phancy.com - horror reviews - MOH 2021
Spontaneous
IMDb Info
Release Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 41min
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre Tags: Comedy, Horror, Romance
Plot Summary: Get ready for the outrageous coming-of-age love story about growing up...and blowing up. When students in their school begin exploding (literally), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last.
Poster - Title Card
phancy.com rating:
phancy.com notes: Romantic teen comedy with a constant fear of someone exploding. It's funny, heartfelt, romantic, insightful and, yes, it does get a little scary.
Outside Reviews:
Matt Zoller Seitz
3 out of 4 stars -
rogerebert.com
It never crosses the line into shallow virtuosity because the script and performances keep you anchored in the teens' troubled lives. There's a tug-of-war in their psyches between needing to seem as if they're in control at every moment, and realizing that they're stuck in a waking nightmare with no end in sight. Whenever Spontaneous starts to run out of imaginative juice, it turns a tonal corner and either puts a smile on your face or wipes it off. The final 15 minutes are a knockout because they embrace the fact that yes, in fact, this all actually happened, and even though nobody can explain it yet, these kids are going to be living with the emotional aftermath for the rest of their lives, and the adults that were supposed to comfort them were helpless, too.
Richard Roeper
4 out of 4 stars -
Spontaneous': Funnier, smarter than the average exploding-teen movie
If you asked me to name the three best dark cult teen classics of the last 30+ years, I'd start with Heathers (1988), then go with Donnie Darko (2001) - and I can't think of a more worthy contender to complete the list than Spontaneous, a diamond-sharp gem that plays like a 21st century take on a John Hughes high school romance butting heads with Brian De Palma's Carrie. It's funny as hell in a drive-in splatter movie kind of way, smart and insightful and respectful in its depiction of modern-day teens, brimming with sly and satiric social commentary - and legitimately profound. I kid you not.