Battle Royale
Look, I know it’s about kids killing each other, but this movie is such a good time. It’s completely batshit and so fun. I first saw portions of this movie in high school while babysitting (relax, the kid was asleep) on the Chiller TV network of all places, but it was already like halfway through when I turned it on so I didn't end up watching it. I’ve been meaning to watch it ever since and only just now got around to it and I’m so glad I did. It did take way longer than it should have for me to find a subbed version though, but this is a dub-free household so I persevered.
This movie is wild. I never pay attention to the score of a movie, but even I noticed how dramatic as hell this one was. And the scenery was more gorgeous than it had any right to be when it’s sandwiched in between scenes of excessive squib explosions. The movie is definitely over the top, but I don’t feel like it’s too unrealistic - if that makes sense. The characters are great and I got way more attached to them than I expected to. I loved Kawada and his storyline, but I did find Nanahara and Nakagawa’s relationship kind of boring at times. Mitsuko, however, was a bad bitch and I was lowkey rooting for her. I know she was a villain, but if the movie was going to end with one person winning by killing everyone, I would’ve wanted that person to be her. I really liked the flashbacks that helped flesh out the characters, which helped make the story more believable and impactful. (I could’ve done with fewer scenes of the basketball game though.) The love dodecahedron throughout the movie is a bit ridiculous, but then again it’s a bunch of middle schoolers so it tracks.
It’s not a perfect movie though, and I did have several questions by the end of it. What the fuck did the danger zones even do? Make the collars explode, I guess? But why didn’t we ever see that happen? The movie makes such a big deal about these zones but they result in nothing. I also wished we could’ve found out more about Kiriyama. On the one hand it was kind of cool that he was just this silent, unknowable psychopath who loved playing the game, but on the other hand I feel like they could’ve given us a little something as a backstory like they did with Mitsuko to make him feel more like a character instead of just a killing machine. I don’t know what exactly was going on between Mimura and Nakagawa, but it felt icky - like when and why did he make that weird ass painting? Finally, how did these motherfuckers keep getting turned into swiss cheese by machine guns and getting right back up???? These are the questions that haunt me.
Great movie though. They really delivered on the gore. I thought the warning at the beginning was a little dramatic at first, but wow. This movie will definitely hold a permanent spot in my list of favorite J-Horror movies.