Film Review: DETENTION OF THE DEAD (2012)

 DETENTION OF THE DEAD (2012) USA 1hr 27mins

Director: Alex Craig Mann

"It looks like Rob Zombie raped the entire cast of Gossip Girl and this is their angry love child" - Willow

It's a normal day at Lincoln High and the school is business as usual with the exception of the odd severly ill, groaning and shuffling student hanging around. Despite this the students go about their day oblivious to the virus spreading around them. A group of oddball students ranging from the schools head cheerleader Janet (Christa B. Allen), her jock boyfriend Brad (Jayson Blair) and his meathead friend Jimmy (Max Adler) to the lowest of the low with nerd Eddie (Jacob Zacher), goth chick Willow (Alexa Nikolas) and school weed dealer Ash (Justin Chon) all ending up in detention with teacher Mrs. Rumblethorp (Michele Messmer) just as the mystery illness sweeping the school turns into a full blown zombie apocalypse. Will Eddie, who before all of this was too shy to admit his true feelings for Janet, win her over before they both become mindless flesh eating ghouls and will this disfunctional group be able to band together and beat this apocalypse?

DETENTION OF THE DEAD (2012) is billed as THE BREAKFAST CLUB  meets NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and is one of those off-the-wall teen rom com clashes with total zombie armageddon type movies that have been plentiful since SHAUN OF DEAD (2004) first arrived. It is fair to point out that the American take on these movies is way more saccharin then I prefer, however DETENTION OF THE DEAD (2012) makes up for it with inventive kills and oodles of zombie action. I am going to brush over some of the lighter rom com elements and forgive them for the stereo typical characters because although they are not very original they are still relevant and very well portrayed. Underneath the dumb blonde and blow job jokes there is a more sinister underlying story to some of the characters, Eddie in particular, which gives the movie some depth. Plot wise it is true to typical zom com form as well as a fitting tribute to THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) by using a group of delinquents who are trapped together bickering for control and of course getting picked off one by one in various amusing ways with one member hiding the fact that they are infected. Even though you know that all of this is going to happen before it does they do it in a fun and interesting way that  keeps you hooked and wondering what else might befall them.

The practical FX are very reminiscent of 80's and 90's splattery horror movies. BRAINDEAD (1992) springs instantly to mind which probably has a lot to do with the zombie rat. It's packed full of gory, gruesome and sticky situations with inventive kills including decapitation by office equipment, skewering by pencils and a great head shot with a clarinet. Group joker and resident stoner Ash forms an awkward relationship with their former detention teacher Mrs. Rumblethorp and you get to witness the now undead guidance councillor taking his own life. The zombies are plentiful and suitably gory. They are well acted and shuffle around in style with well placed groans, a lot of gut munching not to mention alot of biting, hoarding and even some crotch grabbing. The make up is spot on and mostly practical with some great blistering boils, bite detail and cloudy white eyes. There are some clever tributes to the Godfather of the Dead himself, George A.Romero and other legends of the genre; for example Tom Savini has a library named after him. The soundtrack is also pretty awesome with one of my favourite tracks by The Sprites called "George Romero" rounding off a stella track listing from bands like The Deadly Syndrome, Nada Surf and Band Of Skulls.

It's true that DETENTION OF THE DEAD (2012) brought nothing new to the genre upon it's release, however ten years on it still holds up really well. It may be a bit predictable right down to the unsurprising ending but it is hugely entertaining and mindless fun! I score DETENTION OF THE DEAD (2012) 3.5 brains out of 5. DETENTION OF THE DEAD (2012) is available to buy on DVD and Blu ray.