VERSUS

Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Produced by Keishiro Shin
Written by Ryuhei Kitamura & Yudai Yamaguchi
Music by Nobuhiko Morino
Cinematography by Takumi Furaya
Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Kenji Matsuda, Yuichiro Arai, Minoru Matsumoto, Kazuhito Ohba & Takehiro Katayama

2001/119 mins/Color/2.0 DD
1.85:1/Japanese/Japan/PAL Region 2

Review from the Shibuya Hot DVD

Buckle up your seat belt and be prepared for an all out wired kung fu - machine guns - zombies gore flick! VERSUS starts centuries ago, a samurai (who defeated a bunch of zombie samurais moments ago) dies rather easily at the hand of another samurai in a fight that don't even last a minute. Back today, two men on the run are about to make a deal. They escaped a maximum security prison and need a place and money. A group of men are soon to appear at the rendez-vous point. What first sounded like and easy plan is soon becoming something completely else. The group tell the prisonners that they must wait for their leader to arrive. One of the prisonner, who has KSC2-303 written on the back of his uniform, don't appreciate the change of plan, especially now that there is a kidnapped girl they will have to take care of. KSC2-303 seems to know her and wants her out of the deal. After some heated discussion, he soon ends up with a gun on his head. In a matter of seconds, he turns the situation to his advantage and kill the man who was pointing the gun at him. He also takes the girl and they leave running in the forest. A forest which holds many dark secrets. From there the film turn into one of the wildest movie experience to come from Japan. Zombies, gore, kung fu, zombies, gore, zombies, gore, kung fu... you get the point.

At 119 minutes, Ryuhei Kitamura's film is an epic adventure. Everyone should seek out this film which will surely become the next big Asian cult film.

As for the DVD, many people complained that this is a bootleg DVD which it sure looks like it. A DVD edition from France is also available so is an overpriced one released in Japan. The film is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the transfer is nice but a little too dark sometimes. The 2.0 DD Japanese audio track sounds very good. But beware, at around 25 minutes into the film, the volume cracks up 10 times louder for a few seconds. Why?! I really don't know but it sure made me jumped the first time. The English subtitles are white and "burned" into the film. Surprisingly there is no menus or even chapters stop! There is no booklet or inlay card and no extras whatsoever. It comes in a keep case. Still this is a must have DVD for Asian horror fan.

Image:

Audio:

Extras:

There is no extras on this DVD!

Packaging:

This Film Features:

Review by Kim Dubuisson. All Right Reserved. 2003. ©