William Golding's compelling adventure of the human beast untethered illustrates Darwinism at its most ferocious: this is truly survival of the fittest. The new film version updates the fable from a group of British schoolboys stranded on a tropical island to a team of young American military cadets, a switch Golding himself might have approved of. Watching little soldiers devolve into savages, with all their spit-and-polish discipline reverting to primitive barbarity, is a chilling reminder of the animal lurking just under the skin of any military man. The cast of young unknowns may at times look a little self-conscious in front of the camera, and some of the contemporary dialogue doesn't ring entirely true. But the film itself is beautifully photographed and very carefully arranged (director Harry Hook also served as editor), maintaining a simple mood of accumulating dread: knowing what's about to unfold doesn't make it any less awful to watch.