Kill Devil (aka, Kill The Devil) is a Japanese horror movie that takes place on a remote island and combines random elements of Lost, Saw/Saw II, Gattaca, Lord of the Flies and The Running Man.

Set in 2025 in an era where the "murder gene" has been isolated, the film's focus is on a group of hapless teens who're thrown together on a desolate island. Their memories are erased, and save for a "mood bracelet" that bears their name and broadcasts their mood, the kids are clueless. Eventually, they start to piece the puzzle together and figure out what's going on. A boy named Shougo (Yoshika Kato) is the latest import to the island, and it's his perilous journey we follow.

Never knowing who to trust or whose "murder gene" will kick in, Shougo hikes the width and breadth of the island while narrowly avoiding a grisly fate. Some of his acquaintances aren't so lucky, and the wind of up on the wrong end of sickles, icepicks and other sharp and nasty instruments. Unknown to the endangered kids, their every move is being monitored by a shadowy group of government employees and scientist types.

A Battle Royale wannabe to the nth degree, Kill Devil winds up running in circles — much like the human lab rats it depicts. An assembly line of victims falls prey, each one's death more tedious than the last. Throughout the truly uninspired and surprisingly bloodless massacre scenes, the cardboard cutout characters "die" with expressions of absolute boredom. (However, the actors are all good in their roles given the material.) Directed with apparent ennui by Yuichi Onuma, Kill Devil gives you very little reason to keep watching… but if you do, you might want to check out the alternate ending in the DVD's additional release material.

The alternate ending, bringing to mind a zombified version of A Chorus Line, will have you guffawing out loud and maybe even rubbing your eyes with disbelief. It's truly hilarious and while it drags on for far too long, it's a decent reward for having sat through Kill Devil in its entirety.

There is also an image gallery and trailers for Asia Vision's DVD releases of Azumi, Curse Death & Spirit, and Kokkuri.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson