Versus (film)
| Versus | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Ryuhei Kitamura |
| Produced by | Hideo Nishimura |
| Written by | Ryuhei Kitamura Yūdai Yamaguchi |
| Starring |
Tak Sakaguchi Hideo Sakaki Chieko Misaka Kenji Matsuda |
| Music by | Nobuhiko Morino |
| Cinematography | Takumi Furuya |
| Edited by | Shuichi Kakesu |
| Distributed by | Tokyo Shock (US) |
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Release date
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Running time
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120 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | $10,000 |
Versus (VERSUS -ヴァーサス- Vāsasu?) is a 2000 Japanese independentzombie action film co-written, produced, and directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. The film is set somewhere in the deep forest of Japan, known as the Forest of Resurrection, where an escaped convict simply referred to as "Prisoner KSC2-303" and a gang of Yakuza battle a horde of zombies while at the same time dealing with their sinister leader who wishes to open the forest's portal of darkness.
Originally intended as a sequel to Kitamura's Down to Hell, the script surpassed expectations and ultimately evolved into a different film. Though the film was not released theatrically worldwide (except in France), Versus managed to gain a cult following after its DVD release. In 2004, an extended version called Ultimate Versus was released which included 10 minutes of new footage, as well as additional new music, CGI, and a few editing tweaks.
Versus combines elements of multiple genres such as gunplay, martial arts action, chanbara sword fighting, zombie horror, and comedy. Director Kitamura chose this creative decision because he believed Versus could have been his first and last film he'd ever produce and chose to risk everything by adding film elements that influenced him.
Talk of an American remake and sequel began to circulate in 2008 following the release of Kitamura's Hollywood directing debut, The Midnight Meat Train. However, no news of the remake or sequel has emerged since 2008.
Unknown to the world, there are 666 portals on Earth that connect this world to the other side which are concealed from human beings. However, there are some who are aware of their existence and are willing to locate and open the gates of the portals to obtain the power of darkness for their own pleasure. Somewhere in Japan, there exists the 444th portal known as The Forest of Resurrection.
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