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Zombie Trifecta - Part 2

Written by Taryn Shick

Thursday, 24 May 2007

It is my belief that there is no greater creature, real or imagined, than the zombie. More misunderstood than Frankenstein’s monster, more sinister than a Werewolf and far creepier than any vampire, the zombie burrows deeper into the human psyche than all other monsters combined.
With the release of 28 Weeks Later, I thought this would be a good time to explore the legend of the zombie. I will do so with a review of the aforementioned film; a DVD review of another zombie film, Versus; and a book review of The Book of the Dead, The Complete History of Zombie Cinema. This is the second in the series.

Versus - DVD Review
Starring: Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka, Kenji Matsuda, Yuichiro Arai
Written by: Ryuhei Kitamura, Yudai Yamaguchi
Directed by: Ryuhei Kitmaura

Versus is a Japanese-made film that follows a group of hit-men into a forest where their victims return as zombies.
I’m always ready to watch a film about zombies. I was particularly intrigued by the karmic revenge aspect of the plot of Versus with the victims potentially able to take revenge upon their killers. I feared it might be too American Werewolf in London in that respect. But thankfully, this is not the case. The ‘zombies’ do not talk to their killers, whining about how rude it was of them to kill them. Instead, they get right down to business.
The zombies are traditionally slow and lacking in any real ability to do much damage. However, they do wield guns, a definite twist on the average zombie presentation. The battle between the hitmen and the zombies is pure camp – we’re talking super cheesy – with lots of over the top flips, martial arts and horror-themed comedy. Love it!
Sadly, the majority of the film follows the reason the zombies are zombies, in this case – The Forest of Resurrection. It’s not a bad premise. It certainly seems like a more plausible explanation than the usual voodoo or toxic waste theories. But the story becomes less about the zombies and more about the recurring battle between good and evil played out by the two main characters and their respective pals.
It’s not a bad story. It’s just that if a film has zombies in it, it ought to have zombies in it all the way through. Being resurrected and being a zombie just aren’t the same.
I’m not sure what subtext the film might be going for, other than the karmic aspect. But the film is captivating and fun.
The DVD has a ton of extras. They include new scenes, new music, commentaries and making of’s. Versus is an absolute must-see for any zombie lover or cult film fan.

Overall Grade: A

Zombie Grade: A-

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