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Years after moving to Tokyo with her parents, Hinako returns to her hometown in rural Shikoku. She soon learns that her childhood friend, Sayuri, died several years ago and that Sayuri's mother, who used to perform seances and exorcisms, has gone almost insane with grief.
Although this movie offers some visually good settings, it does disappoint as a rather formulaic horror flick with hardly any genuine scares.
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Intense, violent and thrilling sci-fi satire never lets go of its fast-moving narrative full of twists, but also manages to transport a political, pacifist message.
Halliwell**: "Bracing, violent, blackly humorous satire on the bleaker aspects of modern society that manages to be more than merely an excuse for a killing spree."
Maltin***: "Unexpectedly convincing and involving, this tense, energetic, and very serious movie...Though violent, it is clearly opposed to violence and to war."
