At the dawn of the new millennium in a dystopian Japan, 42 junior high school students are forced into the government’s brutal “Battle Royale” programme. Taken to a remote island, each student is given a weapon (ranging from guns and machetes to makeshift tools like pan lids or binoculars), along with food and water. Their only order: kill or be killed. To ensure compliance, every participant wears an explosive collar, and the deadly game must end within three days, leaving only one possible survivor. Directed by veteran yakuza-film director Kinji Fukasaku, this cult shocker blends the raw survivalist intensity of Lord of the Flies with unflinching social critique, and sparked a global wave of admiration for Asian cinema in the 21st century.

One-off 25th anniversary screening presented by Japanese Film Club.

Reviews

‘Some will be uncomfortable or appalled, and the mix of humour and horror is uneasy, but this isn’t a film you’ll forget easily. And, seriously, what would you do?’
★★★★
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine

About Japanese Film Club
I’m Will, and Japanese Film Club started as a fun idea to get some friends together regularly to watch films in the cinema. I lived in Japan for 8 years and own www.madegood.com, a distribution company that specialises in screening documentary films in cinemas and online to Japanese audiences. This summer (2025) I decided it would be fun to show some Japanese films in London, thinking my love for Japanese cinema was pretty niche and it would be a cool little side project. But I have been blown away by the response so far. We opened to a full house with Tampopo at The Rio Cinema in Dalston in June, and followed that up with another sold out screening of Gaea Girls – a documentary film about 90’s Japanese female pro-wrestling.

I don’t claim to be an ‘expert’ in Japanese cinema, but I’ve watched a lot of it and I know what I like! I’m going to continue to pick films that I like, invite guests I think are interesting, and hopefully give you a reason to get out of the house for a few hours and watch some films with me. If you have something you’d like to see on the big screen, please send me a message or come and have a chat with me at the next screening. I’d love to hear from all of you, so don’t be shy! There are no real rules to what we can show, and everyone is welcome.

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