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Savagely Sharp, One Cut Of The Dead Is So Much More Than Its Buzz Suggests
“You have to see it,” I was told again and again by ardent admirers of One Cut Of The Dead. This Japanese zombie-comedy has been bouncing all over the world from one film festival to the next, picking up praise with every stop. But the breathless buzz was strangely, annoyingly vague. There were rumblings about an astoundingly ambitious long-take that lasts a whopping 37 minutes. And there was the giddy hinting of a big “twist.” Frankly, the gimmickiness this suggested was a turnoff, pushing the film further and further down my fest watch lists. But with this heralded horror-comedy headed to theaters, I finally decided to see what all the buzz was about. And I’m elated to reveal One Cut Of The Dead is far more than a one-(camera)-trick pony.
It begins with a common horror setup: A girl in a blood-splattered tank top is being chased by a merciless zombie. Just as he bites down into her soft, flushed flesh, the scene is interrupted by the bark of “CUT!” In barges the director (Hamatsu Takayuk), who hollers at the blinking ingénue that it’s been 42 takes and she’s still not giving him real fear. His voice is as loud as the Hawaiian shirt he wears with a sheen of sweat and an expression of reckless fury. Once he barges off from set, a kind-hearted makeup artist (Syuhama Harumi) comforts the chastened ingénue (Akiyama Yuzuki), chatting with her and her co-star/boyfriend (Nagaya Kazuaki). But just as morale is lifted, a horrid new problem…
