Versus



Versus (2000) is a highly energetic, low budget zombie movie from Japan. The set-up is as follows: Two escaped prisoners arrive in remote forest to meet with some yakuza. Now, if you've seen even a few b-movies, you'll probably recognize that any combination of escaped prisoners, remote forests and mobsters is likely to lead to something going wrong, and when you bring all three together something really big will go wrong. In this case, the remote forrest is actually the Forrest of Resurrection, and any dead bodies there come back to life. Guess where the yakuza have been dumping bodies they don't want anybody to find...

Before long there's a three way battle going on between the yakuza, the zombies, and one of the unnamed escaped prisoners (Tak Sakaguchi) who happens to have supernaturally fast martial arts abilities. Then the unnamed head of the yakuza (Hideo Sakaki) shows up, and he reveals that everything that's going on is part of a plan to open a portal to "the darkness" and that he has fought this prisoner before... 500 years before.

Director Riyo Kitamura has a certain flair for John Woo-inspired action scenes, and the gore is creative enough. As a collection of increasingly gonzo fights, Versus is a success. As a fully formed story, it's a bit spottier. the movie is long, nearly 2 hours, and a lot of that is various people talking about the Blood of Resurrection and who has to die to open up the evil portal, but in the end I'm not really sure who had to die for the portal to open. There's also a strange subplot about two bounty hunters who bring a really big gun into the forest while looking for the escaped prisoner. For all the effect they have on the proceedings they could have been cut out completely.

Versus must have been successful, because a sequel is being planned and director Kitamura is being rumored as the director of 50th anniversary Godzilla movie.

Posted: Sun - February 8, 2004 at      

©