The School Duel – Movie Review | Fantasia (4/5)

THE SCHOOL DUEL is a new sci-fi thriller taking place in a not-too-distant future in Florida. It’s reminiscent of The Hunger Games, combined with the very current religious and political climate in that particular state. Screening at Fantasia 2025. Read our full The School Duel movie review here!

THE SCHOOL DUEL is screening at Fantasia 2025, and I can only imagine that it will be very talked about once it’s out in wider release. It’s a sci-fi thriller in black-and-white where the story plays out in the near future. However, the world seems older and longing for the 1950s.

Comparing it to The Hunger Games is almost too easy, but it also feels inevitable. Also, there’s the upcoming The Long Walk, which I am both excited about and dreading. This is not an easy watch, but it is very important.

Continue reading our The School Duel movie review below.

Pledge allegiance to Florida?!

The School Duel takes place in a not-too-distant Florida. This is explained at the very beginning, and in this future independent state of Florida, it’s all about “the right to bear arms, love God, and uphold the values of the forefathers”… so not too different from right now.

However, one key thing has changed. This is summed up by the statewide event known as the School Duel.  It’s sponsored by the government and meant to counter the rise of school shootings. To do this, they have kids participate in a TV show where they shoot at each other.

The good ol’ “Fight fire with fire” idea taken to extremes.

Kue Lawrence is amazing as Sam

We experience this world through the eyes of the bullied 13-year-old Sam Miller (Kue Lawrence). He hates his classmates and is an outcast due to being the main target of many bullies. By watching influencers telling him how to be a “real man”, he is getting all the wrong ideas pumped into his hormone-fueled mind constantly.

His loving mom (Christina Brucato) knows life isn’t easy for Sam, despite his trying to assure her that he loves school. Thanks to active recruiting, Sam enlists in the violent statewide competition called School Duel, where one will be “King” and the rest “Martyrs”.

And yes, it’s exactly as brutal and terrible as you might imagine. No matter how much everyone tries to dress it up in red, white, and blue, and label it a patriotic event.

The old days of the near future

With some people longing for the nostalgia of the 1950s, The School Duel is showing a world that has leaned heavily into this. All while taking place in the near future and showing both the rose-colored vision of the past and the dangers of idolizing the past.

On a side note, Stephen King’s novel 11:22:63 deals with this expertly. The series adaptation wasn’t nearly as good as the book, which managed to delve into how far we’ve come from the “good ol’ days”, which were mainly good for some people.

The choice to make The School Duel in black and white also clearly has several purposes: First, the lack of color makes it “easier” to watch once it gets bloody. Second, it highlights a world defined by right or wrong (determined by a select few), and with little room for nuance.

The School Duel is screening at Fantasia 2025

Todd Wiseman Jr. is the writer and director of The School Duel, which is his feature film debut. An extremely dark, impactful, and even elegant debut with a very important story. The cinematography always forces you to see things that need to be seen.

Overall, this movie is full of American iconography and militarism combined with religion. Mostly with a focus on the misuse of religion. You’d think guns and rifles were written into the Bible when you hear the politicians (and most other adults) speak.

The movie won the Canal+ Special 50th Anniversary Jury Prize at the Deauville Film Festival, and it absolutely deserved to win many more awards. This movie is as bleak and tragic as it is important and impossible to forget once you’ve watched it. And you really should!

The School Duel is reviewed as part of our Fantasia 2025 coverage. We will update this review with information about a wider release when we have it.

Details

Director: Todd Wiseman Jr
Writer: Todd Wiseman Jr
Cast: Kue Lawrence, Christina Brucato, Micheal Sean Tighe, Oscar Nuñez