'Versus' (2000)


I'm always up for watching a zombie movie and that goes double for any that I haven't seen yet. The classics are, well... classic but there's always something a bit special about trying a new zombie movie for the first time. That's a big ol' hint by the way, feel more than free to chuck any recommendations my way, they will all be gratefully received ;o)

So when @Oretinker said it would be worth checking out 'Versus', that's exactly what I did. I finished watching a little while ago (yep, it's another 'middle of the night' review...) and it was so intense that I actually can't get to sleep. And like all the best zombie movies, 'Versus' is about more than just zombies although I never thought I'd see a zombie movie go in the direction that 'Versus' did. It's a very cool direction though, don't worry... ;o)

A group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead but those troubles won't end there, not when there's a much bigger battle to be fought...

I've read a few zombie mash-ups in my time ('Pride, Prejudice and Zombies' of course, the 'zombies at a Star Trek Convention' was a highlight too although I can't remember the name of the book now, some highlight...) and I was kind of getting to the point where I thought I'd more or less seen it all. It turns out that I couldn't have been more wrong, 'Versus' is this mad concoction of 'Evil Dead' and 'Highlander', seriously. You've got Yakuza zombies fighting living Yakuza while two fighters battle it out for some kind of ultimate power. You wouldn't have thought mixing those two things together but it does with 'Versus', it really does. I couldn't stop watching it and 'Versus' is now very much a keeper for the DVD pile.

I won't lie, the story is a little on the lightweight side but there's so much else going on that the film doesn't exactly suffer for it (although it doesn't leave me a great deal to talk about here, oh well...) 'Versus' is a big ol' free for all where everyone is fighting each other, punctuated by massive amounts of gore as various humans and zombies meet their end. The action is frantically paced and all the more eyecatching because of it. Watching 'Redcon-1', the other day, prepared me for the idea of zombies using weapons which happens a lot here. Same deal applies here, if you can suspend your disbelief then you will have a lot of fun with the fight scenes. If zombies firing guns is past where you draw the line, 'Versus' isn't for you. As I've said before, my disbelief has been suspended pretty much permanently so 'Versus' was another film that I enjoyed immensely.

'Versus' doesn't just make no apologies for what it is, it positively revels in the blood, gore and brilliantly choreographed sword fights that make up its hour and fifty five minute runtime. It's all the better for it, I don't think I've ever sat through a film that long that just flew by like 'Versus' did. If you like zombie movies and sword fights, you could do a lot worse than stick the two together and watch 'Versus'. There's a neat little twist at the end too...

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