Alice in Borderland
2020
Original language: Japanese
- mystery
- drama
- action & adventure
The story
With his two friends, a video-game-obsessed young man finds himself in a strange version of Tokyo where they must compete in dangerous games to win.
What it’s like
Deserted Tokyo at night under flat, sodium-orange streetlight and the cold blue glow of empty shopping districts, the city reduced to hollow plazas, stalled trains and vast silent intersections. The look leans glossy and high-contrast, with wide establishing shots that make a person look tiny against concrete, then tight handheld moments when the stakes close in. Sound does much of the work: a pulsing electronic score that drops out abruptly into near silence, the slap of running feet on pavement, and the sudden clatter of a game starting. Vibe-wise this is tense, glossy dread with a sly streak of playfulness, the feel of a stadium-sized escape room. Pacing runs in bursts: long stretches of eerie quiet and bleak wandering, then fast, taut set-pieces where each round is a mechanical puzzle with a clock running. Emotionally it is about loyalty, fear and the slow hardening of people who have lost too much, with a lonely, restless young man gradually learning what he is willing to risk for others. Intensity is moderate to high: frequent peril and fights, some bloody injuries and deaths shown on screen, and a steady undercurrent of cruelty and fear, though the gore is more startling than prolonged. Best for viewers who like survival thrillers with a puzzle-box streak and do not mind a body count.
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