While the story does translate itself into a movie to a certain extent, it misses a very important point that is made in the book. Yes, we have the tension and the undercurrent of horror in the film, but being made into an English story and background, it is emasculated. Bear in mind that (and I speak with a Western generalisation, here) Japanese people are more likely to engage in group activities, and are more regimented than British. There is a structure and a 'wholeness' about nature and the order of things, and that idea of order and subservience is more pronounced - and indeed revered - in Japan. But the overall point which could not be made within an English adaptation, is that the death penalty for murder in Japan is not enacted upon children under the age of 13. What is particularly devilish about the concept is that the boys knowingly and willingly plan the murder without any fear of punishment.
