One Cut of the Dead: 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, a Hidden Gem

One Cut of the Dead is a 2017 Japanese film that often slips under general audiences' radar despite critical acclaim. Made independently for roughly $27,000, it begins as a straightforward zombie picture before taking a dramatic turn that recontextualizes everything that came before.

The story follows a small film crew led by a frustrated director, Higurashi (Takayuki Hamatsu), attempting to shoot a zombie movie at an abandoned water treatment plant. When real zombies invade the set, the crew must escape while Higurashi tries to use the chaos to finish his film.

What sets the movie apart is that the first 37 minutes play out as one continuous, unbroken take, with no edits, and there is no title card until about 40 minutes in. In the same vein as From Dusk Till Dawn or Sinners, it shifts genre and tone halfway through; similar to Fresh, this structural reveal shows that the film we've been watching is itself about making a zombie movie.

Japan

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