One Cut of the Dead (2017)
Written By: DMG
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Shin’ichirô Ueda
Producer: Koji Ichihashi
Screenwriter: Shin’ichirô Ueda
Date Released:
November 2017 (Japan)
September 13, 2019 (In theaters)
Cast:
Takayuki Hamatsu as Takayuki Higurashi
Mao as Mao Higurashi
Harumi Shuhama as Harumi Higurashi
Yuzuki Akiyama as Aika Matsumoto
Kazuaki Nagaya as Kazuaki Kamiya
Manabu Hosoi as Manabu Hosoda
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
A director is hired to shoot a low budget zombie TV show, all of which will be done with one full-length take of the camera. But when director, Higurashi (Takayuki Hamatsu), takes the film crew and cast to a WWII facility where human experimentation was allegedly performed, real zombies start to attack the crew members. However, not everything is always what it seems.
The Gore Factor
One Cut of the Dead incorporated some scenes involving blood splatter and severed limbs. However, there were no scary element to this film. Rather, as the film centered around the comedic premise of producing a live horror film, One Cut of the Dead could be better classified and considered a dark comedy.
The Grave Review
What was interesting about this film is that it was taken out of order. The viewer is first emerged into the crews attack by the zombies as they are filming the TV show. However, the second half of the film centers on the making of this show and explains the first half of what was previously shown. Only after 40 minutes into this film, does the title of the movie come up on the screen. The out of sequence order for One Cut of the Dead was a good touch.
One Cut of the Dead (2017) also has a comical element to the story. As the film explains how events transpired, it was funny to see what was actually happening during various “zombie attacks” and other similar situations. This dark humor is seldom incorporated into horror films. Although, the comedic elements were rather dry.
In general, the story was overly simplistic and the pace of the film was slow. The film felt more appropriate as a documentary rather than a full-length horror film. Overall, this film is not a great watch but it did incorporate some interesting concepts.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives One Cut of the Dead (2017), two graves out of five graves.
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You may also like our review on the film, Cannibal Holocaust.
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