Detention - Quirky teen horror comedy is too cool for school

The Breakfast Club meets Scream in self-consciously quirky teen horror comedy mash-up Detention - with elements of Freaky Friday, Donnie Darko and a string of other cult movies thrown into the pot too as sassy misfit Riley (Shanley Caswell) tries to unmask the identity of a serial killer while also negotiating the usual hazards of high-school life. The film's relentless cleverness does get a bit exhausting and it's easy to lose track of the plot amid the blizzard of quick-fire pop-cultural references, but director and co-writer Joseph Kahn puts things together so skilfully that even a seemingly inconsequential debate about the relative merits of Patrick Swayze and Steven Seagal as action heroes ('mullet beats pony-tail') gets a satisfying pay off later on.

Released on DVD & Digital Download by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on Monday 27th August.

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A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.