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The School Duel

Play trailer 1:44 Poster for The School Duel Now Playing 1h 31m Drama Mystery & Thriller Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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79% Tomatometer 19 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
In a near-future Florida where gun control has been abolished, the state's ambitious governor (Oscar Nuñez, The Office) introduces a chilling solution to school shootings: a state-wide, televised fight-to-the-death competition known as "The School Duel." Sammy, a troubled 13-year-old, secretly enlists against his mother's wishes -- seduced by promises of purpose, patriotism, and notoriety. But as the deadly spectacle unfolds, that dream begins to crumble. The debut feature from director Todd Wiseman Jr., The School Duel is a provocative dystopian thriller about fear, manipulation, and one of the most brazenly political genre films in recent memory.

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The School Duel

Critics Reviews

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Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle 20h
3/5
Equally, the despairing denouement becomes only more and more inevitable, but that’s really the film’s point: how hideously successful and accepted this inhuman system has become. In that regard, Wiseman hits center mass. Go to Full Review Luke Y. Thompson Mortal Cinema (Substack) Apr 30
...even if this is mildly familiar ground, it’s worthwhile to keep treading on it lest we forget this is all meant to be satire, and not an actual policy Go to Full Review Jake Tropila In Review Online Apr 30
Puts an Orwellian spin on America’s gun epidemic... [but is] ultimately rendered redundant by representing the real-life horrors that continue to permeate the country today presentationally, without much interrogation. Go to Full Review Alan Zilberman Spectrum Culture Apr 30
2.5/5
The best dystopias make the audience wince, an off-kilter nightmare vision of where things are going. In that sense, The School Duel is a modest success: it accomplishes what it sets out to do. But it chooses the easiest targets, not the most meaningful. Go to Full Review Maitland McDonagh MaitlandOnMovies (Substack) Apr 23
Horrific in an understated way, "The School Duel" unfolds in a future so grim that the world as we see it is black-and-white — and not the glistening B&W of noir classics, either. It’s a wash of grey that suggests this is no good future for anyone. Go to Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru Apr 18
A provocative, timely and disturbing albeit heavy-handed satire. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
The School Duel

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Cast & Crew

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Todd Wiseman Jr

Director

Kue Lawrence

Actor

Christina Brucato

Actor

Oscar Nunez

Actor

Clayton Royal Johnson

Actor

Eugenie Bondurant

Actor
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The School Duel

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The School Duel

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Movie Info

Synopsis In a near-future Florida where gun control has been abolished, the state's ambitious governor (Oscar Nuñez, The Office) introduces a chilling solution to school shootings: a state-wide, televised fight-to-the-death competition known as "The School Duel." Sammy, a troubled 13-year-old, secretly enlists against his mother's wishes -- seduced by promises of purpose, patriotism, and notoriety. But as the deadly spectacle unfolds, that dream begins to crumble. The debut feature from director Todd Wiseman Jr., The School Duel is a provocative dystopian thriller about fear, manipulation, and one of the most brazenly political genre films in recent memory.
Director
Todd Wiseman Jr
Producer
Christa Boarini, Todd Wiseman Jr, Bryan Gaynor, Bobby Marinelli
Screenwriter
Todd Wiseman Jr
Distributor
Altered Innocence
Production Co
Early Lunch
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 24, 2026, Limited
Runtime
1h 31m