Tanto Dhaneswara (KAORI Newsline): “Endless Laughters!”
When I first heard of One Cut of the Dead I tried to do some research about it, so I learned that it’s supposedly not only a scary zombie film, but also a funny one, that maked it one of the hottest film in Japan. At first, I thought that the film would feel similar to the anime Zombieland Saga, which is a zombie anime with idols and is also hilarious. Then, it turned out to be…. Wow, spectacular!
I feel that it would be hard to review this zombie film without spoiling some things about the film (which will probably lower the “enjoyment” of watching the film by a little). Why? Because the main strength of this film’s comedy is:
Because of that, I decided to move up the conclusion of One Cut of the Dead to the beginning of my review.
Conclusion
Yes, this is a zombie film. Or to be precise, a film about the making of a zombie film plagued by a storm of errors and chaos. But seriously, perhaps this is one of the zombie films out there that is not frightening at all, and instead managed to make the whole film theatre to laugh out loud. If you are in a bad mood, watch this film and I guarantee that you will (un)die laughing until the end. At least, watching One Cut of the Dead could make us appreciate more the efforts of film crew who work really hard behind the scene to make a crazy excellent film such as this.
Pros:
- Yes, this is a zombie film.
- Yes, this is a funny film.
- But OMG this film is so hilarious due to great acting, and the timing of its punchlines are so precise.
- Perhaps can also be enjoyed by those who do not have interest in zombie films.
- This film is made by and stars mainly crew and actors/actresses with little to no experience, but the result is superb.
Cons:
- This film depends so much on its surprise element for the punchlines, so I would not recommend to search for spoiler on the Internet.
- I also do not recommend watching it in the front seats due to some of the scenes deliberately taken with “shaky cam” technique in several scenes.
Score: POM!/10
For those who have watched the film, or feel it is okay to know the plot of the story, you could continue reading this review.
So, what is this film about? The story starts with some film crew who were shooting a zombie film in a remote abandoned water filtering facility. They were then attacked by real zombies, and the director instructed to keep the camera running to complete the film while there are real zombies. Can the crew escape from the zombie attack while finishing their ambitious film?
One thing that I really like in this part is the build-up for the atmosphere. In the beginning, One Cut of the Dead indeed feels like it’s being produced as it is, but the thriller and the comedy build up as the film goes by. The funny moments appeared when there are some awkward situations while the actors and actresses are shooting the film, some out-of-place sights that may be expected from the shooting of a low-budget film, and also the director (who is performed by Takayuki Hamatsu) who is over ambitious, enthusiastic, and looks similar to a director in a cigarette advertisement that was famous in Indonesia.
This film also maintain the suspense by its use of no-cuts single take shot for 37 minutes. More than just a gimmick, since we could only get caried along by the cameraman’s movement who frantically follows the actors and actresses being chased by zombies, while worrying whether they will survive or not.
After the shocking ending, the creditsof One Cut of the Dead starts to roll and the film is ove-
After the chaotic no-cuts 37 minutes of zombie attack earlier, it turns out to be just a warm up. The viewers are then introduced to the crew who had created this one take film. There are the director, the cameramen, and also the actors and actresses. Is this boring? No. This is where One Cut of the Dead starts to build its set up. Shinichiro Ueda meticulously places foreshadowing that will pay off in the next part by depicting the characters in situations not too different from our daily life. The actors and actresses are really good at making the interactions feel genuine.
After getting through the pre-production, we will continue to watch …. the earlier shooting scene. “Uh, isn’t it boring to watch the same scenes all over again?” you may ask. Well, the answer is not by a mile. We are shown different perspectives that lead us to finally understand what had really been happening in the 37 minutes one take film. What follows is a chain of errors that deliver a lot of laugh from the beginning until the end. The bloopers and plot holes and odd behaviours that you may have noticed in the one take film are set ups that have been prepared with precision, structured, and brought its punchlines with such timing that makes them surprising.
Conclusion? Well, you can go back to the beginning of this review, since I have shifted it there.
Written by Marwa Pranata and Tanto Dhaneswara from KAORI Newsline | Translated by Zacky Dhaffa Pratama | The Indonesian Anime Times
