DEBUNKERS INC. is a tale of a group of teenaged, mystery-solving misfits looking for crime and cash flow. They call themselves the Debunkers LLC (fitting.) Each member of this band of detectives brings something unique to the table. We have Link (Josh Pinkowski) their leader, president, and founder. Link is more into the technical details: marketing, money, and business. Doctor Mario (Blake Kevin Dwyer) is the vice president. He’s clumsy, silly, but a heart of gold – brings along his friend, Sheik (Nicole Dubois), a Canadian exchange student staying with him and his family. Then there’s Snake (Izzy Pollak), my personal favorite of the group, the secretary: ninja, hypnotist, and sees the world through the eyes of a first player video game. Together they are the Debunkers, their high school’s best crime solvers… and/or tattletales. It depends on who you talk to there. The Debunkers are about to be given the mystery of a lifetime – this is the big leagues’ folks. Scandal, lies, ghosts, and of course… murder.

Now I have to say at first watching this, I was a little taken aback by the cheesy dialogue and seemingly cliche storyline. But then I went into the twelve-year-old mind of Hannah – and I enjoyed it. It reminded me of the shows in the early to mid-90s that I watched on Nickelodeon or Disney. Kids taking charge, going on adult-less adventures to solve adult problems. Debunkers is like Scooby-Doo meets Scott Pilgrim told in the style of a film noir. It sounds like a strange combination but for kids, I think it works nicely. Now, do the names of the kids sound familiar? That’s because they name each other after their favorite Super Smash Brothers character… How this relates to crime-solving, I don’t know. But it’s more than just a fun nod to Nintendo, the assigned names say a lot about the characters for those paying attention.

The thing I loved most about Debunkers was the fun film noir style. Black and white flashbacks, lighting through the slits of the blinds, even when our first female is introduced she’s lit like a classic 40s starlet. It’s self-aware of the fact, even making a joke about it a few times. “Where did that backlight come from?” Another editing technique that I enjoyed was the classic Sam Raimi quick cuts (or Edgar Wright depending on your generation.) That’s the type of filming style you don’t generally see in a kid’s movie, which makes the film stand out.

I wouldn’t exactly say Debunkers is a horror film for kids, but there is a fun pop-out scare. It has a lot of mystery, action, and twists. With how cliche the story is, I did not see the ending coming. It leaves you wondering what their next adventure might be. Hopefully more… murder. I give it 7 out of 10 fedoras for neo-noir classicism and… murder.