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As far as cult classics go, Japan is an untapped treasure trove of bizarre and oftentimes ingenious flicks. Battle Royale is the epitome of the Japanese cult classic, a film that despite its own awesomeness can’t seem to make it in the milquetoast continent of North America. However, for those that have seen the movie and for those that haven’t, there are few films as exhilarating and thrilling as Battle Royale.

Based on a lengthy and controversial Japanese novel by Koushon Takami, Battle Royale is a tale of a future where the adults in Japan are fed up with the disrespectful youth. They pass an Act called the Battle Royale Act which puts little middle school bastards on an island where they all have to kill each other… because uhh… just cuz. Into this situation stroll 42 unwitting middle schoolers and their sadistic former teacher, here played by Takeshi Kitano. The children must fight until there is only one person standing.

Battle Royale is helmed by famed Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku, and while Fukasaku’s film is far from perfect, it has so many offbeat and brutal moments that the slight flaws in the film can be overlooked. The look of the film is somewhat cheap and typical of many Japanese flicks; it’s not terrible to look at, but the film quality could definitely be improved a bit. Fukasaku also seems to lack an understanding of the nature of youth as most of the children’s emotions are so overplayed as to be comical. On the bright side of things, Fukasaku seems to take glee in maiming and blowing up children, which we all know is the main reason any of us would watch this film.

The true beauty of Battle Royale is that it touches on taboos that most people take for granted. Here you have children, the gift of any society, pitted against each other in a way that few can stomach. The odds of this film ever being made in America are about as good as my odds of being elected President (Write me in as President in the next election.). For me, having watched so much exploitive and twisted garbage in the years since my first viewing of Battle Royale, the film seems less powerful than it is, but I can still remember the exhilaration I felt the first time I watched the film. Its freshness and unwillingness to compromise on a story that is so clearly wrong in the eyes of society at large makes it a classic.

The special effects aren’t as great as they could be, but with a story like this, you have to tone them down and make them less realistic or face being totally banned by the stuffy powers that be. Still, the high bodycount, combined with the brutality and needlessness of the deaths creates for a fun thrill ride. Watching the students slowly get offed one by one and then having their deaths tallied up with title cards is fascinating and giggle inspiring. There’s nothing quite as fun as watching some poor girl get her throat slit with a sickle and then laughing as it sprays in a fountain of gurgling blood. You’d think the people in the film were walking blood bombs the way their blood explodes from their bodies.

Battle Royale is one of those films that is required viewing for anyone that loves movies. Even if you’re not a bloodthirsty sadist, you can still find a good time here and the film exists as a good primer and introduction to Japanese cinema. Battle Royale might be the best and most original film to come teetering out of Japan. At the very least, it’s on the short list of top Japanese flicks.

Final Synopsis: If you haven’t seen Battle Royale, you need to buy yourself a copy. There are so many different versions of this thing floating around that it’s almost ridiculous, but no matter which version you see, you’re in for a damn treat. Buy it… plant it in the back yard and hope that a tree grows.

Points Lost: -1 for Fukasaku’s laughable handling of the middle schooler’s tender moments, -1 for a cheap look

Bonus Points: +1 for the awesome character of Kiriyama, +1 for an original and unforgettable tale that doesn’t bitch out

Lesson Learned: Be nice to your teacher.

Burning Question: How does the BR Act help anything, if the kids don’t even know it exists?

Battle Royale
10/10

Tags: 2000, action, adventure, anna nagata, asian, asian horror, Beat Takeshi, blood geyser, chiaki kuriyama, cult classic, dystopic, foreign, foreign action, foreign horror, foreign movie, horror, japanese, japanese horror, kids killing each other, kinji fukasaku, kou shibasaki, koushun takami, latest movie review, masanobu ando, recent, takashi tsukamoto, Takeshi Kitano, taro yamamoto, tatsuya fujiwara, yuko miyamura