Versus (2000)
Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
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(Entertaining)
(Guts Galore)
(Mildly Scary)
(Nun Approved)
Summary
Tak escapes from prison, tagging along with another prisoner who leads him to a meeting with Yakuza gangsters in a remote forest. Things go from bad to worse in a hurry - after a heated exchange of insults and the realization that the gangsters kidnapped a young girl Tak grabs the gun of one gangster and kills another. We don't have to wait long for the first zombie to appear - the dead gangster rises up and attacks the others. While gunning it down with an ungodly amount of shots, Tak takes the girl and flees into the forest. The forest is called the Forest of Resurrection - and anyone who dies there rises up as a zombie. Once on the run we are treated to several stylish martial arts fights between Tak, the gangsters, and the zombies. The plot is finally revealed when the kingpin gangster, known as "The Man", shows up and turns the Yakuza gangsters into zombie warriors. The Man needs Tak and the girl to gain access to the Gates of Darkness and has waited 500 years to do it. But the plan fails because ultimately Tak defeats The Man in a sword battle, culminating in a nice leaping kick that take his head clean off! At the end, fast forward 99 years in the future and the tables have turned. Now Tak has had enough of this realm and wants The Man to lead him to the other side...
Review
Despite the extremely cheesy dialog, the rather bad acting, and the worthless filler scenes that attempt to hint at a little romance and a softer side to the characters - this movie is mostly tons of stylish fighting action and is a fun ride. You shouldn't go into this one expecting anything else anyway - it's a Japanese action flick. Every character looks like they just came out of a salon, and is dressed to the hilt in black leather! Even Tak, who begins the movie wearing prisoner's garb, manages to quickly find a full length leather coat that provides extra flair as he whirls around during fights. I'm no expert in the Japanese action / martial arts genre, so I suppose on that score it's pretty decent. As a zombie movie I would call it average. The zombies really aren't the main point of the movie, but they serve as obstacles to one side and help to the other in a quest of good versus evil (or evil vs evil in the end?). Nevertheless the comic book style fight scenes are extremely fun to watch and there is plenty of blood and guts throughout. At times the dramatic style of the director gets a little long winded - there's only so many times I can stand the endless back and forth close ups of each fighter in the ultimate duel!
Zombie Traits
| Speed | 
(Human)
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| Intelligence | 
(Human)
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| Strength | 
(Hulk Hogan)
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| Zombie Source | Forest of Resurrection |
These zombies comprise the whole spectrum - mindless walkers to martial arts masters. Many are armed with pistols, but generally can't hit the side of a barn. They take a ton of punishment and are much harder to kill than the typical zombie movie. Getting killed by a zombie isn't what creates a new one - merely getting killed in any manner within the boundaries of the Forest of Resurrection is sufficient.
Best Zombie Kill
The zombies in this film were simply cannon fodder and I cannot recall any instance of one registering a kill against a human.
Best Zombie Death
Tak faces one of the Yakuza zombies by the river and manages to knock it out with a rock, apparently killing it. But The Man arrives moments later and the zombie rises to face its master. Apparently displeased, The Man punches a massive hole through the zombies head. When he pulls his hand back out of the hole, the zombies eyeballs are stuck between his fingers!
Memorable Scene
Tak faces the Yakuza zombies one at a time on his quest to reach The Man. It's a beautiful display of martial arts, gun play and sword work. In one scene Tak leaps high into the air and on his way down cleaves a massive wound through a zombie with a powerful sword strike. He then slices and dices the zombie into pieces - body parts are seen flying all over the place. Tak smiles as he rapidly slices to and fro and finally stands back to admire is work. The poor zombie is nothing but a pile of parts.
