As most Monsters fans well know, the cult Japanese film BATTLE ROYALE has been forever in limbo as far as an American release based on its, shall we say, "touchy" subject matter. Well, lucky us, now we have a film in a similar vein (pun intended) that's made it to your DVD shelves - KILL DEVIL. A different slant on the notorious 'kids killing kids' motif, so be forewarned, campers, this is the stuff your parents warned you about...

A body lies in a blanket at the edge of the sea. Suddenly, klaxons blare and the body stirs. It's a teen-aged boy, whose memory has been wiped clean. All he has are the clothes on his back, and a metal bracelet with a green glowing light. He heads off the beach into the island's forest where he soon spots two other youths. The blonde youth tells our boy 'there's others' - and they have no memories as well! He says he's figured out the name on each person's bracelet must be their name; he is Youichi, his silent companion is Osamu, and beach boys must be Shougo. The trio search for water and other kids...only to find both in a most unpleasant way! A scythe-wielding teen chases the group from a nearby spring and brutally axes poor Youichi in the back. Shougo and Osamu escape the maniac; shortly thereafter they join with Takeshi (after a bit of a misunderstanding). Shougo says everything's fucked up as the moon rises...

Next day, the trio heads north. Takeshi vaguely remembers being brought to this place, but before he can ponder further they see a youth stabbing another with an ice pick - and his bracelet has turned red. Takeshi saves a wounded Osamu from the crazed teen, and winds up bashing the stabbers' brains in with a rock. Only Takeshi now remembers this was his friend Nobou, and he falls dead with an ice pick in his back and his bracelet turned red. The sirens wail....

The narration explains that the DNA has been cracked, and the discovery of the "murder gene" by Dr. Kurata. Children discovered with this gene are taken (with parental consent, naturally) to the island to be 'researched'. This experiment is a 'game' - Kill The Devil - designed to see what a teen's primal instincts are when the youth is deprived of memory...

Shougo and Osamu meet up with a large group of kids; they check to insure everybody's band is green. They decide to try and escape this terrible island. Then scythe boy returns to cause more mayhem...with a weed-wacker. Thanks to Shougo and an empty gas tank, several teens escape the onslaught, but many have been left torn asunder. Those who remain walk on trying to remember details of their lives when they come across a field strewn with stone markers - the dead teen graveyard. Dr. Kurata appears with armed guards and tells them 'that's enough for today'. When will this horrendous game ever end? Will any of the kids regain their memories? Heck, will any survive their cruel fate for possessing the 'defective murder gene?'

KILL DEVIL, although cut from similar clothe of BATTLE ROYALE, avoids its predecessor's controversy by keeping the mayhem to a minimum. Surely, there are moments of intense violence, but for the most part, the actual murders are off-screen or seen 'after-the-fact.' The film takes a more academic approach to its subject by introducing the concept of a scientific reason for teens to murder each other (not just as participants in a game). This is, of course, their justification for the chaos that ensues. As intriguing an idea that it is, KILL DEVIL suffers from a lot of exposition to make its point. Action scenes are swift and brutal, but in between is a lot of walking around. True, these teens have no idea what's going on, but the audience has been clued in - I suppose the waiting is the hardest part. The acting is quite good by the young cast. Each is able to bring something unique to his or her character, giving the audience a way to relate to them as they search for who they are and what's going on. The adults do their job as well, because you'll hate every single one of them by the end of the film. The direction is competent and editing fairly routine, but there area a couple of unintentional shaky shots (i.e., not the POV shots, which is to be expected). Picture quality varies on KILL DEVIL; the outdoor scenes are fine, but the few interior scenes seem dark and grainy. There are a few bad audio spots, but otherwise the sound is o.k. Music is undistinguished.

Urban Vision has released KILL DEVIL as one of the first from its Asia Vision line. Hopefully, they will add more extras to future releases. KILL DEVIL has the obligatory previews and an image gallery, but otherwise only includes an alternate ending as a special feature. Not to wreck the surprise, but this new ending really does define the word alternate - see it to believe it.

Beating a comparison into oblivion, KILL DEVIL is a more cerebral slant on the BATTLE ROYALE subgenre of films. The film's pacing is erratic; long scenes of exposition turn quickly into extremely brief and violent encounters, but the intriguing premise and engaging teen actors keep the film interesting. If the subject matter doesn't put you off, KILL DEVIL is certainly worth a look. Just don't watch it with anyone wearing a red bracelet...