Kyle C
It’s super unique and it really pays off by the end, but MAN, it’s rough getting there. You’re immediately thrown into this amateur, campy zombie film with no context and it entertains for a while, but you’ll be asking yourself pretty quickly whether you really have to sit through 90 minutes of this. Fortunately, things flip around after a while and everything gets beautifully and hilariously recontextualized, but was it worth the cost to get there? Maybe.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
11/04/24
Full Review
No Name N
One of the worst zombie films I have ever seen! What were the rottentomato critics on when they gave this movie a 100% score? They did not even give 21 Days Later, Zombie Land, Night Of The Living Dead 1 or 2, or Day Of The Dead 100% but they gave this garbage 100? The whole first third of this move was a real struggle to watch. There is no coming back from purposely making your movie awful. The entire movie just felt like a huge drag and waist if time. It was really hard to force myself to stick with it. I’m a huge zombie fan and I can let a lot of things side for the sake of trying something new and unique but this move was just bad.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
11/03/24
Full Review
Kyle M
Pure genius in the unconventional, hilariously satirizing art of filming productions brilliantly derailing any expectations, thus becoming its own one-of-a-kind rarity. (A-)
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
10/19/24
Full Review
Audience Member
A very pleasant and unique approach towards the idea of dreaming big and working around the shortcomings of missing the mark. If you go into this thinking it's a zombie film, it might disappoint. This is no horror-comedy like "Shaun of the Dead," but rather a pleasant look at doing your best with what you have.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
10/09/24
Full Review
Matthew D
A zombie horror comedy that takes meta filmmaking to the next level!
Japanese director Shinichiro Ueda goes galaxy brain for his zombie horror comedy One Cut of the Dead (2017). It gets progressively funnier as you realize what is happening. I’d recommend going in blind for the true experience as all in depth reviews will spoil the movie’s structure to talk about it in any detail.
It’s very funny and keeps getting funnier as you watch all the absurdities of filmmaking an independent horror movie. I’m amazed director Ueda and producers Koji Ichihashi, Kentarô Kodama, and Kôji Muta got One Cut of the Dead filmed for a meager $25,000. The power of student films, a passionate cast, clever writing, nifty editing, and a total dedication to the bit gets Shinichiro Ueda far with this triple meta gag. The literal translation meaning “Don’t Stop the Camera!” is a riot once you see the movie itself.
Writer Shinichiro Ueda gets creative with his innovative structure adapting the Ryoichi Wada original story. I cannot believe anyone even had this idea, let alone got it made. One Cut of the Dead is very creative as it initially appears like a cheap student film, where a frustrated cast and crew are sick of an annoying director obsessed with a realistic one take style of filmmaking. You then realize this crew and cast are attacked by zombies as if for real in a joking Shaun of the Dead manner. Shoving credits a third of the way into the movie is hilarious as I realized the entire first 30 minutes of One Cut of the Dead is an actual one take zombie attack.
We then see the elaborate conception of this ridiculous idea, then the actual tedious rehearsals and arduous filmmaking process. I found the meta layers of commentary on filmmaking fascinating and very enjoyable as it just gets sillier. Ueda brings ridiculous details from the table read to the set. I think the second part is my favorite, then the third that gets really crazy. The first bit literally just looks like a cheap student movie, so it’s limited in its entertainment value. I had so much fun seeing all the troubles a low budget film production can have. I adored how One Cut of the Dead makes all the mistakes look like clever improv within the meta movie in the outrageous third act.
Editor Shinichiro Ueda’s slick cuts are very crafty and amusing. Going from no cuts for the one take, to brisk cuts for the making of the movie, then many to show the filming process is fun. Cinematographer Takeshi Sone’s handheld camera style for the one take is neat. I love the second part’s striking still shots and sleek panning shots in focus for the making of segments. The camera changes are all a part of the great big meta joke. I am impressed Ueda thought of all the places the camera needed to be to get all the different angles and perspectives for each version of events.
Takayuki Hamatsu is spectacular as the deranged director trying to make an indie zombie horror movie as well as the long suffering director actually filming this feature named Takayuki Higurashi. He’s totally captivating and feels natural. Yuzuki Akiyama is adorable as the lead actress Aika Matsumoto, who plays the part of the horror heroine Chinatsu. She’s very amusing and down for really long takes. She plays scared exceptionally well, but also great at the eager actress ready for a difficult acting challenge.
Kazuaki Nagaya is excellent as the lead actor Kazuaki Kamiya, who also portrays Ko and Ken. He’s great at being frightened, but also acting like the obnoxious method actor type with a big ego. Harumi Shuhama is pretty and hilarious as the director’s wife Harumi Higurashi as well as the reluctant actress Nao. She delivers a huge performance that is hysterical and playful.
Manabu Hosoi is great as the older alcoholic Manabu Hosoda, who ends up having to play a zombie version of himself. Hiroshi Ichihara is a riot as the crew member Hiroshi Yamanouchi. Shuntaro Yamazaki is ridiculous and amusing the frightened crew member Shunsuke Yamagoe, who gets explosive diarrhea.
Shinichiro Osawa is great as the supportive movie producer Shinichiro Furusawa, who goes along with all sorts of nonsense improvised on set. Yoshiko Takehara (Donguri) is so strange and pleasant as the happy producer Yoshiko Sasahara, who wants this meta zombie movie made despite all its production issues. Miki Yoshida is fun as the panicked script supervisor Miki Yoshino. Mao is fun as the helpful and exhausted production assistant Mao Higurashi.
Composers Nobuhiro Suzuki, Kyle Nagai, and Shôma Itô keep the ridiculous music choices coming to provide an upbeat J-Rock score. Songs from Mayumi Yamamoto are very funny. Sound designers Kōkichi Komoda and Lambert Windges clearly capture all these numerous voices on the sets without overlapping everyone’s screams and comments of concern. Makeup artists Junko Hirabayashi and Kazuhide Shimohata provide amusing zombie makeup and prop blood. For the real cast segments, they make everyone look awesome and normal. Hairstylist Junko Hirabayashi humorously gives each actor and actress a totally unique haircut. It helped me keep track of who was who with all the shifting camera scenes.
In short, One Cut of the Dead is ludicrous and just keeps going for bigger laughs. I was smiling the entire 96 minutes. What a totally original way to make a movie!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/06/24
Full Review
Audience Member
This is just yet another reminder that these so called "movie critics" lack any form of taste. This movie was only decently enjoyable in the last 30 minutes, but the rest of it is really not worth the watch.
Also, it's not a horror movie, it's a movie showing the process of making a "one cut" movie. Which is pretty cool to see, but not what I was expecting or in the mood to see.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
10/05/24
Full Review
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