A violent Japanese film linked to copycat crimes committed by teenagers is to be released in Britain this autumn (01).

BATTLE ROYALE, directed by the KINJI FUKASAKU, contains graphic depictions of extreme violence committed by teenagers and has been blamed for a number of crimes. The film, described as a cross between A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and LORD OF THE FLIES, is set in the near future when the Japanese government - despairing of a wave of teen lawlessness - decides to make an example of the nation's worst-behaved class. The teenagers are placed on a remote jungle island, heavily armed, and told that only the last one alive will be allowed home. They are also made to wear a collar that explodes if they refuse.

In one scene, a student stuffs a bomb into the severed head of one of his classmates and throws it into a room where three others are hiding. In another scene, a girl slices through the neck of a classmate with a sickle while the victim begs for mercy. The film does not have an American release date because it is unlikely any distributor there would touch it, but the British company METRO-TARTAN will be releasing it in the UK around October. (MCM/WNWCFU)

Source: WENN