36. Ultimate Versus (2000/2006) - Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura
Versus is a very special film to me, because it kicks freaking ass (that's all I really need to say about this film, the rest is just filler), and even though it is flawed, I still find myself praising its audacity, its action, its low-budget DIY-aesthetics, and the filmmakers' passion. Yes it is far too long (although the new cut remedies a lot of the pacing problems) and there is virtually no character development or narrative to speak of; I understand that the film is not an example of powerful storytelling and characterization. Put simply, Versus is an action-gore-horror-porn, and in this regard it is a masterpiece; it is pure, unapologetic trash that delivers in spades.
I first saw Versus on a really crappy VHS cassette. At the time of its initial bootleg-release in the US (a phenomenon that Kitamura is thankful for, and attributes the film's success to), I was ordering a bunch of stuff from Blackest Heart Media, an online resource for tape-traders and mondomovie fans. Of course BHM pulled the “Braindead-card,” in their description of Versus, and I, of course, fell for the comparison. Braindead, forever being the measuring stick of outlandish gore, is a film often conjured by me and other like-minded film fans. We are always on the look out for the “next Braindead,” and are usually left disappointed by empty promises and films that fail to deliver upon their on-the-box quotes and user-generated hype. And so it was with great trepidation, and reserved excitement, that I ordered Versus, and I anticipated greatly the day it would arrive in my mailbox.
Needless to say I was not disappointed, far from it. Versus grabbed my attention from the first scene (a deliciously brutal action sequence depicting some badass samurai and some very dead-again zombies), and I was captivated by Kitamura's stylish, comic-book like staging, violence, and action. While the quality of the print I was watching left a lot to be desired, and lacked English subtitles, these qualities added an illicit element to the experience. It was clear that I was watching a bootleg, a film I wasn't supposed to be seeing, and this air of unlawfulness added to the excitement of the viewing experience. It really felt as if I was one of the first people to be granted access to a film that would surely become a cult-classic. I felt privileged, as if it were duty to proselytize for the film - and so I did, I am.
What I admire most about Versus is its simplicity; the film never even pretends to be something more than it is. All too often, genre films with similar budgets fall prey to over-reaching ambition - they try to mimic their bid-budget brethren and end up falling short on all fronts. Rather than working within the means of their budgets, these kinds of films often rely on terrible special effects and cheap sets and costumes to appear more expensive. However, this ploy only betrays these films, and renders them unintentionally hilarious, at best. With Versus, there is no false pretense. Versus does not fall prey to any of these shortcomings. The filmmakers know they have a small budget, and so they craft a film to work within their means.
The entire film takes place out doors, in the middle of a forest, and in many ways it resembles the great independent martial arts films that came out of Taiwan during the 1970s and '80s. The film's story is crafted to take advantage of the paltry budget, and the budget is spent on things that are important to the film - action and gore, and there is a ton of both. Simply put, Versus is nothing but a series of outrageous action set-pieces strung together by scenes of extreme posing and metaphysical flim-flam. There is talk about some portals to hell that connect the world like wormholes, reincarnated warriors representing the eternal struggle of good and evil, and some nonsense about a girl, the “one,” who must be sacrificed to unleash the apocalypse. Or something like this - to tell you the truth I simply don't care enough about the plot of this film to let the lack of a substantial one bug me.
What I do care about are the fights and the gore, both of which the film totally delivers. Tak Sakaguchi (a bona fide street fighter) plays the unnamed prisoner, and he is a total badass. Throughout the commentary on the DVD, director Kitamura constantly berates Sakaguchi's acting chops, as they were, and it is true - he's no thespian. However, Sakaguchi acts with his fists and body, and his boxing stance and powerful bouts of fisticuffs are the stuff of an action-fan's dreams. His nearly constant, violent, and sometimes comical, confrontations with a group of yakuza (led by the incredible Kenji matsuda), and the yukuza's victims-cum-zombie hellions creates for a series of wonderful three-way gun and fist fights. Everyone, and everything, in this forest-of-hell is packing extreme heat, and bullets by the bucket loads are unloaded, heads are decapitated, hearts are ripped out, and limbs are broken. It's all choreographed with great skill, and the filmmakers make wonderful use of the talented stunt team. The action-highlight is the end fight scene between Sakaguchi and Hideo Sakaki (playing, The Man) and features some wonderful wire-work and some truly stunning photography.
Versus is the opposite of high-concept. It is low-brow, populist entertainment of the most excellent kind. It's stylish, cool, gory, and full of machismo posing and bravado. In an interview for Fangoria, Kitamura thanked his American audience for “getting it,” and making Versus such a big hit. He has said before that he does not make his films for a Japanese audience, simply because he doesn't get a lot of Japanese genre films. He feels as if many Japanese genre flicks hold back far too much, and the filmmakers are afraid to really let the shit fly. Versus lets everything fly, and it benefits from its unconventional approach to action cinema. It is a film to take at face value, while it punches its fist through the roof of your mouth, rips out your eyeballs, and eats them, all while laughing it up.
