Versus (II) (2000)

There are 666 portals that connect this world to the other side. These are concealed from all human beings. Somewhere in Japan exists the 444th portal.... The forest of resurrection.

Director:

Ryûhei Kitamura

Writers:

Ryûhei Kitamura, Yudai Yamaguchi

Stars:

Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tak Sakaguchi	...	Prisoner KSC2-303
Hideo Sakaki	...	The Man
Chieko Misaka	...	The Girl
Kenji Matsuda	...	Yakuza Leader with butterfly knife
Yuichiro Arai	...	Motorcycle-riding yakuza with revolver
Minoru Matsumoto	...	Crazy yakuza with amulet
Kazuhito Ohba	...	Yakuza with glasses
Takehiro Katayama	...	Red-haired assassin
Ayumi Yoshihara	...	Long-haired female assassin
Shôichirô Masumoto	...	One-handed cop
Toshiro Kamiaka	...	Samurai warrior
Yukihito Tanikado	...	Cop with Barrett
Hoshimi Asai	...	Short-haired female assassin
Ryosuke Watabe	...	Yakuza zombie in alligator-skin coat
Motonari Komiya	...	Other prisoner

Storyline

Set in the present where a group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, unwittingly, 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, with the assistance of the evil Sprit that has also come back, come back from ages past, to claim his prize. The final standoff between Light and Dark has never been so cunning, so brutal and so deadly. This is where old Japanese Samurai mysticism meets the new world of the gangster and the gun. Gruesome, bloody and positively bold.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | escaped convict | samurai | back from the dead | zombie | 

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Taglines:

Beware the past, fight the present, fear the future

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong pervasive violence and gore, and language

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

20 February 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

Down to Hell 2

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

KSS, Suplex, WEVCO Produce Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the aftermath of a few of the zombie fights, several zombies' butts are on fire. Director Ryûhei Kitamura did this on purpose, because he just thought it was funny.

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Goofs

In the Ultimate Version, when the prisoner came back to fight with the zombies, in one scene, he smashes a guy's head to the tree trunk then the next scene, he suddenly has a gun in his mouth and one in his hand when he knocks the zombie's gun out of its hand.

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Quotes

Cop with Barrett: You wish to challenge me? The master of the martial arts? The fighter?

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Connections

Referenced in Alive (2002)

User Reviews

Zombies vs. Yakuza

You can't beat that combination, unless you add in ninjas, or samurai... or Godzilla, but zombies and yakuza alone make a very compelling film, even if it has no sensible plot.

The storyline is simple enough - prisoners escape, get double crossed, then find out they're in a "forest of resurrection" full of zombies that don't like yakuza very much. That's all you really need to know.

Sit back and relax as you watch hilarious gory and impossibly bad acting. The movie is based on its visual appeal alone, forget the plot and the characters, watch the fight scenes, the strange standoffs, bad monologues, and hideously bad acting.

There are parts, however, where the movie drags on a bit. Killing zombies, even though enormously awesome, does become monotonous after an extended period. But these lulls are few and far between them. The action definitely keeps you hooked for most of the film.

Overall? Great action film.

7/10