the audience applauded

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The plot isn't too much of a mystery. A group of adults are being tortured and killed by a vigilante group because they bullied a couple of kids in the sixth grade. They are forced to play an adult version of the X-game which is more torturous than the one as a child. Do they have sixth grade reunions in Japan?For those who like a two hour creepy "Saw" type of film, this is it. They did a sequel to this film, I'll think I'll pass for now.Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity. English subtitles.

"X Game" ("X Gêmu") could have been much more than it turned out to be. Why? Well, the movie had a tendency to drag on in long scenes that could have been shortened down by some more inventive editing. Plus, the storyline was fairly weak.If you want to make a torture movie like this, and don't plan to play on a solid storyline, then at least make sure you have some cruel and grotesque torture scenes that will make the audience squirm, and not just some half-hearted attempts to do so. Which was sadly, what director Yôhei Fukuda had done here with "X Game". "X Game" seems like a light version and more audience-friendly version of the "Saw" movies.The movie takes place mostly in a classroom with only four characters there along with two hooded wardens. As such, there was a lot resting on the shoulders of these four, and ultimately they didn't really manage to pull it off. It wasn't because of their particular performance, but because the movie was suffering from a bad script and storyline.However, compared to the Japanese movie in the same genre, "DeathTube", then "X Game" fared much better. Both movies aren't particularly memorable or noteworthy, though.And there were some awful errors in the movie. The worst one was the animations on the TV. How could the person behind the whole act possibly know which number of punishment was on the piece of paper drawn by one of the four contestants without showing it to the camera? But still, miraculously, the person knew and could play the appropriate animation on the TV. It was just ridiculous.For a Japanese horror movie, then "X Game" is a low ranking entry to the genre, and compared to many other heavy-weighter's in the Japanese horror genre, then "X Game" is hardly worth the time or effort.The ending to the movie, when you find out who is actually behind the things that happen, was actually nice, and does come as somewhat of a surprise. Which was far from predictable.I wasn't impressed one bit by the movie, but still managed to sit through it all. I can honestly say that this movie will never make a second trip to my DVD player. It was had no value to support a second watching.

this movie is pretty much in the same theme as the saw movies. People are put in a situation where they are screwing with their lives, and they prove to be really horrible human beings.Eight people who watched snuff films on line are put in a trap where they are stuck in a situation where they have to face a bunch of traps, and are systematically picked off. Except the more decent people are picked off first. By the end, the last three survivors double cross each other until only the movie's protagonist (who had to watch his girlfriend get raped and admit he couldn't love her the same way).You know, when you are typing in a plot synopsis and then realize you need to go back to drop your rating because your first inclination doesn't match the awfulness of it, that's telling in itself.I'm sure there are cultural gaps I'm not getting here, and perhaps this film made more sense to Japanese audiences. The tension does pick up in the last half hour of the film, but it takes forever to get there.

I don't think it's actually the 2010 Japanese movie Death Tube. The title X-Game itself has no any significance to the movie. But I noticed that the release date was September 2010, that is the same as the release of Death Tube 2. But, again, X-Game is inappropriate.I wiki'd it then: "Four young people find themselves in a classroom and forced to participate in the "X Game". Games include "Thumbtack on a chair," "Pencil Guillotine," "Clip," "School Lunch," "Slap," and the "Death Penalty". Who is behind the games? Will these young people make it out alive? ". Don't be confused. The Death Tube movies don't have anything to do with X-Game. They have obvious similarities if you watch these, though.