ONE CUT OF THE DEAD

Made for a mere 3 million Japanese Yen (around $30k in Australian dollaroos), with a cast of unknown actors assembled by Shinichiro Ueda after participating in workshops at the Enbu Seminar drama school in Tokyo, ‘One Cut of the Dead’ is a gore-streaked gem of independent filmmaking.

The film has three different acts that elegantly navigate through several genres - it is very difficult to summarise without spoiling. Once it reveals how everything fits together, you can appreciate the moments during the initial zombie attack segment where the plot seems to become nonsensical or the actors appear to adlib. Superficial comparisons could be made to ‘Tropic Thunder’, about a group of prima donna actors making a fictional Vietnam War film, and there are some early parts that may look similar, but it goes much further than Ben Stiller’s film in terms of deconstruction of the genre. Other similarities could be drawn to Chris Smith’s ‘American Movie’, chronicling the real 1996–97 making of ‘Coven’, an independent horror film directed by wingnut filmmaker Mark Borchardt. However, ‘One Cut of the Dead’ is far warmer and much, much funnier. It's like Tom DiCillo's 'Living in Oblivion', with a hint of Olivier Assayas' 'Irma Vep', but lighter and with zombies.

The film dives into the idea of what constitutes entertainment, with executives and agents constantly making specific demands from the crew of the live shoot. It also peeks into the backstage exploits of the industry: self-absorbed actors stuck in roles they don't want to be in, cinematographers longing to have their artistic impulses indulged, frantic stage-hands trying to appease their bosses and the ingenious, MacGuyver-style guerrilla tactics that must be employed to ensure that a low-budget shoot goes off smoothly.

It also embraces some popular Japanese themes: the importance of family (the director has a tender relationship with his young, aimless daughter and supportive wife, a former actress) and teamwork, as the production crew rallies around their beleaguered leader to ensure his film is completed, no matter what obstacles they encounter.

Shinichiro Ueda hasn’t just created a laugh-out-loud, heart-warming comedy, he has also done an amazing job of documenting the process of getting out an independent production in Japan. ‘One Cut of the Dead’ is a supremely inventive cinematic triptych that amuses and warms the heart in equal measure, and should appeal to casual movie-goers, horror movie fans and film buffs alike.