Japanese high schoolers fall victim to deadly domestic policy designed to curb a growing underclass of unruly malcontents. Put on an island, armed and fitted with explosive dog collars in a death match to the bitter end: 'Battle Royale' was an ultra violent, uncompromising and unforgettable film. Its sequel; subtitled 'Survival Programme' in Asia and 'Requiem' in Europe, ratchets up the satire to present a scathing indictment of U.S. foreign policy and Japan's political subservience, in the cinematic equivalent of a thousand Molotov cocktails.

Father and son directors Kinji & Kenta Fukasaku's 'Battle Royale II' cleverly enhances creator Koshun Takami's narrative scope to address the so-called 'war on terror'; in which a new class of troubled teens are conscripted into the programme: paired up, dog collared and dispatched to kill the game's last survivor turned international freedom fighter or terrorist; Shuya Nanahara (another excellent, subtly powerful performance by Tatsuya Fujiwara).

'BRII' is on a par with, and at times better than, its predecessor; with an excellent flashback sequence featuring real footage from Afghanistan and the poignant juxtaposition of a list of all the countries bombed in the name of Zionism in the last fifty years. This film certainly doesn't pull any punches when it comes to addressing the pertinent issues of our time. Extreme, thought provoking, and, as yet, without equal; a must see for fans and newcomers alike. A modern classic.