Versus (Special Edition) 2000 Media Blasters   Buy It Now

So, by now people are probably thinking that just about everything has been done with the zombie genre. We’ve seen the rotting undead hungering for brains, hanging out at the shopping mall, even swimming and attacking sharks, so what else could there possibly be that hasn’t already been done. Plenty, at least in the eyes of Japanese filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura, and he’s bound to prove it. A newcomer to the horror genre, Kitamura’s Versus is already legendary among those that frequent person-to-person file sharing programs, take part in tape trading, or just plain couldn’t wait for the eagerly awaited film to finally get released in the United States. But once again, patience finally pays off, and many now have a reason to get rid of those badly subtitled Chinese bootlegs.

In Versus, legend tells of 666 portals that connect the world of the living with the other side. However, these are hidden away from prying human eyes, and in the Forest of Resurrection lay the 444^th. This brings us to a pair of convict and an interesting collection of Yakuza thugs who have chosen this as their meeting place, and while none are quite certain why this spot was chosen, they quickly have to put that quandary behind them. After one of the convicts, known only as KSC2-303, decides to take matters into his own hands and kills one of the Yakuza in order to prove a point, and inadvertently saving a girl they’ve kidnapped, the murdered thug quickly returns, now a zombie.

That’s where things go from bad to worse. The second escapee is quickly shot dead by the gangsters, further proving the point that something just isn’t right in the woods as he comes back to life. This however gives our “hero” a chance to flee with the girl, and get himself a new wardrobe, from the body of one of the Yakuza’s victims. And, while searching for him and the girl, the gangsters soon realize that they’ve been burying their victims in the same forest, only now, the graves are empty, and the undead have risen, hungering for revenge.

Versus was originally intended as a sequel to Kitamura’s first movie, Down to Hell, and while it may sound like a very similar plot devise that has been used time and time again in the world of horror, I can assure you that it certainly is not. The film is a nice amalgamation of the modern zombie film, a slight splash of Yakuza violence, a heaping helping of martial arts, and then topped off with just the right amount of gore and humor. And again, unlike most zombie films, the primary concern isn’t for everyone to eventually set aside their differences in order to overcome the undead menace. In fact, this is a battle that has been raging between this group for quite some time, as is shown when the film opens sometime during the Muromachi Era, pitting two samurai against each other, but not before there’s a bit of limb severing unleashed against the resident undead. Now, the battle is starting once again, this time with an escaped con serving as the reluctant hero against an evil that prefers the company of the undead.

Kitamura’s zombies aren’t like those that we’ve seen in the past. Although many of them do have the sloth like movements of most, Romero’s zombies coming to mind, but there are some changes. Kitamura’s zombies use guns, though not effectively, but much better than Bub in Day of the Dead. These zombies aren’t excessively gory either, which of course is a double-edged sword. Remember though, we’re talking low budget here, right around $400,000, with most of the films finances seeming to have been spent on fight choreography, and there’s plenty of that from both the living and the dead. But, while the zombies may not be of the horrid rotting variety, that’s made up by lots of splattering blood, and that’s a fair enough trade off, especially with the use of Tom Savini’s ever-popular squib technique to make sure that blood gets on just about everything.

Another interesting bit with Versus is that none of the characters have names, not even in the credits. Really though, it doesn’t make a difference when you think about it. Come on, with any of the Friday the 13^th films, outside of Jason, how many characters can anyone name? For most, the full total will be round about none. Most of the time, it’s “that guy that Jason impaled on a tree” or “the girl who has her face frozen in liquid nitrogen and then smashed on a counter.” In the world of horror, names really aren’t too important. The only reason people remember Jason, Freddy, or Ash is because they’ve made appearances in film and film, or why Barbara is remember from Night of the Living Dead is because of the infamous line, “They’re coming to get you, Barbara.” So, when someone is talking about Versus and mentioning “that Yakuza guy with the glasses,” everyone who has seen the film can immediately identify.

Versus works pure and simply because it’s not a Hollywood horror film, meaning that it doesn’t work too hard on trying to be a slick looking film. The actors in the movie really aren’t that good, although I will say they are definitely better than the English dub actors that were brought it, but then again, if we look back at any low budget horror film, there certainly isn’t any acting that’s screaming to have an academy award. Versus, in many ways, goes back to the old school style of horror, mixing genres that shouldn’t be mixed with plenty of blood, and making an overall fun film. A definite contrast to half-assed Hollywood fare like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer, and even better is the fact that someone didn’t see the film and get the idea of grabbing the rights and then remaking the film, losing the entire point of the film altogether. But, Kitamura admits to trying to go back to an 80’s style, having looked at films like Evil Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and The Road Warrior, among other films, as inspiration. The reason is simple though, there’s no CG, and you had to actually create what you had though of without the use of computers in post production.

However, the film does have a few stumbling blocks that it hits a few times. There are quite a few shots where Kitamura uses a technique where he circles the actors, but with a tendency to overdo it, especially in the final climactic battle. Personally, I feel that a few of these could have either been replaced by alternating camera shots, and in some cases, trimmed down a great deal. Kitamura though does explain in the extras his certain style, stating that he thinks single shots or quick cuts are a little boring. Also, the ending leaves much to be desired, and feels almost like an added on afterthought, taking a page that seems to be a bit out of the Highlander series, and even worse, Highlander 2 comes to mind. Also, the scenes with the two detectives seem to be almost pointless at times, and almost unimportant to the overall film. Sure, their presence is a little foreshadowed at the start of the film, with one convict still being in handcuffs and having one of their hands still attached, but overall, they serve as nothing more than comic relief most of the time.

By now, most people know that there are three versions of Versus available for release in the United States: the standard edition, the director’s cut, and then the special edition. Sure, we could have looked at the standard or director’s cut, but what fun would that be? Instead, we went straight for the jugular, requesting that the special edition be shipped for review. There’s plenty of material here, especially for the die-hard fan of the film. The first disc is just the film itself along with director and cast commentary. The director and cast commentary is in Japanese, and subtitled of course, but the second commentary track is a little more interesting, at least in terms of who is involved and how it was done. Featuring producer Keishiro Shin and Ryuhei Kitamura, this track is in English. However, there are some slight lags in places, but it’s interesting to listen to at least once through.

The special edition though comes with a second disc with a little over an hour of bonus footage. However, I will suggest that Media Blasters invest in some of those nice two disc cases. You know the ones that I’m talking about. Versus, as well as some of Media Blasters other two disc releases, are placed in a single disc case with the bonus disc only being inserted into a simple slip case, like the kind that you get your driver discs for a new video card in. You can bet I’ll be investing in a new DVD case for this one, or maybe swapping over some two disc set that I don’t watch too often.

Even with the major flaw of the single disc case, the bonus disc is one of the best parts, especially for anyone who has seen the film countless times. There’s a ton of behind the scenes features that are fairly lengthy, including an interview with Kitamura and many of the cast members, and even the editor. There’s trailers and teasers of course and the inclusion of the side story, Nervous, a short mini-film that in all honesty is a little boring and looks almost as bad as something shot for public access.

Versus is one of those films that will absolutely gain the same cult status as the films that served as its inspiration. It blends in some many things for so many genres that regardless if you’re a hopeless zombie fanatic, hard-boiled action buff, or an intense martial arts fan, you will love this film. It has the same cartoon mimicry that Bad Taste and Evil Dead 2 have, taking what could be just another film into a level where it becomes over the top without being too cliché. Forget about the other editions of this film and pick up the special edition. You'll be glad that you did.

-mike-