You really can’t talk about movies with battles to the death without including the totally gonzo “Battle Royale.” It’s one of my favorite movies of all time, and it helped introduce a lot of people in the early aughts to extreme Japanese cinema. “Battle Royale” was based on the novel of the same name by Koushun Takami. (It was also adapted into a popular manga series in Japan.) The movie takes place in an unspecified near future, where the totalitarian regime in Japan has enacted the “BR Act.” The act allows them to select one junior high class per year to send to a remote island. On that island, they give each student a random weapon and a collar that explodes at the press of a button.
The students must avoid “danger zones” that change regularly or their collars will explode. They are told to kill one another because only one surviving student will be allowed to leave the island. The kids’ weapons range from binoculars to machetes and machine guns, so it’s not exactly a fair contest.
“Battle Royale” is incredibly violent, often funny, and full of gasp-out-loud moments of blood-geyser gore. Japanese icon Takeshi Kitano stars as their former teacher who runs the year’s game, and “Kill Bill” star Chiaki Kuriyama plays a track star trying to survive.
Where to Watch it: Streaming for free on Tubi with ads, available to rent on Amazon/Google Play for $1.99