One Cut of the Dead (2017): A Meta Zombie Film About Filmmaking

ByFabian Bullitt

2017 • Shin’ichirō Ueda • 1.78:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓

One of the most notable low-budget success stories in contemporary Japanese cinema, One Cut of the Dead is a zombie comedy with a meta-cinematic concept, directed by Shin’ichirō Ueda. Set during the filming of a low-budget zombie movie, the story follows what happens when actual zombies appear and begin attacking the cast and crew.

The film is structured in three acts, and discussing each in detail would reveal too much of the central narrative mechanism. The story revolves around the filmmaking process itself and unfolds in a deliberately non-chronological way. The opening sequence consists of a 37-minute continuous shot, designed to appear as if filmed with handheld cameras during a chaotic live shoot. It adopts a rough found-footage aesthetic.

Most of the film takes place in an industrial setting, which reinforces the impression of a low-budget production. As the story progresses and events are revisited from new perspectives, seemingly random mistakes gradually reveal themselves as deliberate setups. This process of recontextualisation is the film’s central device, transforming what initially appears to be clumsy filmmaking into a carefully constructed story about collaboration and the mechanics of making movies.

Technical Specs:

  • The Story: A small film crew shooting a low-budget zombie film in an abandoned facility finds themselves under attack from real zombies. But that’s only the beginning of the story.
  • Actors: Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Harumi Syuhama, Manabu Hosoi, Hiroshi Ichihara, Shuntaro Yamazaki, Shinichiro Osawa.
  • Director: Shin’ichirō Ueda
  • Year: 2017
  • Cinematographer: Tsuyoshi Sone
  • Origin: Japanese Cinema
  • Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
  • Genre: Horror / Meta Cinema / Zombie Films
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