Analysis
Thanks in no small part to the Hollywood remake of The Ring and the recent DVD releases of Takashi Miike’s Ichi the Killer and Atsushi Muroga's Junk, Japanese cinema seems to be the new black in the realm of shock movie making. Renowned for in-your-face violence and completely bonkers plot development few could argue that, although lacking big flashy budgets, they are on the cutting edge as far as originality and creativity goes.

Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale is another clear example of why the serious DVD collector and horror / action fan should look Far East to examine the wonderful world of subtitles to see just what it has to offer. The premise of this movie is essentially a game of survival between all the young members of a school class. After being duped into thinking that they are going on a school trip, they are drugged and taken to a remote island where they are forced to arm themselves and fight to the death. Only one can survive and their reward is freedom. The reason behind the class mates predicament is not terribly important but it has something to do with the governments handling of unruly pupils but to dwell on this point would be futile.

Obviously, the fun part of this movie comes about when the killing begins and it isn't long before we start to see the blood flow. Each child is equipped with their own rations pack which contains food and water but more importantly, a random weapon ranging from an Uzi 9mm through to a pair of binoculars which leads to many dark but humoresque moments.

The production values are decent enough with a good level of credit going to the fine young actors who portray the initially panic stricken children only to delve deep inside themselves, coming out with a killer survival instinct. The children's adolescent innocence has to be suppressed by the overwhelming desire to kill everything and everyone which forces them to grow up very quickly and face down every threat that meets them. As in everyday life you can expect some to be strong and others to be weak which makes for very interesting viewing.

Watch out for Battle Royale 2, which should be arriving in the West very soon but will no doubt be importable from Japan way before it hits the shelves of HMV.

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action		Almost all the death scenes involve an element of action whether it be guns, explosions or desperate foot chases.
Tension		A great job was done in trying to add an element of paranoia and suspicion to the film ensuring that the viewer never really knows who can be trusted and who will literally stab you in the back.
Violence/ Gore		The unexpected violence that stems from the children heightens the overall impact but also makes for compelling viewing. The gore if pretty high with decapitations, stabbing's and automatic gun shot wounds in abundance.
Bare Flesh	NONE	No time to get your kit off when your being hunted by your best friend.
Plot		The idea behind the story is pretty unique but is surprisingly simple for a Japanese film. It borrows a little from films like Lord of the Flies and the Running Man but the inclusion of children as the main characters is it's master stroke.

Verdict This is a movie that shows Hollywood just what can be done with a decent story and a bit of imagination. So it doesn't have flashy effects to make it's statement but what it does have is balls, great big shiny ones. Although it would be little surprise if the production company executives in the west were to look at this and think "$remake$", the rawness that is associated with original Japanese movie's makes the endless subtitles worth their while. A must see film for the DVD savvy.

Movie Pictures (Click picture to enlarge)