BATTLE ROYALE II: REQUIEM - DVD review

For anyone out there who has had the pleasure of watching the first Battle Royale movie, the good news is, Japenese cinemas hard hitting terror fest returns. It is no secret that Japanese cinema regularly produces some of the most intense and bloodthirsty movies but BATTLE ROYALE truly takes the biscuit - mixing graphical violence and the deep emotions shared between friends BATTLE ROYALE gives the viewer a brutal rollercoaster ride on the senses.

Set three years after the events in the phenomenally successful BATTLE ROYALE , a teenage terrorist group, The Wild Seven, led by survivors of that first battle, has set itself up on a remote island from where it launches its worldwide campaign to destroy all adults responsible for the new Age of Terrorism. The government plans to fight them with a reluctant army of schoolkids, hoping one group will eliminate the other. If they can't do so within 72 hours, then they will face certain death at the hands of the authorities.

Director Kinji Fukasaku died during the making of the film and so it fell to his son, Kenta, to complete this apocalyptic vision, and he turned it into an even bigger box-office smash than the original in Japan . Liberally soaked in black humour and satirical comments on current world affairs, it's set for cult status, endorsed by Tarantino in Kill Bill Vol 1 .

So, prepare to join the front lines for this war against terror', which might also offer a timely warning to presidents and prime ministers alike. The fight for survival is on!

DVD extras include: trailer, film notes, Anamorphic presentation with Dolby Digital 2.0; Dolby Digital Surround 5.1; and DTS Digital surround 5.1

BATTLE ROYALE II: REQUIEM is released on rental/ retail video (rrp 15.99) and DVD (rrp 19.99)