Bad Kids Go To Hell (2012)

"Bad Kids Go To Hell" is Director Matthew Spradlin's dark, twisted homage to 80's teen movies, as only Americana contemporary film can. Co- written with Barry Wernick, the story follows a group of teens from the complete color wheel of personality mind-f**ked. It is an obvious sinister retelling, or new vision, on Hughes "Breakfast Club" where teens personal, and social turmoil's are exposed and forced into resolution. Only in "Bad Kids Go To Hell" the forced realization comes at the hands of one hell of a twisted, sinister story. The plot follows this group of elitist offspring serving detention for, well-you know- being a teen with too much privilege, without supervision, just trying to deal with school and life sh*t! Cause hey, that sh*t is hard-we all have been there! The film stars Amanda Alch, Chanel Ryan, Marc Donato, Augie Duke, Roger Edwards, Ali Faulkner, Cameron Deane Stewart, Ben Browder and Judd Nelson. The official plot goes like this: Six prep school kids from Crestview Academy, home to the spoiled offspring of society's elite, find themselves stuck in detention on a frightfully dark and stormy Saturday afternoon. During their 8-hour detention, each of the six kids falls victim to a horrible "accident" until only one of them remains. I am not going into detail as to the depth of how or why they fall victim as to not give away any spoilers. Just my review and thoughts on the movie.Everything about "Bad Kids Go To Hell" is almost perfect in it's utilization of nostalgia it tries to capture, with all the tribute images and backdrops that so epically scream "John Hughes". From the library, the character traits of the kids, (only more modern and less wholesome), who make up the cast, right down to the awesome Judd Nelson cameo as Head Master. The flaw (which is minor) is that it seemed to go hardcore in referencing the 80's high school flick but sadly no real dialogue reverb from the movie, what - not one kid could have found a way to declare "I wanna be just like you. I figure all I need, is a lobotomy and some tights". Okay, I know new decade , new social commentary. The film does have some very awesome quotable moments that I loved, my fave "I don't worship the devil, I just promote him". The cast where killer in their role and all had more than enough back story and depth of personality to bring the characters to life. I did want a bit more bravado, overt-expression from a couple of the characters. I thought they where more subdued than they should have been, but still the acting was stellar. Plus a hot cast can hardly ever go wrong. The movie's "spooky" element was a nice premise to keep the plot stimulated, (remember I am not giving any details away here), which seemed to put the kid's paranoia in overdrive, and the ending twist was cool. Although it almost came off as lame, thank god it was the ending, and not revealed earlier or the film would have failed, much like "Cry Wolf". The effects and gore are there but not really allowed to be the focal point of the moment which is kind of a bummer but still it didn't detract from the movie. "Bad Kids Go To Hell" is a fun, dark satire on High School life as well as basic social discourse that we all have to endure. Plus the subtext of how, based on generation gap and over extended lives, adults tend to view life and young people with a very distorted view outside of the reality that teens or young people in general experience (and vice versa). All in all this film is pretty excellent and a great addition for fans of 80's throwbacks or contemporary American movies, although technically it isn't a horror film it does have some pretty thrilling moments in true Draconian fashion. The real meat of the story lies with the way they reveal how each kid got sent into detention. The flashback is totally 90's "here is how…" stylization. Plus for some reason I got an early Rodriquez vibe from the film.

"We could find out if this place is cursed if you really wanted to." Six kids at a prep school are in detention when they wonder if the school is really haunted. What starts off as a joke turns deadly as one by the the kids meet violent deaths. At the same time as the deaths more and more truths are revealed. Can they find out who is behind it all before it is too late? To start with the movie is not that bad. It does have a lot of pretty people and some brutal deaths but there is also some really funny moments in it. One of the easiest ways to describe this is the Breakfast Club with a horror twist. The movie is geared toward the Urban Legend or Final Destination fans but for a cookie cutter teenage horror movie this isn't that bad and is entertaining. I did enjoy it but don't think I'd watch it again. Overall, nothing amazing but it is kind of fun to watch and if you are looking for a movie to just put in and watch you could do worse. I give it a B.

Watched this the other night and played a fun game while doing it. It's called " find all the Breakfast club references". First one is free and that's Judd Nelson. This is not a horror movie to scare you but it is funny...the incredible bad luck of the one kid is hilarious and sad! The athlete's death is rather funny. A good portion of the movie, mainly the characters' personality quirks, and the motivation behind it all are predictable..after about 15 minutes I was already calling out keys points to the plot. It was that obvious. But overall the movie is fun.I wouldn't watch it again but wasn't unhappy that I saw it once either. Last five minutes are interesting.

Such an homage to the breakfast club and its great that Judd Nelson plays the principal. The acting is great you can't help but hate the kids. I really could not stand Amanda Alch's and Marc Donato's character by the end which is great acting on his part. I felt bad for Ali Faulkner's and Cameron Stewart's characters. It reminded me about high school and the school I teach at specifically some of the teachers I have to work with. It is always about cliques. Overall it is a great movie, I would have recommended seeing it. The acting from the young stars is fantastic, and all have a bright future. Adding Judd Nelson to the cast is sheer irony and added to the movie. I can't wait until it is wide release.