Japan, 2000: Versus

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 10/28/2010 9:17pm

Versus
Japan, 2000
Genre: Action, Comedy, Gangster, Supernatural
119 minutes
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275773/

An escaped convict is dragged into a bizarre mobster plot involving the Forest of Resurrection, a place where the dead can return to life.

Although billed as a horror film due to the presence of zombies, Versus is clearly a tongue-in-cheek comedy poking fun at multiple genre conventions. I don’t think there was ever a moment in the whole movie where some kind of action or horror cliché wasn’t being used to comedic effect. The sheer amount of fake blood and gore is fantastic, and is much more of an obvious attempt at appearing cheesy than other films like The Expendables or Machete, which used far more realistic fake blood. The movie itself seems like it was shot with an extremely limited budget, judging from the quality of the film stock and the campiness of the make-up and special effects. The photography was impressive for the look of the rest of the film, but is clearly one of the earlier works of cinematographer Takumi Furuya’s career. The number of handheld shots and strange angles (combined with the lower budget film-making) made it seem like a student film at times. Still, the sort of aesthetic they used definitely has a certain appeal to it, and the end result is incredibly entertaining.

The story takes some time to hit its stride, and this makes the first half extremely difficult to sit through. One of the interesting decisions that director Ryuhei Kitamura made was that no one ever addresses each other by name, making for a very strange viewing experience where you must wholly rely on the actors’ characterization to understand who relates to what. The acting makes it work, but don’t expect Oscar winning readings from anyone. The performances are either cartoonish or wooden, making it particularly difficult to cheer for the hero’s complete lack of charisma or charm. However, the villains of the film do make up a cast of fun characters, adding a great sense of style and comedy to what otherwise is a fairly bland plot.

The one thing that Versus really did well has got to be the action. The choreography is amazing, definitely the best I’ve seen from Japan in a long time. Lots of pretty obvious wire work, but the fights are fun and use a variety of distinct styles. It feels very comic book inspired, as if it was lifted from the pages of a martial arts manga. Unfortunately, the filming doesn’t do the action justice, and is often awkward or shaky during key moments of suspense. But if you can manage to get past that, there is a lot of very entertaining and humorous fights to be had during the movie’s considerable length. Despite a low budget and some experimental film-making, Versus is a diamond in the rough for fight film fans, and is definitely worth a viewing if you can find a copy.

Blog Link: http://fightfilmfriday.wordpress.com...friday-versus/

**BackFistMonkey** · Posted On: 10/30/2010 8:59pm

I own this movie. Have had it for close to 5 years. I have not managed to sit through the whole thing without an extremely powerful dissociative in my system.

You sir are a God among men and movie reviewers for making it through.

...

Or you have serious mental issues.

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 10/30/2010 9:03pm

Seriously?

This movie was silly fun. It was like the unMTVed version of Volcano High.

**syberia** · Posted On: 10/30/2010 9:27pm

I have to agree. I've seen it twice I think, picked it up at random from a video store.

It was fun, though I thought it could have done without the tacked on post apocolytic ending.

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 10/30/2010 9:28pm

Yeah, it's pretty dumb (the ending in particular), but it's dumb in a sort of endearing way. And the fights are way better than Geochilmaru or High-Kick Girl.

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 10/30/2010 9:38pm

Originally Posted by syberia

thought it could have done without the tacked on post apocalyptic ending.

Yep. I took it as a tongue in cheek poke at the zombie movies that were in large demand at the time.

**BackFistMonkey** · Posted On: 10/30/2010 9:43pm

I don't know these people anymore ...

**syberia** · Posted On: 10/30/2010 9:44pm

Originally Posted by Conde Koma

Yeah, it's pretty dumb (the ending in particular), but it's dumb in a sort of endearing way. And the fights are way better than Geochilmaru or High-Kick Girl.

No argument there.