On Earth there are 666 portals between this world and the next.  The 444th exists in Japan and lies deep within the "forest of resurrection", so-called because it allows a dead person's soul to be dragged back into his body to restore life (well, physically at least).  When two escaped convicts use this mythical place as refuge from the police and local gangsters, all havoc breaks lose as the bodies start rising from the ground for a second helping of bullets.

It's so hard to know where to begin to complement 'Versus' considering it contains so many pleasing elements for action fans like myself.  It's not like we haven't seen horror and Martial Arts blended together in a film before ('Blade' instantly springs to mind) but rarely have the merging of two such opposite genres been so expertly crafted.

Firstly, the directorial style is extremely impressive, especially when you consider that director Kitamura had such a restricted budget to work with.  The best comparison I can think of is with the original 'Evil Dead' film in both style and atmosphere.  The horror elements display a similar humourous yet gory approach to that seen in 'Evil Dead' and the film also utilises the same handheld camera effects that give the viewer a more voyeuristic feel on certain scenes, as if you are spying rather than just watching.  Interestingly enough Kitamura also chooses to switch the camera to various coloured lenses to highlight some of the more tense scenes which provides a refreshingly artistic slant on a film in this genre.

What really makes 'Versus' though is the immense amount of action that includes guns, swords and hand-to-hand combat, all of which borrow heavily from the Hong Kong movie scene.  The gunplay is clearly John Woo inspired with slow motion enhancing the action whilst the Martial Arts and swordplay incorporate the familiar over-the-top acrobatics and intricate choreography that we all know and love.  However, this quality does come at a price and that comes in the form of the all too familiar choppy editing techniques.  Certain sequences take the Hollywood route and cut the action just when an exciting move is being executed but luckily it is in the minority and is still a far cry from being as bad as some of it's US counterparts.

Overall, 'Versus' is an outstanding effort from start to finish with guns, guts and glorious kung fu delivered in a single, stylish package.  Please take note Hollywood and Hong Kong, this is the kind of action film that you should be making!