Astrange feast of bloodshed, zombies, kinky characters, super swordplay and kung-fu action is the stuff of ``Versus,'' Ryuhei Kitamura's ambitious horror film. But unlike other straightforward splatter flicks, this one is a radical fantasy set beyond normal time and space-with a touch of comedy.The story is of two men fighting over a mystic woman who is crucial to a dark ritual to seize absolute power-a plot as far-fetched as the ones in pulp comics.

``Versus'' incorporates the best of Hollywood while being ``strictly original,'' says the filmmaker. It also pays homage to his horror-inspiring forebears, such as director Sam Raimi, whose works include the ``Evil Dead'' movies and 2000's ``The Gift.''

Kitamura's film is set in a mysterious woods where the dead and the living battle over 1,000 years spanning the past and future. The ultra violence is set off by a highly stylish approach-it even has many comical moments.

``I hate to hear people say that Japan will never be able to produce an entertaining film that could beat Hollywood productions,'' Kitamura says.

``I wanted to demonstrate how you could create a super entertainment, even without a big budget, without the sophisticated CG special effects used in so many films nowadays.``Come to think of it, the Japanese cinema used to produce masterpieces that won international audiences, represented by those of Akira Kurosawa-who influenced (Steven) Spielberg and many others. It's the later generations of boring filmmakers who should be blamed for ruining the Japanese cinema.''

``Versus,'' Kitamura's second feature film, has won recognition at several overseas horror film festivals in the past six months, paving the way for his Hollywood debut.

Kitamura made ``Down to Hell,'' a low-budget horror film that in 1997 won the grand prize in the first Indies Movie Festival, an Internet-based competition in which fans vote for their favorites. ``Versus'' was initially intended as a sequel to ``Down to Hell'' but ultimately expanded into a major feature.

A deliriously inventive splatterfest coupling the visual artistry of John Woo and the gory aesthetics of George Romero, Versus is something like a movie Sam Raimi might have produced. If he was Japanese. And didn't have to worry about rating certificates. Or unlimited supplies of blood squibs, heavy artillery, samurai swords and fake prosthetic limbs. . . Surpassing most bad American movies, in terms of action and plot, this is one of the most enjoyable and outrageous movies you will ever witness. (From the sellers on eBay)

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. An escaped convict runs into what
appear to be Yakuza (Japanese gangsters). But are actually a band of reincarnated bad guys that killed him in his former life. They are led by a mad man wanting to take over the world, all the while he is being chased by the cops, and the zombies that inhabit the forest. Lots of gore, kung-fu, swords and gun play.