and slaying them viciously. The reason behind her violent actions is rather easy to figure out, but watching it play out on screen is very interesting.



This is more an exploration of sexual trauma than a horror film, but there are horrific elements in the film to be sure. The film leans towards an art house esthetic as well as the scenes play out with dreamlike and nightmarish twists and turns as she falls deeper and deeper into a state of mental illness.

There are also interesting references to television. As a matter of fact, I think it's safe to say that television itself is a major character in the film. The sexual and drug morays of the day also play out wondrously as people party, speak freely about drugs and sex, and wander from lover to lover like shaking hands.  

Matt Cimber's direction is rather interesting.  He takes his time with shots and really lets you sink into the scenes as they unfold. He introduces certain elements throughout with care and grace, but some he just shoehorns in almost as an afterthought. There are some police characters that seem like Cimber is just showing them because he has to and he jumps away from them quickly so he can linger on more of Molly and her madness.

I caught this on SHUDDER and almost switched over to something else when I saw the look and style, but it slowly pulled me in and held my interest. Fans of 70s films really should check this out. It's a slow burn, but the acting and overall visual interest of the shots and clothing and acting style make it a fun watch.

Alice, Sweet Alice

The film is a mystery in a style that kinda reminds me of Argento. Very giallo / who-done-it, we see a murder happen, but we're not 100% sure who did the deed. We just know whoever did it...is seriously disturbed. GREAT FUN! :)

Alice, Sweet Alice is a great little film. Director Alfred Sole only made four films, but he's still producing today. (Castle TV series) It stars Linda Miller and a bunch of other "hey, it's that guy!" types, but the big go to for Alice is a super young Brooke Shields, though she's not around a long time. :::grin:::





This film is full of disturbing imagery and characters. The film's mask is damn creepy in and of itself. The famous Alice, Sweet Alice mask even makes a little appearance in V/H/S.  :)

If you're looking for some good mystery, 70s horror and interesting visuals, you should check this out or re-visit this film at once! 

 

MADHOUSE

I finally made time to see the 1974 classic MADHOUSE recently. I tossed it one while working on a project thinking that it was going to be some fluffy, empty horror comedy. I'm not sure where I got that idea - it was far from comedy.

In this tale, we meet Paul Toombes (Vincent Price) - the actor behind the famous movie madman Dr. Death. Toombes created the character with his dear friend Herbert Flay (Peter Cushing) and movie after movie was made. However, after tragedy strikes Toombes, we're not sure if Dr. Death will return.

Enough said about the plot. We have PRICE and CUSHING together here! It's a fantastic pairing. Like wine and cheese or cookies and ice cream! :) The performances are fantastic and well worth a watch. The 70s film making could be tough for those who love today's BOURNE bouncing camera and rocket edits, but the charm and grace of this film made it for me. What we really have here is a who-done-it in a classic giallo style. We know something is amiss, but we're not sure what it is exactly.

The film does run off the rails a bit at the end. I found myself blinking at the screen and wondering what it was I just saw. However, I was so invested in the film and it's characters that this small plot swerve merely got a raised eyebrow and a audible "Huh?" out of me before I slipped right back into it's delicious, Hammer Horror-style glory.

If you're a Price fan, you'll love the use of many of his previous films as the films of Dr. Death. FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM and clips from many more Price classics are  shown and it turns into a lovely homage to Price and his work.

The film is also Directed by Jim Clark. While this seems to be his biggest Director outing, he's been an editor on some major titles - The World is Not Enough, Marathon Man, Charade and The Killing Fields just to name a few. Nothing to shake a stick at, as they say.

All in all, you can't go wrong with MADHOUSE. Put it on one dark and rainy night, pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy!

Available on NETFLIX streaming at the time of this post.

Samurai Princess

Ah...Samurai Princess.

No need to dwell on this TOO much.

Basically, we can laundry list this 2009 oddness by saying that it deals with the creation of cybrg-like humans, is packed with blood spraying, tongue wiggling, overacting, crimes against women, body parts laying around in piles, AWESOME dubbing (horrid), and has a foot tossed at a nun who starts preaching...which was rather funny.

And, WHEN the hell is this supposed to be happening time wise?? They are like strange, harajuku people in some strange, alternate universe. The clothing is bizarre. But...I kinda liked it.


For a movie staring a porn starlet Yû Aiba , there is little nekkidness. Though, there is a silly love making scene in the middle.

See also: MACHINE GIRL, TOKYO GORE POLICE

You can watch the whole thing here...until they yank it down! :)

House of Mysterious Secrets

http://www.houseofmysterioussecrets.com

A fun little place to snag horror collectibles. T-shirts, toys, games, DVDs, comics....they have a lot!


They even have this fun little "radio station" on the sidebar to set the mood for you.
http://www.houseofmysterioussecrets.com/myWimpy.html



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I Miss Halloween

I wish I could recapture the spirit I had for Halloween when I was a kid, you know? The buzz and crackle in the air. The excitement when I saw adverts for costumes on TV. Just the act of going to the store and browsing the aisles in the Halloween section was exciting.

"Which plastic masked hero will I be this year? Or, should I just dress as a hobo with a big, plastic cigar?"

Being in school helped fuel the mania, of course. Halloween pictures being drawn at our desks and Halloween stories being read as Halloween posters adorned the walls.

And the candy. Lord, the candy. The idea of a night where you simply walked to a house, knocked, and candy was showered down on you like manna from heaven. It boggled the mind.

Later, as fear crept into our society more and more, the holiday tarted to loose it's magic. Candy had to be checked for needle marks or razors. Home baked goods were tossed directly into the trash. Parents watched as their children knocked at doors - at the ready in case a "molester" tried anything sinister.

When I had my own children, I found myself getting excited about the holiday again. I was able to loose my adult inhibitions about dressing up and pretending. I could roam the night with the kids and participate in the mania of free candy and pretend scares. But, kids grow up. Dress up focus changes to party focus. Parties adults are not invited to.

Adult Halloween gatherings and parties always seem to have a "nudist" taint to them. An excuse to wear as little as possible and act out of line. Little by little, my past love for the holiday has dwindled away to nothing save looking forward to watching a few horror movies - which I do anyway.

So, in an effort to rekindle the fire, THE HORROR SHOW will be presenting a few items that may bring back a little of the Halloween spark that seemed to thrill us every year.

Feedback, comments and memories welcome!

Army of Darkness S-mart Uniform T-Shirt

A fun little inside joke shirt Army of Darkness fans MUST own.


http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PTSUBAR04%20SMALL