Director: Shin’ichirô Ueda

If you stop watching this sometime within the first half hour, you will likely curse me and never trust one of my reviews again. And I probably wouldn’t blame you. But if you stick with this film until the end, you might be pleasantly surprised.

One Cut of the Dead opens with a 37-minute long unbroken take depicting a Japanese film crew shooting a low-budget zombie film in an abandoned WWII facility. Little do they know that there are real zombies lurching about! The director, who is happy to now see real fear on the faces of his actors, orders the cameras to keep rolling, despite the impending demise of his cast and crew. As you watch, it’s clear that it doesn’t seem to be a very good movie. But surprise—it’s not supposed to!

THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IS A SPOILER! If you want to go into the movie cold, skip it. I don’t generally like to give too much away, but it’s hard not to reveal anything more about this film. What? You want to keep reading? Okay, then. After the opening movie-within-a-movie, we jump back in time to see the origins of the opening. A small-time director is approached to do a one-cut movie to be aired live on the new Zombie Channel. That’s right—it’s actually a movie-within-a-movie-within-a-movie. The fun comes from discovering the events behind all the little bits of schlock that made that 37-minute opening seem so…schlocky. It’s a bit of a gimmick, and it likely would have worked nearly as well chronologically, but it’s fun, nonetheless.

OKAY, SPOILER OVER!

There isn’t a whole lot of horror here, even though it’s billed as a horror/comedy, and honestly, I expected a whole lot more comedy than I got, based on the reviews I read. It’s funny enough to warrant a watch, as long as you don’t mind subtitled films. IMDb gives this film a meaty 7.7. I don’t think I can go quite that high. I’d be comfortable with an even 6.0. (running time 1:36)