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This is something I heard mentioned in passing several (around five?) years ago, so I haven't read the book, nor have I watched the movie. I think I heard about the movie, but I believe it's based on a book. It's really more horror than sci-fi/fantasy, but I guess it could qualify for some sci-fi/fantasy sub-genres... In retrospect, I've thought that what I remember is a lot like "The Hunger Games" and that I may have heard early talks about the film adaptation, but I don't really think so...

Some (young?) teens have been abducted and placed on an island (or somewhere else remote and isolated). (I assume) Only one of them will be allowed to leave, so they'll have to fight and kill each other. To prevent them from co-operating - or hatching a plan to escape - they've all been collared with something akin to shock-collars that will shock them (and possibly kill them) if they spend too much time in proximity to each other.

I believe it's somewhat Saw-like.

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    The collars were not to prevent co-operation, they were to prevent escaping
    – Shevliaskovic
    May 19, 2014 at 14:36
  • Well, partly the collars compelled non-cooperation because only one person could live when the time was up, if I remember correctly. I believe the contest had a time limit that would kill everyone if a winner hadn't been decided. I could be mis-remembering that point.
    – Mark Rogers
    May 19, 2014 at 15:36
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    In the future, please avoid cross posting questions to multiple SE sites. If it needs to be in one place over another it will be migrated.
    – JohnP
    May 19, 2014 at 15:39
  • Sounds like SAW, though I've only heard about it
    – Cilan
    May 21, 2014 at 22:16

4 Answers 4

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This is Battle Royale, which is often cited by fans as the basis of The Hunger Games. It was originally a novel by Koushun Takami, and was later turned into a manga, and later a film.

In it, high school students are abducted and taken to an island. Each student is fitted with a collar which can be used to track and monitor students and explode if they tamper with it. Each student is given a satchel with weapons and/or supplies to kill each other, or avoid being killed. They are released onto the island with instructions that only the sole survivor of the contest will be allowed to leave the island.

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    Yes, but in BR I do not remember the collars shocking them for collaborating. In fact, most of the film happens with students being in teams (and dying in teams).
    – Envite
    May 19, 2014 at 14:22
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    @Envite, True, they are fitted with explosives. But even the question says they are something "akin to shock collars". If the OP never actually read/saw the work, it's possible that the detail is just fuzzy. Besides, exploding heads are pretty shocking.
    – phantom42
    May 19, 2014 at 14:25
  • @Envite in the movie/book, the collars were preventing the kids from escaping, not collaborating
    – Shevliaskovic
    May 19, 2014 at 14:37
  • I have to agree with @Envite, you should at least edit your answer, to recognize the fact that it didn't stop them from collaboration.
    – Sebastian Schmitz
    May 19, 2014 at 14:46
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    @SebastianSchmitz I never said it did or did not prevent collaboration. Like I said in my comment earlier, I believe this is a fuzzy match to a detail the OP didn't have quite right, likely due to only hearing details second-hand.
    – phantom42
    May 19, 2014 at 14:49
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I think you're looking for Battle Royale from 2000, in which students are collared and are forced to battle to the death. It has been mentioned many times as a possible inspiration for the Hunger Games and is based on the novel by the same name.

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This is Battle Royale also listed in IMDB

It was based off of a very popular manga series of the same name.

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  • Actually, both the manga and the movie(s) are based on the book of the same name. Also the TV series and the theater play.
    – Martin Epsz
    May 19, 2014 at 23:57
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    How about adding an answer with all of the publication dates?
    – CGCampbell
    May 20, 2014 at 3:23
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You are thinking of Battle Royale (2000). It's based on the 1999 book of the same name. There have many many adaptations of it, most notably to manga as CGCampbell pointed out, but also to theater (2012). There's been talk of a possible US TV adapatation, but that seems to not be going anywhere.

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